salty goodness

[mellowtigger]

So does anyone know where I can mail-order some cobalt-60? Seriously. otterlover01's giant crystals reminded me of an idea I had last year, and I think it'd be cool to try it out someday.

Gamma radiation is just extremely high-frequency light waves. It's the kind of radiation given off by cobalt-60 (well, after it first emits a beta particle (an electron)), and it's the kind of radiation that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permits to be used when irradiating food. (Aside: They allow it to be provided by cobalt-60 or cesium-137. They also allow x-rays and high-energy electrons to be used on food.)

Gamma sources need to be well shielded because their high frequency penetrates through matter (like entire pallets of food at once) very well. See: sample cargo photo taken with gamma radiation. So I realize that a source needs to be treated with care. I'd also need to order suitable long-term storage. Conveniently, though, cobalt-60 has a half-life of only 5.27 years and it decays into nickel. Yep, plain old nickel, the kind that's probably in your pockets right now.

So cobalt-60 would be a really convenient way to irradiate salt, wouldn't it? 8)

Have you ever seen those weird "new age" salt dome light things? Well, why not take it a step farther and eliminate the electrical cord or the candle? What if the salt itself was the light source? I don't know if amorphous salt would respond this way, or if it's only larger crystals that do it, but when salt is exposed to gamma radiation, it will continue to emit a red-orange glow for about 24 hours. The gamma radiation charges up salt's electrons, but something about the crystal lattice keeps the electrons from dropping back to a lower energy level right away. So for 24 hours they slowly emit visible light until all the electrons return to their resting state.

Imagine: You go at dusk to the cobalt-60 safe that sits under your kitchen sink, open it up to take out the glowing crystals. Leave them out all night for lighting, cover them up as necessary to get some sleep. When you wake up, gather the crystals and lock them back up in the safe for another dose of gamma exposure as they recharge.

It'd be like a glowstick, but without the unpleasant chemical leftovers. All you'd have left is nickel and salt. High-energy light goes into them, soft low-energy visible light comes out. What's not to like?

Comments

[otterlover01.livejournal.com]

Interesting... and look at that new userpic, is it a salt cubic crystal? ou are really into this idea! :o)

[mellowtigger]

I don't remember where I snagged the animation. It's a hypercube (4-dimensional cube) that somebody decided to rotate for extra mindbending effect. :)

[khrysso.livejournal.com]

I'm in love with your brain!

Just wanted you to know. ;-)

[hilltop.livejournal.com]

Every time I see those photos of giant crystals, my brain just wants to say they're photoshopped, they're so incredibly bizarre and surreal. Crystals you can climb around on. Amazing.

And your thought on the salt lamps is mighty intriguing. We've got a couple of those in our place, they've got a really cool look to them.

[hilltop.livejournal.com]

argh, forgot this- you can mail order Cobalt 60 right here.
http://www.unitednuclear.com/isotopes.htm

[mellowtigger]

foeclan and joshuwain are my landlords, and they both read my blog here.

They're probably kicking themselves right about now for neglecting to include a prohibition on nuclear isotopes in my lease. :D

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

A microCurie really isn't all that much - that's why there's no licensing involved. For the application he has in mind I suspect he'd be needing a much stronger source.

Considering the energy required to create the Cobalt-60 in the first place, though ... I think even an incandescent bulb would look spiffily efficient, to say nothing of CFLs or LEDs. ;)

[hilltop.livejournal.com]

Hahaa! Ahh, the ever popular no isotopes clause.

[hilltop.livejournal.com]

I know nothing about this sort of thing. I know that I can't know, or I'd end up killing myself with bizarro experiments that go bad. I'm goofy that way. ;)

[dodecadragon.livejournal.com]

It reminded me of the Ying Yang Animation I first saw in jamesbeary's LJ.

[anziulewicz.livejournal.com]

The most delightfully geeky post EVER. I'm getting you a BIG supply of Cobalt-60 for Christmas.

I love your hypercube icon, by the way.