Glowring Travel Bugs

[+aka Monkey]

I found these really neat keychains. They glow in the dark, but they're powered using a (very safe) radioactive gas. They glow for 10 years, and need no power source (such as light). Sounds like a very cool travel bug waiting to be made. Only problem is, they're not readily available for sale in the US.

 

Nite Glowrings

 

I suppose they'd be pretty popular travel bugs to steal, though.

 

For those of you concerned about putting a radioactive item in a cache, here's the scoop: The keychain uses gaseous tritium, which is slightly radioactive. It releases beta radiation (most of which can't even penetrate skin), which interacts with a phosphor inside the keychain to glow. Even if you were to somehow break it—difficult, because it's a very strong borosilicate glass encased in hard plastic—simply letting the gas disperse would be fine as tritium is a naturally occuring element in small quantities anyway.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Indiana Cojones

[WH]

They sound cool to me, but there are those who will dislike them. No matter what you do, there will always be nay-sayers.

[+Airmapper]

WH must have messed with one, HE'S GREEN!!!!!!!! I wonder if he glows in the dark as well.

 

As long as you don't put RADIOACTIVE on the side I doubt anyone will know.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Airmapper

[+aka Monkey]

They sound cool to me, but there are those who will dislike them. No matter what you do, there will always be nay-sayers.

Then I hope these same ignorant nay-sayers throw out the smoke alarms in their homes, because most smoke alarms contain Americium-241, a much more radioactive substance.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Indiana Cojones

[+Teamhawaii1981 & blueicyrose]

I picture the Simpsons X-files episode with Mr. Burns as an alien. Only the glowing green figure emerging from the woods won't be saying, "I bring you love." It will be saying, "Man, I just wanted to pad my TB numbers!"

[+Kit Fox]

Too bad you can't legally buy them here.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/11/20/th..._about_tritium/

 

Many have expressed outrage that we are not able to ship the GlowRing overseas, demanding an explanation. Well, the facts are these: the GlowRing contains radioactive tritium gas. It's this which excites the phosphorescent coating inside the tube to produce the light. What it doesn't excite much are the US authorities, who forbid the civilian use of radioactive material. Hence the embargo.

[+aka Monkey]

"What it doesn't excite much are the US authorities, who forbid the civilian use of radioactive material. Hence the embargo."

This isn't accurate. You can buy tritium watches almost anywhere, and also tritium sights for firearms. I wonder what the difference is?

 

Tritium Gun Sights

Tritium Watch

Edited October 12, 2005 by Indiana Cojones

[+Kit Fox]

"What it doesn't excite much are the US authorities, who forbid the civilian use of radioactive material. Hence the embargo."

This isn't accurate. You can buy tritium watches almost anywhere, and also tritium sights for firearms. I wonder what the difference is?

 

Tritium Gun Sights

Tritium Watch

I'm no expert, but I assume the problem is that their is quite a lot of Tritium in the light, whereas there is very little in watches and gun sights.

 

If I could, I'd own one also, problem is they appear to be quite expensive.

[+aka Monkey]

If I could, I'd own one also, problem is they appear to be quite expensive.

Actually, not so much. If you notice in my initial post I stated that they weren't (ahem) "readily" available in the US. I ordered one for around $14, including shipping.

 

One word: eBay.

[+Greymane]

It is also used to produce exit signs and a wide variety of other products (right here in the US).

[+Team Red Oak]

I think a glowRing would be a good idea for a TB. However, I bought my kids Swiss Army knives when they were in 1st grade so they could widdle out their very own Pine Wood Derby cars. So maybe I'm not the best judge for what is good and not so good.

[+hmarq]

If they weren't so hard to come by and relatively expensive they'd make good night cache markers too ... "Follow the reflective tacks to point X ... OK, now turn out your lights, yes all of them and search for the final marker"

[team tisri]

They sound cool to me, but there are those who will dislike them. No matter what you do, there will always be nay-sayers.

I had one of these until a friend of mine (the friend who gave it to me, incidentally) put his under a Geiger counter and watched it go ballistic. As he said, putting something throwing out that much radiation in your trouser pockets might not be doing any favours to the next generation.

 

Mine now sits in a drawer and hardly ever sees the light of day. As a travel bug I'd say they were harmless enough but I wouldn't use one as a keychain any more.

[+aka Monkey]

They sound cool to me, but there are those who will dislike them. No matter what you do, there will always be nay-sayers.

I had one of these until a friend of mine (the friend who gave it to me, incidentally) put his under a Geiger counter and watched it go ballistic. As he said, putting something throwing out that much radiation in your trouser pockets might not be doing any favours to the next generation.

 

Mine now sits in a drawer and hardly ever sees the light of day. As a travel bug I'd say they were harmless enough but I wouldn't use one as a keychain any more.

Remember that it's producing weak beta radiation, which is extremely safe. As has been pointed out in this thread, the radiation isn't even strong enough to penetrate your skin (although it'll make a Geiger counter freak). Unless you have a Geiger counter in your pants, I wouldn't be too worried.

 

Remember that the sun produces huge amounts of radiation. Radiation itself isn't bad, it's the type that matters.

Edited October 12, 2005 by Indiana Cojones

[+jadeskyline]

Tell someone who has lived on a nuclear submarine----I'm more afraid of people and the govenment than I am of any little radiation.

[Team Firebird]

"What it doesn't excite much are the US authorities, who forbid the civilian use of radioactive material. Hence the embargo."

This isn't accurate. You can buy tritium watches almost anywhere, and also tritium sights for firearms. I wonder what the difference is?

 

Tritium Gun Sights

Tritium Watch

I'm no expert, but I assume the problem is that their is quite a lot of Tritium in the light, whereas there is very little in watches and gun sights.

 

If I could, I'd own one also, problem is they appear to be quite expensive.

In comercial duty fire exit signs, there are high quanitys of tritum gas in easily breakable glass tubes. They are redilay avalible, and you have to have no permit to buy them. There is enough tritum in them to cause substantial illness if the tubes are broken. There is probably so little tritum in the glorings that it is not even worth mentoning!

[+Sagefox]

I suppose they'd be pretty popular travel bugs to steal, though.

I think you've got a good point here. All my travel bugs with cool hitchhikers mysteriously disappeared.