Does Anything Radioactive Actually Glow Bright Green?

[@Nerdles15]

I can count the number of times I’ve experienced Cherenkov radiation in person on one hand: it’s 12.

[@countzero1136]

Underappreciated comment - high five!

[@Nerdles15]

@@countzero1136 high twelve!

[@countzero1136]

@@Nerdles15 :D

[@MattGarZero]

+5 internets

[@ThatNerd-x2h]

Brilliant 👏🏼

[@Willy_Tepes]

A bit of trivia: When a Soviet submarine ran aground near Stockholm in Sweden, the Soviets claimed that the radiation measured by Swedish inspectors on the outside of the submarine came from the crew's radium painted wrist watches and not from nuclear weapons onboard.

[@larsrons7937]

That was the "Whiskey-on-the-rocks" incident near Karlskrona (not Stockholm). The soviet Whiskey-class submarine S-363 hit a rock and had to surface in the archipelago outside Karlskrona, where a very important Swedish naval base was and is located. S-363 lay stranded for 10 days on the island of "Senoren" (I had family there). What Wikipedia does not tell is that this part of the archipelago was not only "swedish waters" and only 10 km's from the naval base, but was actually a "military zone". Even on the civil islands inside the zone, and in the waters surrounding them, only Swedes were allowed, so as Danish we were not allowed to visit our family there. When we did anyway (in a Swedish family members car), we totally "shut up" when near other people so that nobody would take notice. So the Soviets were absolutely not allowed in this area - it was a military zone.

[@Willy_Tepes]

@@larsrons7937 Yeah, it was a long time ago. Many beers and brain cells ago.

[@pauld6967]

Years ago a colleague of mine and I had the opportunity to acquire some souvenirs. He quickly abandoned the item that he had selected once I pointed out that it came from a Soviet nuclear submarine. Both of us aware of their, by American standards, lack of shielding.

[@larsrons7937]

@@Willy_Tepes LOL, no problem. I just happened to have my family living there, so it is harder for me to forget. Cheers!

[@nick8907]

Sweden:watcha got there Russians: a smoothie

[@PitFriend1]

Ah, back in the innocent days of radiation. I still have a silver dime my mother got as a souvenir at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. What made it a souvenir was that they irradiated it and put it in a leaded glass case. Which didn’t seem to stop radiation getting out from it as it set off a radiation detector badge I held near it over 50 years after she got the thing.

[@adubz54]

You should probably get that check out and put in a proper case lol

[@richpryor9650]

So you did the American thing and said "Eh, it'll sort itself out"

[@C4CH3S]

@@richpryor9650 you are not wrong. It will eventually become non radioactive

[@themagnificentwhiskerbiscuit]

@@C4CH3S Once it has eaten you alive by radiation cancer and also even maybe the ones who hold that item next and that may not ever know, they may suffer the same fate, but... I can insure you sir, it will just fade away...... Eventually!?!🙉😂

[@C4CH3S]

@@themagnificentwhiskerbiscuit ah well you see, I never had humans in the equation. 😂

[@TheKalaxis]

I would think the glowing green rod Homer is handling in the opening credits of every Simpsons episode cemented the idea in the minds of a whole generation who grew up watching that show in the 90s

[@OnlyKaerius]

See also: the radioactive sludge in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc.

[@Vasharan]

_IN ROD WE TRUST._

[@willmfrank]

See also: Any variety of Kryptonite in the Superman franchise.

[@Rod_I._Rigo]

Let us not forget: The Toxic Avenger!

[@Mephitinae]

@@OnlyKaerius Wasn't the mutagen purple in the first few episodes?

[@DanteYewToob]

Something I’ve wondered and even posted to Reddit with no good answer is this: Why are western and American depictions of poison, and dangerous chemicals green and glowing, and eastern and Japanese depictions of poisons and dangerous chemicals is always purple. From cartoons and movies, it’s always glowing green goo! Fallout games are a good example. In Japan, it’s always purple, purple poison type Pokémon, the dubious food that hurts you in Zelda is purple, in anime poison is always purple… Why? This has bugged me for a long time.

[@TBJ1118]

Because of reasons

[@lukaszgier]

You had to, didn't you? Thanks for a couple of sleepless nights wondering why poison is green in USA but purple in Japan XD

[@lamar6297]

Yellow is actually poison color so

[@wmdkitty]

Bright greens, blues, and yellows make sense -- a lot of things in nature that are poisonous have bright colors to warn away predators. But purple?

[@mitchjohnson4714]

Weird. When I was a kid I made up all kinds of ninja lore and I had this really powerful magic sword from Japan that was cursed and was called simply "the purple sword." If it touched any part of you it would start spreading this purple rot through your body in a matter of seconds that would completely consume and kill you. I didn't know anything about Japanese culture.

[@karlajaeger2082]

1930s guy: "Radium condoms! Now I can satisfy you in the dark!" 1930s lady: "You can't in the light."

[@adamc1966]

Cervical cancer by direct application I guess :)

[@PPSadlon1973]

@@adamc1966 Not to mention testicular, prostate, & penile cancers

[@countzero1136]

At least she'll be able to see him coming... Yeah I'll get my coat... :)

[@PPSadlon1973]

@@countzero1136 Hopefully it's a lead lined coat.

[@CatsMeowPaw]

The video is quite right about radium paint on old watch dials being no longer glowing, but still very radioactive. Visit any antique store and wave a geiger counter at the clocks. All made before about 1970 are quite radioactive, but they don't glow. This is a bit of a trap for people who think because it doesn't glow any more, it must be safe.

[@andljoy]

I mean they are mostly safe anyway as long as you dont eat it , or keep the watch up your arse or something. Any long haul flight would expose your whole body to more radiation that the tiny bit of radium in the watch.

[@RosiePosey5150]

You can also find glassware that's very radioactive ☢😄😉

[@erinfinn2273]

Though if you repair the phosphor layer (repaint it) it will regain it's glowing properties.

[@wellesradio]

@@andljoy And it WAS a long haul flight back from Da Nang with that uncomfortable piece of metal stuck up my ass. I was more afraid of the radiation I was being bombarded with than anything that watch could give me.

[@allangibson2408]

The green glow doesn’t come from the radioactive components. It comes from the phosphors mixed with it… the phosphors do break down with time and oxygen…

[@corod-1]

Imagine being 5 in the 30s and finding a container of Radum paint, I know I would have painted everything with it...

[@lyleslaton3086]

And you would still be glowing.

[@francoislacombe9071]

Something like that happened in Brazil in 1987, when an abandonned medical device containing cesium-137 ended up in a junkyard, where it was dismantled and its glowing radioactive content widely distributed as a novelty item. Four people eventually died and hundreds made sick by the substance.

[@bmay8818]

@@francoislacombe9071 That's happened a number of times! And some of the radioactive sources were never recovered, and some were mixed into recycled steel. There's a KZbin channel called Plainly Difficult that covers things like that.

[@sarcosmic6982]

@@bmay8818 intrigued. Thanks for the channel namedrop

[@monkofmayhem1373]

@@sarcosmic6982 i second that namedrop, great channel!

[@lauriepenner350]

Driving through Montana, a few years back, I was amazed by the number of billboards advertising radioactive hot springs and caves as some sort of miracle cure. In the 21st century.

[@geoffreypiltz271]

The picture used to illustrate radium jaw is actually a picture of a girl with "phossy-jaw" contracted while using white phosphorus to make matches. The bones of people affected by white phosphorus poisoning would glow greenish-white in the dark. Have you covered this subject previously?

[@JohnCooper-gm6mn]

I came down to the comments to make the same point but I see you beat me to it. The two conditions result in remarkably similar issues. The matchgirls who suffered with Phossy Jaw fought for almost a century to get the condition officially recognised, even striking at one point. Their plight was cited in the lawsuits brought against radium paint manufacturers, and played a large part in speeding up the amount of time it took for Radium Jaw to gain similar recognition (still took too long though).

[@eddiegusslerii7975]

It's been a while but yes, he covered it in a video.

[@jayhansen4918]

Sounds like you should cover it lol

[@martijnburer]

@@eddiegusslerii7975 there must come a time where he covered everything right?

[@petevenuti7355]

I cought that too, seemed like a reasonably comparable end morphology to justify use of the same stock photo, even if the physiology isn't exactly the same. Another Phuny thing , phosphorus makes a green glow too!

[@K4rm4ness]

That curl in Simon’s beard is like a light to a moth. I cannot unsee it.

[@LennyJenss]

Damn why did you have to point it out

[@estudiordl]

Damn you!!! 😅😅😅😅

[@Backatitagain14742]

Damnnnnn

[@squiggymcsquig6170]

Oh, thanks a lot!!! Here I was happily paying attention and watching the photo inserts, totally oblivious to that stupifying curl, and then you come along.

[@doanst3r]

i noticed it immediately glad im not the only one

[@beagleissleeping5359]

I remember being a kid and having something that glowed in the dark, and it had a label saying, "Does not contain radioactive materials." I thought good to know but why would anyone knowingly use radioactive materials?

[@davidlawrenz2061]

There are lantern mantles with thorium in them. All are manufactured overseas, but we use them to train first responders in radiation surveys because a person can place it under their close, the dose is completely negligible and the survey meters can easily find them at close proximity. I work for a state radiation control program we regulate and inspect radioactive material users. Most states have a program like that, the states that don't have their users regulated directly by the NRC. I really love my job and get to see a number of awesome medical and industrial facilities every year.

[@215dagby]

Yes. Tritium. Though mostly phased out, it was a common source of radiolumenescence in military equipment.

[@215dagby]

Nickel 63 as well. That’s found in chemical agent detectors the military uses. I’ve had to deal with the transport of gear containing radioactive isotopes through US Customs. Real fun stuff. Customs is bad enough as it is.

[@Cheepchipsable]

"Radioactive" is a bit broad. Airbags and smoke detectors contain radioactive material, but don't expect to grow a third limb. There is plenty of background radiation, even bananas.

[@papabird4425]

Did you watch the video?

[@MotoHikes]

"I bring you peace. I bring you love."

[@darthhatchet775]

It brings love! Kill it!

[@kl0wnkiller912]

Lol... I wonder how many know the reference.... "Release the hounds!"

[@darthhatchet775]

@@kl0wnkiller912 probably not very many lol 😆

[@SRW_]

Break its legs!!

[@enumaelish9193]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/foOspWVjqbyenac thanks for reminding me about this.

[@Nefville]

I'm picturing that scene from Robocop where one of the bad guys drives his car into a huge drum of toxic waste and his clothes and skin start melting and falling off. Then he gets hit by the main bad guy with his car and it's like a huge water balloon filled with red sludge exploding on the windshield. Great times when I was 8 watching that movie.

[@plasticflower]

Yeah haha, the way he limps along a couple of steps before getting run over also adds a lot to it. I, too, was horrified by a couple of scenes from Robocop as a kid. I wonder what the movies are that kids these days have nightmares about...

[@TheCimbrianBull]

@@plasticflower two girls, one cup

[@chouseification]

the dude that got "splashed" (Emil) was played by Paul McCrane; when that actor showed up on ER I kept secretly hoping he would be killed off in a similar manner :D Here's the Robocop death kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHubnp5-iticjrs

[@Markle2k]

@@plasticflower I got to see the X-rated version in the theater. When the XD-209 murders the executive in the boardroom because it doesn't realize he put down the gun, it went on for such a ridiculously long time the audience just had to laugh. Which was the desired effect. That version of the scene is on KZbin somewhere. Age-restricted, of course.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

_"Dead or alive, you're coming with me!"_

[@claymccauley]

In case anyone is confused by something traveling faster than light, it's because the speed of light in a medium like water is slower than in a vacuum. So, basically the charged particles being emitted by the radioactive material are traveling faster through the water than light could and their interaction with the water at that speed is what causes the blue glow. Pretty cool!

The confusion is when one assumes "faster than the speed of light [in a particular medium]" means "faster than c."

[@giannapple]

I was!!! This is the answer l was looking for!

[@SunBear69420]

Ty based answer god

[@LRM12o8]

1:36 Fun Fact: in German they're called "Röntgenstrahlen", so actually Röntgen rays, even though Röntgen himself called them in fact X rays. But hearing you say the name Röntgen makes quite clear to me why "Röntgen rays" never caught on internationally...

[@ZAV1944]

Röntgen is also a unit of measuring Radiation I believe?

[@petriheino4252]

It is called Röntgen also in Finland

[@Redhotsmasher]

Ditto in Swedish, Röntgenstrålning.

[@Lunch2391]

x-strahlen doesn't sound as bad as* as x rays though xD I didn't know Röntgen himself called them x rays

[@jonathannelson103]

In Russian as well. A Roentgen is an x-ray.

[@magnanimus9692]

I have a vial of radioactive tritium (hydrogen-3) on my keys that glows light blue which really helps me find them in dark rooms or when fishing around for them in dark bags. And no it is not harmful to my health.

[@jimurrata6785]

Same for my pistol sights.

[@KTJMProductions]

@@jimurrata6785 Nothing says we've secretly peaked as a species like radioactive pistol sights

[@ufc990]

@@KTJMProductions Those have been around for forever

[@kylegreene1356]

Until you break it in your pocket and it soaks into your epidermis.

[@jimurrata6785]

@@KTJMProductions tritium ampules were first popularized because of that application

[@Redskies453]

Interesting fact about Roentgen, he was the origin of the term 'nuclear family'. He had a wife, house in the suburbs, 2.6 kids, the whole deal. Unfortunately his wife died in a car accident when the children were quite young, leaving only 3.6 roentgen. Not great, not terrible.

[@cavalierliberty6838]

God dammit.

[@PPSadlon1973]

@@cavalierliberty6838 Gallows humor: It might not a funny subject, but one can still have a funny reaction to it.

[@cavalierliberty6838]

@@PPSadlon1973 i mean, i did have a funny reaction to it, several, i counted 8 on one hand.

[@bradley163]

There is some secret ooze that 4 crime fighting turtles and a fugly rat that knows ninjitsu know a thing or two about.

[@ericsacks5731]

🙄 actually... they don't practice king fu which is a Chinese martial art of self defense, they practice ninjutsu which is a Japanese martial art of espionage, assassination and thievery.

[@bradley163]

@@ericsacks5731 fixing it now. I knew I screwed up somewhere😔

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Heroes in a halfshell - turtle power!

[@ericsacks5731]

@@bradley163 lol no worries mate

[@Cheepchipsable]

@@ericsacks5731 so, wait - a group of genetically mutated animals living in a sewer practising martial arts is fine, but "OMFG IT NINJITSU! Stick to realty please!"

[@GreggBB]

The blue color created in cooling pools is absolutely beautiful.

[@anunentitledmotivatedmille7731]

88 666 999

[@WAHLS]

Agreed, I've seen it in person at a few sites around the UK.

[@columbus7950]

Saw it first in a Swimming pool reactor. Beautiful. At one time we cooled neutrons on one beam line by passing it through a hundred feet of liquid hydrogen. Try getting approval to that nowadays.

[@gilian2587]

It's the same effect that particle physicists try to look for in projects like the Japanese Super-Kamiokande for detecting neutrinos.

[@exidy-yt]

The Cherenkov Effect has been noted in the air several times as well. Someone in the comments mentioned the Demon Core that both Louis Slotin and Ben(?) Dalglish saw when they accidently sent the core prompt critical, and also during the Goiania incident in Brazil, the scrappers who broke into the radiation source of Cobalt-60 said they were attracted by the blue glow they saw coming off the beads, as did the kids who subsequently played with the stuff in the dark, before dying horribly.

[@xyzxyz8850]

that isnt cherenkov, air emits blue light when it is ionised.

[@exidy-yt]

@@xyzxyz8850 (sigh) I knew that. No clue how I completely forgot it. Brainfart to the max.

[@KairuHakubi]

I love how today it's "does radioactive stuff actually glow?" but back in the day it was "Does that pretty glowy stuff we're making glass out of actually give off some kind of radiation?"

[@IAmTheRiverKing]

I'm studying at a Glas making school and we have some Uraniumglas behind some Leadglas and it already glows if you just turn down the lights a bit, so it doesn't even need to be really dark.

[@dennisanderson3895]

B/c of the luminous dials, I was reminded of Marvel's 1984 "Generic Comic Book" [when generic everything was becoming big] - a teenager had a *massive* collection of glow in the dark models and items...slowly absorbing radiation from them each night...until one day he with generic superpowers. It was a tongue-in-cheek, fun comic. I kind of miss the phosphorous glow in the dark feature many items carried.

[@haribo836]

"fun" fact, the fast majority of radioactive waste is protective clothing, like aprons and gloves, and tools used in the manufacturing process and use of radioactive isotopes in healthcare. It is however the radioactive waste that is save after a few years, at most a few decades.

[@Jaysin412]

Vast*

[@medexamtoolscom]

Of course. If it was HIGHLY radioactive, they could just dump it all in a big container together and use THAT as a power source to drive a new type of nuclear power station, a radioactivity power plant. It's because it's just not radioactive enough for this, that it's useless.

[@averagejoe112]

It's only very slightly radioactive (or not at all) and it's usually not worth cleaning it.

[@haribo836]

@@averagejoe112 True, it's not the highly radioactive stuff like used fuel rods that will continue to be dangerous for centuries or longer. But if you hear things like the amount of radioactive waste being produced or stored per year, quite often they take the higher number that includes all the low radioactive waste. Don't know exact numbers, but the high radioactive waste only makes up for a few percent of the total.

[@averagejoe112]

@@haribo836 yup, vast majority is basically only anti-cs and survey material. I thought it was something like 80+% as low level waste, then a out 10% was medium level waste, like spent resin, valve parts, some pressure detectors, and the rest

[@sketchesofpayne]

Even in modern day, remember: don't lick your paintbrush! Even if you're using allegedly non-toxic paint.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Everything is toxic, just a matter of dosage.

[@petevenuti7355]

@@Cheepchipsable allegedly

[@overredrover9430]

Ever hear about dihydrogen monoxide? One of the deadliest chemicals according to statistics and very abundant

[@petevenuti7355]

@@overredrover9430 except California (not really, just doesn't get a special label for CA)

[@romankalinchuk2750]

So many no bell prizes you'd think they'd make a bell by now

[@JosephEGlaser]

the curl at the ends of Simon's beard is hypnotically compelling

[@8BRInteractive]

Even tritium is no longer that popular, because it basically makes for relatively bulky markers. Other materials, like Luminova (and its successor, Super Luminova) have become the norm; they're not radioactive or toxic, but they rely on being "activated" through exposure to light. Then, when you put them in a dark place, they glow, but the intensity and the duration seems to depend on the size of the luminous marker and the amount of luminous material deposited therein. For instance, the lume on a dress watch like the current Longines Flagship glows for about ten minutes after having spent a few hours in the light.

[@desiv1170]

Next, are you going to try to convince me that toxic waste dumping doesn't always result in 3 eyed fish???

[@Paulafan5]

That idea came from frogs having extra limbs.

[@allanbaer3456]

One small issue - the photo of shown of sabin von sochocky is in reality an 1865 picture of the Russian chemist (and famous composer) Alexander Borodin (right down to the bowtie). There's only one other picture of von Sochocky that a Google search turns up (in a magazine article authored by himself). There seem to be a lot of Borodin as von Sochocky pictures out there - lesson: once inaccurate information enters the web it's impossible to correct.

[@JUMALATION1]

I have seen Cherenkov radiation with my own eyes, it looked super cool. It made the cooling pool glow turquoise :D

[@jarekmace1536]

I had one of those radium watches while I was in the army. It didn't look it in daylight, but it was bright enough to read by once your eyes adjusted to full dark.

[@OneNvrKnoz]

I would have thought that comics had some sort of influence on people’s perception of radioactive glow

[@jasonreed7522]

There is a concept called "Cartoonish Clarity" which is basically that when drawing/animating a scene you exaggerate alot using common symbols so the audience knows exactly what you intend. This give things like: Radioactive green glow Coyote Time (must look down to fall) X-Ray flashes when electrocuted And more Basically watch Tom & Jerry for an infinite list of examples of Cartoonish Clarity.

[@Paulafan5]

@@jasonreed7522 Comics and cartoons probably got the idea that radioactive materials glow green because of the Radium paint. Even the Simpsons have glowing green radioactive materials.

[@wmdkitty]

@@jasonreed7522 That needs to be a trope.

[@mozquiff1155]

19 of Smithers' sock accounts disliked this video.

[@d.k.barker9465]

I still have a watch where the hours glow green. It was given to me by my Mother in around 1957. At the time I also had a small plastic cross that always sat at the head of my bed. It glowed green and was quite bright, such that you wouldn't really need a nite-light to see around the room. Neverless, I'm...OK...OK...OK, ...I think.

[@bradfordhatch5085]

I had one of those watches myself as a kid growing up in the mid 1960s. I thought the glowing dials were so cool. Oh we were so naive back then.

[@Cheepchipsable]

@@bradfordhatch5085 I don't think anyone has ever had their hand drop off due to the radioactivity of the watch dials. More about the cumulative effects most likely.

[@bradfordhatch5085]

@@Cheepchipsable I never said anything about hands dropping off, so I don't know where you got that from. But yeah cumulative effects would be what I was thinking of anyway. Did have colon cancer in 2009 but I have no idea what could have caused that. Could have been anything; including too much red meat (also more likely afaik).

[@F_L_U_X]

I watched Kyle Hill's video about the "Demon Core" yesterday, which led me to find and watch the movie Fat Man and Little Boy. There's something really fascinating/spooky/macabre about the Cherenkov Radiation and critical mass... From the Radium Girls to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to The Tsar Bomba... Some say the world isn't over until the Sun rises in the West...well folks, there it is...

[@paulherman5822]

I'm a gas-filled tube, so I have to wonder if there's anything inside that glows... 😁

[@rickc2102]

Only when no one's looking. Quantum bowel illumination.

[@quimblyjones9767]

Cute

[@codybohyer1107]

Cheeky, but there are no gas filled tubes that glow.

[@paulherman5822]

@@codybohyer1107 Have you not heard of neon tubes? It's technically radiation, light radiation, as opposed to nuclear. 😁

[@jasonspades5628]

WHAT THE HELL????? Your script is always perfect. Your editing is always tasteful and minimalistic, and your lighting is quite possibly the best lighting of ANY KZbin channel. Who in the hell does your AWESOME lighting and background??????????????

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Q: Does anything radioactive actually glow bright green? A: I don't know, I'm color-blind

[@thelastcrusader8140]

As a fellow color blind, yes. My favorite tritium.

[@trevordoeshalloween5994]

I was expecting the start of the video to say hey vsauce, Michael here...

[@Pub2k4]

American, here…. Night sights on a firearm are typically outfitted with a couple of atoms of tritium and a phosphor. The electrons emitted in the radioactive decay of the tritium causes the phosphor (usually zinc sulfide) to glow.

[@Ojisan642]

8:25

[@ghiggs8389]

So guns can kill without someone firing them.

[@Pub2k4]

@@ghiggs8389 No. There’s only a few atoms of tritium. Throughout the entire radioactive half-life of tritium, there’s less radiation released than what a person would receive from having a single chest X-Ray.

[@Pub2k4]

@@ghiggs8389 “Tritium is a very low energy beta emitter and even large amounts of this isotope pose no external dose hazard to persons exposed.” -Yale University Environmental Health and Safety ehs.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/radioisotope-h3.pdf

[@ghiggs8389]

@@Pub2k4 cool, thanks for the info. Killed my joke but it did teach me something I didn't know. Right on.

[@stevefranks6541]

Greetings, Uranium glass was regularly used in the making of glassware in the old days. It was first found in a yellow-green glassware sold under the name of Vaseline glass in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The glass glows bright green under a black light, indicating it contains uranium. I collect Jadeite glassware. It was a very popular color of a type of Depression Era glassware. At least three or four popular glass companies produced and sold it. It is a beautiful pistachio colored glass still prevalent in Antique Shops. During the Great Depression, they sold entire lines of Jadeite kitchenware like mixing bowls, salt&pepper shakers, storage containers for sugar, flour, tea, &etc. Fire King sold several patterns of dinner plates, cups&saucers, vases, &etc. Early Jadeite also glows green when exposed to a black light. The very first Jadeite piece I bought was a very large and thick mixing bowl which fitted a 1915 electric mixer I bought. Its original aluminum 3-bowl set was long gone and that heavy Jadeite mixing bowl was the only thing in the antique shop that would fit the mixer's "lazy Susan" base. Well, I was soon "infected" by Jadeite's charm. I was hooked and bought a lot of the stuff since! Depression glass was a cheaply made product that was affordable, yet pretty, and was sold during the Great Depression. Its production quality would not pass muster in today's quality control due to flaws in the glass making process of the day. As a collector, that is part of its charm. Jadeite was also given away as a premium in bags of flour and oatmeal at the grocery. Movie theaters often gave away sets of dinner plates as a gift. An encouragement to come to the theater. Going to the show was a luxury during the Great Depression. Jadeite has a fascinating history. Despite the obvious uranium content in Vaseline glass and some Jadeite, it is completely safe to handle and eat off of.

[@wanderinghistorian]

"It's caused by the particles traveling faster than light." "I thought nothing could go faster than light?" "Well no but also yes."

[@IlluminatiBG]

Misconception: Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light; Misconception: Nothing can travel faster than light; Correct: Nothing can travel faster than light in vacuum; Details are important.

[@IlluminatiBG]

Nothing can be observed to travel faster than light in vacuum.

[@PPSadlon1973]

@@IlluminatiBG The speed of light is not constant. It's affected by medium. The speed of causality is constant. Light in a vacuum travels at the speed of causality. Despite early measurement errors, so do neutrinos and other massless particles.

[@isakjohansson7134]

TAKYON!!!

[@draketungsten74]

@@PPSadlon1973 neutrinos have mass.

[@nothanks3236]

Just south of Albany, Georgia is a small town called Radium Springs. A natural spring there pulls up water from underground aquifers through rocks that have a high concentration of radium. A resort hotel was built next to the spring and it was advertised as a health resort during the heyday of "radioactive medicine." Today you can visit the spring, but they don't let people swim there anymore obviously. The spring flows into the Flint River and then on to the Gulf of Mexico.

[@gregc2467]

My big question is,why is Simon's beard look like,he's halfway through eating a small long haired mammal ?

[@frglee]

When WW2 military plane instrument dials and electrical parts were scrapped by the Rosyth navy dockyard in Scotland, many of the radium dials were dumped along the coast nearby, notably and scandalously near the public beach at Dalgety Bay in Fife, which was contaminated by radioactive particles (even a microscopic particle, if ingested, can cause cancer). The beach has been shut for many years and clean up work finally started in 2021.

[@AmaroqStarwind]

In _Black Mesa,_ the fan-made remake of the videogame _Half-Life,_ during the training sequence (known as the "Hazard Course" it is mentioned that the radioactive waste in the facility is actually treated with phosphors to make it glow, that way people know right away not to go anywhere near it without adequate protection.

[@testickles8834]

Cant imagine why cancer rates sky rocketed after that

[@jesusfon5619]

My pistol has tritium sights, glows green for at least 12 years.

[@Cheepchipsable]

So in that 13th year you will be less effective as a shooter...*marks calender*

[@lookoutforchris]

@@Cheepchipsable you send them back to the manufacturer to recharge them with new tritium gas.

[@awolfalone2006]

When I was in high school I was part of a group of students that were lucky enough to tour the Idaho National Laboratory including the storage tanks and EBR building. There was visible uranium fuel in the bottom of some of the tanks. It gave off a dim blue.

[@Balthorium]

Cherenkov radiation

[@esteban8840]

8:30 imagine that as a watchmaker I have to work around these every days

[@bobthompson4319]

The radium paint is what David Hahn used in his reactor to get things going........out of control.

[@donkeyboy585]

If memory serves witnesses at Chernobyl reported a blue glow coming from unit 4

[@wades623]

The radiation was ionizing one of the elements in the air. Oxygen or nitrogen I forget which one is blue though

[@ginnyjollykidd]

I grew up with Big Ben clocks that glowed in the dark. Yup, my family was exposed to it.

[@vilhelm697]

Heisenberg

[@Saint_nobody]

You're goddamned right!

[@vilhelm697]

@@Saint_nobody lol

[@darthhatchet775]

@@Saint_nobody beat me to it 🤣

[@carltonleboss]

I am the one who knocks

[@overredrover9430]

4:50 So let me get this straight - the Radium Luminous Material Corporation was founded (1941) after it was renamed to The US Radium Corporation (before 1920) 😲. Thinking numbers in the script should be in words to avoid misreading. One would think a paradox had occurred 🤯

[@kuronosan]

6:45 That's a photo of a dude with phossy jaw

[@geoffreypiltz271]

Correct. Victims bones would glow greenish-white in the dark.

[@darkerarts]

Wasn't there reports of radiation glow above Chernobyl when it melted down?

[@painfultruth1846]

Yes and the "scientists" who discovered the elephants foot also claimed that it emitted a bright green glow. They also shot at it with AK's and i can't not tell people this fact

[@gilian2587]

@@painfultruth1846 If true... the elephant's foot shot back.

[@almightyk11]

I just want to say how much I appreciate these essay video that start with the answer, then go into the detail.

[@r.l.royalljr.3905]

I'm pretty sure the reason "radiation" is green in major media is because human skin/blood contains multiple red and blue components but no natural yellow/green components. Green light on skin looks unnatural (see also: green filter in the Matrix movies). Toxic radiation is widely misunderstood by the masses, so to make it relatable, filmmakers made it a green glow to represent it being so weird and unnatural (and that it does unnatural things to people who are affected by it).

[@allangibson2408]

Real radioactive glows are blue… (due to Cherenkov radiation). This occurs when a charged particle exceeds the local speed of light (the speed of light in a vacuum is constant - it varies in pretty much everything else).

[@lorenjones3662]

When I was in the Navy, we had a "Radioactive Material Leak" in the parking lot. It was Prestone II antifreeze.

[@Logan.]

Tritium first comes to mind, used in night sights on my guns

[@alexisrivera200xable]

The beta particles that tritium emits are not able to penetrate your skin so its considered safe as result unless you actually ingest them. Alpha particle sources like radium on the other hand punch right through and go on to damage internal tissue so they are harmful just by being close to it.

[@countzero1136]

@@alexisrivera200xable beta particles can penetrate your skin but can't penetrate the glass that the tritium is contained within. alpha particles (such as those emitted by plutonium) cannot penetrate skin though which is why plutonium in its basic metallic form is pretty safe to handle. The problem is that its surface oxidises rapidly and forms a fine dust which can be ingested either through food intake with contaminated hands (gloves are definitely in order) or by breathing the dust. Once inside the body, the alpha particles can and do wreak havoc on the soft tissues, usually resulting in various cancers and other chronic conditions

[@muninrob]

Uranium glass also glows characteristic green under blacklight.

[@JoshStLouis314]

I thought the radium quackery was going to tangent off into a Business Blaze-esque rant. Mmmm, I prefer my drinking water irradiated in a pot with uranium/radon, makes me feel absolutely *radiant*

[@Markle2k]

As long as the glaze is intact, that's fine. The alpha radiation won't actually do anything to the water. It's just helium. Glassing up nuclear waste (pottery glaze is a kind of glass) is actually one of the proposed ideas for making spent nuclear fuel uneconomical to turn into a weapon or even a dirty bomb.

[@nellim9239]

Hi, do you use revigator ?

[@labanyu]

I wanna see bald dude be a contestant on Jeopardy.

[@georgemetcalf8763]

Whaddya mean The Simpsons is a less than reliable source for what the radioactive glow resembles?

[@Daemonworks]

And for anyone not already familiar, the radium craze was the cornerstone of Fallout's pre-war worldbuilding.

[@bxdanny]

How did the image of glowing green sludge come to dominate our collective perception of radioactivity? Could comic-book depictions of the fictional green kryptonite have anything to do with it?

[@Cheepchipsable]

Probably off the back of uranium fluorescing under blacklight. This was probably the firs demonstration of it back in the day. New and media picked it up. A bit like people thinking if you stick a rag in a cars fuel filler and light it the car will explode.

[@brick4353]

Pretty sure my grandparents have a clock with radioactive paint on it. It still glows, just barley, but it used to be much brighter.

[@adam7347]

*Looks at tritium night sights*

[@rickc2102]

My CZ's are all green, but my buddy's Sig has green front and yellow rears, pretty nifty.

[@adam7347]

@@rickc2102 I love a tritium front and blacked out rear.

[@waynegoddard4065]

The Nob le prize. That trophy you find once you’ve unwrapped a Frenchman’s trousers.

[@hullinstruments]

Finally! Something I actually know about!

[@kateapple1]

Says the guy who runs a guitar place? 😂 I’m sure you know a lot about guitars!

[@hullinstruments]

@@kateapple1 Sadly not just a guitar nerd, I’m also an electronics engineer and radiology nerd. I’ve got the whole nerd package wrapped up

[@texhunter1820]

I had a neighbor who had been an instrument repair man for aircraft during WW2. He said he always carried his vial of radium paint to mark dials on aircraft instruments in his shirt pocket so he wouldn't lose it

[@thatoneguyinthecomments2633]

Think the green glow meme comes from uranium as it fluoresces that color under a blacklight.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Probably the way it was demonstrated in the early days, and the association has just stuck.

[@maksphoto78]

There's also blue air glow caused by ionisation of air by radiation. Such blue flashes occured at "criticality accidents" such as with the Demon Core, and there was a strong glow over the Chernobyl reactor.

[@juneyshu6197]

We saw some oive on line at fuku.

[@LiveHedgehog]

R A D I O A C T I V E C O N D O M S

[@fhuber7507]

1980s, you could buy glow in the dark condoms in at least 3 colors.

[@Cheepchipsable]

@@fhuber7507 Probably still can.

[@countzero1136]

@@fhuber7507 Hopefully these will contain either zinc sulphide ot strontium aluminate rather than radium! Probably zinc sulphide as I don't think strontium aluminate was available back in the 80s - but I could be wrong about that

[@LordPhobos6502]

It's worth pointing out that the radium girls were *instructed* to lick their brushes, to keep the points sharp. Doing so killed them slowly and painfully.

[@jimidoodles]

Why do we think radioactive stuffs green (points at Simpsons)

[@countzero1136]

Nah I read comic books when I was a kid back in the 60s and anything radioactive was always green back then too, and that was a few decades before Homer grabbed his green rod (ooer missus)

[@rustusandroid]

When the uranium spheres were accidently dropped together at the Manhattan Project, there was a bright blue halo glow for the duration.

[@FishFind3000]

Well being that I have tritium night sights and they glow in the dark… I’d say yes

[@-Jethro-]

But it’s not the tritium glowing. As with radium, it’s a coating inside the glass tube.

[@diychad7268]

@@-Jethro- there is no glass tube involved in the sights, look up the sights on a Sig Sauer p365 and you'll get a good idea for yourself

[@janehughart9290]

My mother recently bought some Uranium glass at a garage sale from an old lady in her 90s. It almost feels like something that should be illegal to own but apparently it’s actually safe to have in your house.

[@marialiyubman]

The witnesses from Chernobyl said that after the top of the reactor blew off, there was a beam of blue glowing light, so… 🤷‍♀️

[@Khalrua]

It wasn’t a beam, more like a glowing area of ionized particles in atmosphere, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionized-air_glow

[@JoshIIDaIIBossIIXII]

i got a question for the scientists, How do they know things have half lifes in the thousands of years ? how do you know that after like 30-50-100-500 years, the rates of decomposition doesn't increases or decreases ?

[@simonruszczak5563]

By the unbiased probability of each individual radioactive isotopic atom's chance of decaying.

[@Gottaculat]

Pretty much every gun owner who's even slightly researched guns before purchasing one knows the answer to the title before watching it is "yes." Tritium night sights are freaking great!

[@charlese2329]

:29, Most Depleted Uranium does not come from reactors. Depleted Uranium is the byproduct of enrichment, it's everything left over after they've removed all the U235. >Sometimes< it comes from processing spent fuel, but mostly it comes from enrichment.

[@Jay-qb9gi]

No. Plutonium lights in a blue glow.

[@Markus-zb5zd]

Only when critical

[@AsmodeusMictian]

Radium laced condoms. "Well they wouldn't put it on the market if they hadn't tested it, right? Geeze...you're so paranoid..."

[@leoalcaraz6153]

Soooooo what you’re saying is that radioactive ooze wont turn me into a green superhero or turn my pet turtles into crime fighting ninjas ?

[@gusgreen3104]

Check out the old footage of when they were dumping radioactive waste in West Lake Landfill. Sparkly cool looking.

[@rogueviking9268]

Anyone else wanting for a random "Danny, NO!" to make it into one of the other channels? #OGBB #FlogDannyForLongerIntros #ReleaseTheNKCut

[@moegardner1]

Willemite fluoresces under ultraviolet. Lots of other calcite minerals do. Dad had a huge collection of minerals, and I remember going into a uranium mine near Kinmount Ont, and the place lit up like crazy under black light.

[@MrLuckeastwood]

Tritium

[@marcusjay8103]

Cheers fact boi! I thank you for my new knowledge 🙏 All hail the blazing fact boi!

[@fhuber7507]

Certain interactions of radiation are called "light" The green stereotype comes partly from thick leaded glass viewports that naturally are green tinted. The high lead content glass allows looking without getting a dangerous radiation exposure.

[@pecfree]

That was a case in Brazil in the 80s where cesium 137 was exposed from an x ray machine. People in the city said it looks green fluorescent. So yes it glows

[@countzero1136]

I think that was Cobalt-60, which actually glows a sort of turquoise blue/cyan rather than actual green

[@nellim9239]

Which city was it ? thanks

[@johnmorgan1629]

Radioactive waste glows, if The SImpsons taught us anything it was that.

[@bateman2112]

Having lived in southeastern Washington I just picture the Hanford site when asked to picture radioactive waste. "Hey should we maybe note down where we buried all this irradiated crap?" "WE TALKED ABOUT THIS DANNY!"

[@cognitivedissidents4642]

Gamma rays are green. Hulk smash!

[@saltyfox7056]

In the 3 mile island incident someone wen down into the lower level to see what was going on and they found it flooded, they took up a sample of it in a glass container and saw it was glowing and vibrating.