Spinthariscope
{{Short description|Device for observing individual nuclear disintegrations}}
Image:Spinthariscope.jpg brand "Atomic energy" chemistry experimentation set]]
File:Spinthariscope UMONS.jpg Faculty of Engineering ("Polytech Mons") at the beginning of the 20th century.{{Cite web|last=AXIOCOM.be|title=Le spinthariscope, un petit objet à l'histoire étonnante !|url=https://mumons.be/piecesdumois/est-ce-un-jouet-un-morceau-de-microscope-une-loupe-non-cest-un-spinthariscope-le-premier-detecteur-de-radiations-au-monde/|access-date=2022-01-15|website=MUMONS|language=fr}}]]
A spinthariscope ({{IPAc-en|s|p|ɪ|n|ˈ|θ|ær|ɪ|s|k|oʊ|p}}){{cite Merriam-Webster|spinthariscope|access-date=2022-01-18}}{{cite LPD|3}} is a device for observing individual nuclear disintegrations caused by the interaction of ionizing radiation with a phosphor (see radioluminescence) or scintillator.
Invention
The spinthariscope was invented by William Crookes in 1903.{{cite journal|last=Crookes|first=William| title=Certain Properties of the Emanations of Radium| journal = Chemical News| year=1903| volume=87| issue=2269| page=241| url=https://archive.org/details/chemicalnewsand29unkngoog/page/n332/mode/1up}}{{Cite web | last = Frame | first = Paul W. | title = The Crookes Spinthariscope | url = https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/spinthariscopes/crookes-spinthariscope.html | publisher = Oak Ridge Associated Universities | date = | accessdate = 2 May 2013 }} While observing the apparently uniform fluorescence on a zinc sulfide screen created by the radioactive emissions (mostly alpha radiation) of a sample of radium bromide, he spilled some of the sample, and, owing to its extreme rarity and cost, he was eager to find and recover it.{{cite book|author=Alfred Romer|title=The Restless Atom: The Awakening of Nuclear Physics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHsKAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=2 May 2013|year=1960|publisher=Anchor Books}} Upon inspecting the zinc sulfide screen under a microscope, he noticed separate flashes of light created by individual alpha particle collisions with the screen. Crookes took his discovery a step further and invented a device specifically intended to view these scintillations. It consisted of a small screen coated with zinc sulfide affixed to the end of a tube, with a tiny amount of radium salt suspended a short distance from the screen and a lens on the other end of the tube for viewing the screen. Crookes named his device from {{langx|grc|σπινθήρ}} ({{transliteration|grc|spinthḗr}}) "spark".{{cite web |url=https://orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/spinthariscopes/index.html |title=Spinthariscopes}}
Crookes debuted the spinthariscope at a meeting of the Royal Society, London on 15 May 1903.{{Cite book|last=Santos|first=Lucy Jane|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1158229829|title=Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium|date=2020|publisher=Icon Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-78578-608-2|location=London|oclc=1158229829}}
Toy spinthariscopes
Spinthariscopes were quickly replaced with more accurate and quantitative devices for measuring radiation in scientific experiments, but enjoyed a modest revival in the mid 20th century as children's educational toys.{{cite journal|author=Bonnier Corporation|title=Popular Science|journal=The Popular Science Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUWZaX5aZpcC&pg=PA86|accessdate=2 May 2013|date=June 2007|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|pages=86–|issn=0161-7370}} In 1947, Kix cereal offered a Lone Ranger atomic bomb ring that contained a small one, in exchange for a box top and US$0.15 ({{Inflation|US|0.15|1947|r=2|fmt=eq}}).Reif, Rita. [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/11/arts/arts-artifacts-trivia-long-ago-serious-treasures-now.html "ARTS/ARTIFACTS; Trivia Long Ago, Serious Treasures Now"]. The New York Times. 11 June 1995.{{cite web |last=Miklós |first=Vincze |date=15 January 2014 |via=Gizmodo |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-terrifying-age-of-radioactive-toys-for-kids-1501777693 |title=The Terrifying Age of Radioactive Toys for Kids}}{{cite web |title=Lone Ranger Atom Bomb Ring Spinthariscope (1947 - early 1950s) |url=https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/spinthariscopes/lone-ranger-atom-bomb-ring-spinthariscope.html |date=5 October 2011 |via=Oak Ridge Associated Universities}} Spinthariscopes can still be bought today as instructional novelties, but they now use americium or thorium. Looking into a properly focused toy spinthariscope, one can see many flashes of light spread randomly across the screen. Almost all are circular, with a very bright pinpoint centre surrounded by a dimmer circle of emission.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
In museums
The American History Museum of the Smithsonian has several spinthariscopes in its collections, and an article discussing them.{{cite web |title=The Spinthariscope and the Smithsonian |url=https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/spinthariscope-and-smithsonian}} However, {{as of|2022|lc=true}} none are currently on display.{{cite web |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search?edan_q=spinthariscope |title=Collections Search Results}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/095/index.html#sample4 Modern spinthariscope]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=dZM3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA174 Elements of electricity: a practical discussion of the fundamental laws and ...] by Robert Andrews Millikan, Edwin Sherwood Bishop, American Technical Society
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