Seems most of its radiation is Alpha - which was the type suggested.

There's a clue in the name - "ionisation chamber".

Yep -- it's a strong alpha emitter (which is what you want for what it does) and doesn't emit a lot of other stuff (though some, of course).

I used them as a proxy for radon decay because the Am-241 alpha particle energy is about 10% less than that of radon, which meant that if I could detect Am-241 at the edge of my physical shield that I could detect radon out to that distance as well.

Plus, it was easy to get them and I didn't have to jump through the accountability hoops that I did for registered sources such as Po-210, even though they are about 80 times as active as the one polonium source I had. Furthermore, with a half-life of about 432 years, I didn't have to worry about them going bad.

There were older ionization detectors that used Am-241 sources at about 80 microcurie.

 

Perhaps because the nerves are dead?

The body can build up a tolerance to the shocks (maybe because of dead nerves - or fried brain cells!).

 

The body can build up a tolerance to the shocks (maybe because of dead nerves - or fried brain cells!).

Or maybe... you're actually beginning to like it!

 

The nice thing about Alpha particles is that they rarely penetrate a sheet of paper, let along your skin. It may be the tamest ionization radiation source available.

A smoke alarm probably wouldn't help much with static charge unless you did a bit of dismantling then.

There were at one time mildly radioactive sources on the market for ESD handling.

 

The body can build up a tolerance to the shocks (maybe because of dead nerves - or fried brain cells!).

I've often wondered what would happen if you slapped defibrillator paddles on the sides of someone's head.

 

I've often wondered what would happen if you slapped defibrillator paddles on the sides of someone's head.

Let us know how that works out for you! If we don't hear from you, we'll know.

 

An old solution is to touch things with a key. The energy transfer is the same, but the key acts as a contact surface area multiplier.

You can buy certified ($$$) anti-static coating in a bottle; you wipe it on the work surface with a rag. Diluted Downy works just as well (people actually tested this in the 70's). There still has to be a contact point for a wire or path to earth ground, but that is a constant in all surface management.

ak

Any spray cleaner with ammonia leaks charges away, but isn't permanent - polishes with silicone make it worse.

 

Let us know how that works out for you! If we don't hear from you, we'll know.

I was hoping for a volunteer - when can I expect you..................

 

Or maybe... you're actually beginning to like it!

Never got to like the shocks that came with TV repair - but it came to the point of not bothering me so much.

 

My first 40 hour job was on 27KV TV's but those chronic static shocks are irritating to the point that you become angry with yourself every time you forget to ground out the charge properly. It's just a darn nuisance, and it comes and goes with the weather, so you have to keep changing your habits from day to day.

It was easier in Southern California where static is a constant. You develop behavior patterns and they work consistently.

The inner and outer conductive coating on a CRT flare forms the EHT reservoir capacitor.

Apparently the glass polarizes in some way or other so that the charge recovers after you've shorted it - the times that bit me weren't exactly rare.

 

I've often wondered what would happen if you slapped defibrillator paddles on the sides of someone's head.

It's called electroconvulsive therapy and it's not nice.

 

The inner and outer conductive coating on a CRT flare forms the EHT reservoir capacitor.

Apparently the glass polarizes in some way or other so that the charge recovers after you've shorted it - the times that bit me weren't exactly rare.

Many ordinary capacitor dielectrics do this too. Beware high voltage caps.

 

It's called electroconvulsive therapy and it's not nice.

I got the idea from a terminator spin off series - Sarah Connor did it to a Terminator which took long enough to re boot for them to get away.

 

Many ordinary capacitor dielectrics do this too. Beware high voltage caps.

Someone gave me a collection of 2.5kV caps - they were all handed over with bleed resistors across the terminals, which I didn't bother removing.