propaul80

the gamma radiation is very week. Why would they even let that americium in your smoke detector then? Its a very small amount. Its not like im handling it anyways.

arg to hard. ok well i know that the americium also gives of maybe about 1000cpm of gamma. Is there any easy to do gamma experiments?

where can i get the sodium iodine from?

Thats a possiblilty, however the glow comes back after a minute. How do u explain that?

Everything u just said I already know. What I want to know is why the alpha particles are discouloring the sticker.

Ya, i kind of figured it had to do with the alpha radiation....but what exactly is going on there. And ya I got it out of the smoke detector.

I have a piece of Americium 241 at .9 microcuries. I placed it on a glow in the dark sticker and in about 30 seconds, the sticker starts to loose its glow. The americium is emitting a strong alpha radiation, but I am unsure of why this is happening. Can anyone fill me in?