I have here 2 slugs of Am241 (.7 micro curies each).

they emit Alpha particles and are widely used in many Smoke Detectors.

I`ve done alot of research into HOW they actualy work using search engines over the last year or so. I still have no more than a VERY vague idea

 

I`ve been trying all this time to get SOME sort of usable energy from these slugs, examples:

 

I made my own Sodium Iodide (supposed to glow on exposure)

same with Zinc sulphide and Calcium sulphide.

no glow

 

I`ve tried charging Leyden jar capacitors with the alpha particles, nothing

 

I`ve even kept one in a sealed vacume tube for 2 years and periodicly passed a high voltage through it to look for tell tale helium emissions, still nothing

 

anyone else got any experimental ideas that may get some use out of these?

I know this is an old post but, but have you had any luck over this time?

"I have here 2 slugs of Am241 (.7 micro curies each)."

 

I hope you don't use curies anymore. Heil SI-system!

 

And if you still haven't found out how they work in smoke detectors, here's the deal:

 

Mr. alpha crashes into Mr. oxygen. "F U!" says oxygen and becomes ionized. A current passes through the ionization chamber of the detector. Then, Mr. smokeparticle comes to visit the chamber. The electrical current stops, as the smoke (or whatever) particle doesn't conduit electricity. Detector says "beep beep".

 

And if you're wondering why they don't work (in the aspect of making certain sulphides glow), there is a VERY minimal amount of americium-241 in those slugs (I assume they are slugs taken from smoke detectors, thus being even less than 1% americium-241). If you want glow, try mixing radium bromide and zinc sulphide.

yeah i know how they work, just wondering if had any luck making it glow, lol.

 

id love to make my own glow rod.

Any one know anything that if u pass some voltage through it it then glows?

i know borax with high voltage will work with aluminium, but im not wanting to mess with the mian power, lol.

steel will glow when you pass electricity through it

lol. i was thinking more along the line of glowing like a fluro tube rather than by heat.

edit: Electroluminescent