#HobbyNuke

Aidan McMillan, 12, of Dallas operates his DD Farnsworth Fusor in December 2025.

A calibrated "Bonner ball" neutron survey meter indicates about 5 mrem/h from the fusion neutrons. With a little math, we can determine that the fusion reactions are producing about 150,000 neutrons per second.

Another December highlight: 12-year-old Aidan McMillan's hobby Farnsworth fusor in Dallas, producing around 150000 neutrons / second from deuterium fusion, built over three years of effort. He has great mentorship, especially regarding safety, which is obviously important for kids. #HobbyNuke

A pretty spicy Cs-137 Spark Gap tube!
Unfortunately all the markings have rubbed off so I’m unable to identify it but based on the high doserate, I’m guessing the original activity was 5uCi!
If anyone has info on this tube, let me know!
#hobbynuke #nukesky #radioactivity #nuclear #radiation #cs137

Could you inflate a balloon with an incredibly active alpha source? #HobbyNuke

The trip to Pribram is going very good so far!
#nukesky #hobbynuke #Czech #Uranium #minerals #radioactive #nuclear #ore

Neat little source I got to hold.
A vintage Tc99 source, and thanks to Tc99's very long half life, this guy is essentially new still.

With a starting point of 0.224uCi it's now not far off with a estimated 0.2239uCi left.
This guy has a mylar window, and is a purely beta decay.

#hobbynuke

New toy is running, just needed some power supply work.
This guy originally was designed for 8 yes eight D sized batteries.
So I put a internal gel cell, since it needs a 12v activation voltage (pulling one out of eberlines playbook huh?), and a 120v socket.
#hobbynuke

In todays video we take a look at SE international Ranger meter and if it is any good!
#hobbynuke #nuclear #radiation #geigercounter #radioactivity #geiger

youtu.be/DzdkKkz98KM?...

Picked up a nice vintage Metlox cup yesterday, and it came pre-seasoned. #hobbynuke

A cool uranium glazed tile table at the local antique store. #hobbynuke

My fellow radiation nerds! Today we take a closer look at the mineral called Apatite and why it can sometimes be radioactive!

#nukesky #hobbynuke #radioactivity #mineral #radioactive #nuclear #thorium #science #geology
youtu.be/nQ7nbI-nXf0

Amazon battery packs fit, just a little modifying on the belt sander.
Wire loop is to help in removal of pack from meter.

#hobbynuke #Ludlum

After a long pinout the 9DP lives.
I did not want to spend $130 on a battery pack, so made my own 🤷‍♂️.
#hobbynuke

Lead Castle Upgrades 😃

Today the copper sheets arrived for my lead castle to help with shielding XRF. I was positively suprised that even 1mm of copper was pretty much enough to get rid of most XRF!

Next I need to cut out a hole for my probe and make a lid!
#hobbynuke #nukesky #gammaspectroscopy

Gamma Spectroscopy of dried Mushrooms

While grocery shopping, I found some dried Polish mushrooms and decided to scan them with my spectrometer. After a few hours, a clear 662 keV peak appeared—Cs-137 from Chernobyl fallout!

#hobbynuke #chernobyl #nuclear #radiation #physics #fallout #spectroscopy

My fellow radiation nerds! Today we are diving deep into the radioactivity and uses of Lutetium isotopes (176 & 177).

#hobbynuke #nuclear #science #radioactivity #radiation #radiotherapy #physics #geigercounter

youtu.be/XFzH3Rx69cY?...

Welp they look good, and get the job done.
Centering trays for my efficiency sources on my sample counters.
~Ludlum is Alpha, Eberline became a Beta counter.

On a side note I highly doubt I'll make them out of acrylic, that sucked.
#hobbynuke #eberline #Ludlum

#hobbynuke

Be careful with your hobbies. If you need to collect special nuclear material you may want to reconsider.

A Krypton-85 source from an old AN/PDR-27R radiac. Kr-85 is very useful for gamma spectroscopy calibration as like Cs-137 it has a single, medium-energy photon at 514 keV. #hobbynuke

My fellow radiation nerds, join me as we explore the radioactivity of Lead-210
#hobbynuke #radioactivity #nuclear #radiation #Uranium #Radium #science #physics

youtu.be/icEQMg50MMk?...

Selling a Radon meter by Airthings
Price: 120 Euro + shipping with DHL from Germany

The meter is in pretty much excellent condition and is just a few months old. Perfect for anyone who has collection of uranium minerals or radium items.

PM for more details 😉

#hobbynuke #radon #radiation #nuclear

The БИРИ-2 (BIRI-2), one of the smallest dosimeters ever made. #hobbynuke

My fellow radiation nerds, join me as we look for radioactive antiques at a flea market!
#hobbynuke #nukesky #radioactive #antiques #fleamarket #geiger #radiation
youtu.be/9bd-fSkWU-8

Now kids dont take candy from strangers,
But what if it comes from a cool science company based out of the states?

#hobbynuke

Found some uranium sea glass with @physgun1.bsky.social last night! Would highly recommend beachcombing at night with a powerful UV light. #hobbynuke #nukesky

The Eberline PIC-6A Portable Ion Chamber. With a range of 1 mR/h to 1000 R/h, it features a dry propane proportional tube as well as a logarithmic scale.

This meter was used to search for the debris of the Kosmos-954 satellite which spread radioactive particles over the Northern Canada.
#hobbynuke

I'm in this Ludlum M9 ionization chamber for desiccant change out, this gives me a great opportunity to show you the chamber itself.
Ludlum uses completely machine PMMA chamber coated in colloidal graphite (Aquadag).
#radiation #hobbynuke

Some reading suggests a sound card and audio cable would work for MCA/PRA. Does anyone know if there is a micro usb to audio cable that would work (the ones off amazon dont appear to be suitable). Would two sound cards be needed? One for the D3S and one for the computer?

Thanks

#hobbynuke

Some reading suggests a sound card and audio cable would work for MCA/PRA. Does anyone know if there is a micro usb to audio cable that would work (the ones off amazon dont appear to be suitable). Would two sound cards be needed? One for the D3S and one for the computer?

Thanks

#hobbynuke

If you yavent heard of this I do not fault you.
This is a Ludlum Measurements model 182 Radon Flask probe.

A fancy name for a dark box with a 5in pmt.
I use it for crystal testing.

#radiation #scintillation #hobbynuke

My fellow radiation nerds! Join me as we take a closer look at one of the most budget friendly scintillator probes and whether it is any good!

#hobbynuke #geigercounter #bicron #nuclear #scintillator #radiation

youtu.be/klb3_8CaEFg?...