Negative Ion Crap...Actually Radioactive - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 05:31:14 pm
content: Darwin at his finest...We've gone full circle, from idiots thinking cellphones are bad, to people thinking random nuclear radiation is good (like he said, just like radium way back when). Some people probably believe in both.Yes, these things should totally be banned in the civilized world, the problem is people are too ignorent to realize it's a problem...I guess let Darwin take his victims.

author: Yansi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 06:25:02 pm
content: Have you actually seen how little radiation it produces?

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 07:00:07 pm
content: They're probably useless, however mildly radioactive sources are harmless, I have a whole collection of radioactive objects. I would not eat them or carry one of the hotter ones around in my pocket all the time but it would be ridiculous to ban them. The inverse square law means you don't have to get very far away from a low level source for it to be completely safe.Nothing triggers irrational fear in people like the word "radiation". I remember someone ripping out granite countertops in a house they bought over fears of it being radioactive. Technically it is, but you'd need a very sensitive instrument to measure it and you'll get a much larger radiation dose by just going outside. Nevermind the larger still dose you get while flying on an airplane.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 07:34:38 pm
content: Some of the dose values shown are not that low anymore. So It would not kill most of the people wearing them, but possibly a few. It is still a little controversial, but the usually picture is that there is no threshold for a safe radiation level with radioactive radiation. The simple picture is more like a chance of getting cancer proportional to radiation. Depending on where you like these items could increase the radiation level by more than a factor of 2 and possibly put someone wearing it 24/7 above the level permitted for workers in a nuclear power plant or other professional use of radiation.Thorium particle that can be inhaled are another problem. Modern gas lamps no longer use thorium for this reason.In the US (especially California) one needs a warning label about possible cancer dangers on nearly every item - so likely a really big one for these items.

author: Yansi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 07:46:40 pm
content: Quote from: Kleinstein on February 19, 2020, 07:34:38 pmQuite strong words friend.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2020, 09:30:07 pm
content: Quote from: Kleinstein on February 19, 2020, 07:34:38 pmIt's actually the same warning regardless of the level of danger, which means that it's completely useless. A warning on everything tells you nothing, and if you are selling a product it's safer to put the warning on items you know are safe than to risk selling something that contains some minuscule quantity of some substance later shown to be harmful in massive quantities. Prop 65 was created based on good intentions but in practice it is a complete joke that gets snickers from people all over the world.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 02:17:54 am
content: After Chernobyl some boffins went and had a look at the wildlife that still lived there and found them to be remarkably healthy and unaffected. It seems that small doses of radiation prime the body to do repairs, so it's actually better for you than none at all. Kind of like (but obviously different in mechanism) growing up in a clean environment can lead to susceptibility to germs in later life.So... these things might actually be pukka if they are triggering the DNA repair mechanism that would otherwise be taking a crafty fag round the back of the sheds.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 02:21:05 am
content: Random google result (no idea how 'proper' it is):https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q12304.html

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 09:40:31 am
content: It's not purely the fact that they are radioactive, it's the fact that it's radioactive jewelry, clothes, sheets, and even a damn dildo (which you are also supposed to stick in water, that leads to gross implications alone) all of which can emit radioactive dust and in the case of the dildo has a poorly secured unsealed lid which when unscrewed exposes radioactive powder.Radiation is perfectly safe if used properly, like in a smoke detector, where it doesn't emit dust, and is on the ceiling well away from your body. But this is just plain abuse of radioactive material. No, it won't cause immediate radiation sickness, but as mentioned it's all about dosage, and these things are deliberately designed to expose your body to unregulated amounts of radiation (even if not immediately dangerous), for extended periods of time. Use enough of the crap and the likelyhood of something bad happening increases every day.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2020, 02:54:18 pm
content: The radiation level are not as bad as the readings from the Geiger counters suggest. It is only locally a relatively high radiation level (maybe except for the blanket if impregnated with a lot. Still this is no excuse shipping contaminated material with bogus claims.Quote from: dunkemhigh on February 20, 2020, 02:17:54 amA positive effect from radian is highly controversial - there are claim, but largely unproven. For the DNA it is better to not need repair than to exercise the repair mechanisms - errors during those repairs are what is supposed to cause cancer. Difference from the immune system there is no learning training in the DNA repairs.The nature does reasonably well around Chernobyl, as most animals have a natural reproductive life time of well under 30 years. So they don't accumulate as much radiation as a human would. There are some radiation damages visible - but those sick animals usually get eaten rather fast. Unless one looks really careful one would not notice the wolfs only reaching half there normal age - they may even look more heathy as they are younger on average.

author: Deodand2014
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2020, 09:35:02 am
content: Back in 2015 they were calling these things 'Quantum Pendants', but the magic ingredient, Thorium 90...In 2013 they were called 'Scalar Pendants'......all that's changed over the years is the design stamped on them.

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2020, 09:54:00 am
content: Quote from: Deodand2014 on February 21, 2020, 09:35:02 am90 is the atomic number of thorium, which tells us nothing about the isotope used and its half life, which can be anything from 25 hours (where it would most likely trigger all sorts of alphabet agencies, and certainly never reach consumers, for various reasons) up to 14 billion years (where it is the entirely harmless).

author: JamesPatterson
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 22, 2020, 09:57:16 am
content: I'm no expert, but if radiation is mild, there's no foul play. Let's face it, we live in a toxic enough environment as it is, negative ions are the least of our worries. First, let's fix the issue with air and water quality and scarcity, and then worry about minor issues like this one.

author: mcovington
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2020, 01:45:41 am
content: If "there is no safe level" then we can't even live, because potassium, which we require in our bodies, is mildly radioactive.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium#Isotopes

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2020, 08:42:12 pm
content: What "there is no safe level" means is that there is no level of radiation that can be conclusively determined as being absolutely safe. That is because there are so many factors and harmful effects of radiation can show up decades later with no way of knowing whether or not the radiation had any part in it.It doesn't mean that even low level radioactive sources are dangerous, it just means there's no possible way to determine an absolute threshold where radiation goes from "safe" to "dangerous". At any rate radiation is everywhere in the environment, there is no possible way to get away from it, it is an integral part of our universe contributes in some ways to the process of life. Exposure to powerful sources should be limited but there is no reason to fear mildly radioactive items, just don't be stupid.

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2020, 08:14:57 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on February 23, 2020, 08:42:12 pm"Fear" is a strong word. I don't see a reason not to avoid even mild radioactivity, if possible. DNA damages does add up, after all.But then there are lot of smokers out there, inhaling Polonium, so I guess a readioactive pendant does not really matter

author: richnormand
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 25, 2020, 10:16:08 pm
content: Look up how much radiation you might get as a frequent flyer, from your No_Salt diet salt substitute, radon in your house, medical CAT scan, natural background, etc.......Charts are easy to get from a quick search...

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2020, 11:37:49 pm
content: Yeah a CT scan gives a *massive* radiation dose compared to most other sources the average person is exposed to, enough IIRC to result in a measurable increase in lifetime cancer occurrence just from having one of them. Often the medical benefit outweighs the risk however it's certainly something to keep in mind if you are considering getting one.Even bananas are slightly radioactive due to the potassium they contain, however I think you'd need a lot of them and a very sensitive instrument to detect it.This is a comic so should not be regarded as an official source but the data presented is generally correct.https://xkcd.com/radiation/

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 06:13:50 am
content: You can detect the radiation coming off a banana with a normal Geiger counter iirc, I think Fran demonstrated this on Franlab

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 08:23:28 pm
content: I can't with mine. Maybe a pancake tube detector could?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 08:35:03 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on February 27, 2020, 08:23:28 pmWhat is that?

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2020, 09:05:43 pm
content: Wait till the audiophool crowd finds a use for these.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2020, 09:14:42 am
content: The radiation boosts the energy of the whole sound, making it really pop out of the speakers!

author: Deodand2014
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2020, 01:10:36 am
content: Quote from: Circlotron on February 27, 2020, 09:05:43 pmThe Japanese tried to sell plates impregnated with thorium dioxide to smokers back in the 1990s, claimed the radiation would reduce the nicotine and tar content of the cigarettes while improving the tasteThe Nico Clean Tobacco Cardhttps://www.orau.org/PTP/collection/quackcures/nico.htmNAC Platehttps://www.orau.org/PTP/collection/quackcures/nacplate.htm

author: coldfiremc
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2020, 05:19:07 pm
content: I have one of those stickers. I will store it in a metal can.