ILLUMINATED ROD TIPS

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:46 am

getting hold of Tritium will be quite hard, as it is a low yeild, beta emitting radioactive substance.

I have contacted a UK dealer in luminesence paints and coatings, requesting if they stock a product that will:

a) withstand the flexing of a rod during casting/retrieve
b) be applicable to the types of materials used on fishing rods (esp as they are predominantly hi gloss finish)
c) be able to withstand exposure to Mother Nature in extreme conditions (as we all fish in Cold, Wet, Salty , Hot, Humid, Direct Sunlight etc etc etc )

Hopefully they can come back with an answer.

VR

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:31 pm

Viffer, thanks for the thought, and good of you.

Don't go to any expense on my account, only if the subject interests you.

There's a couple of blokes at the end of our street, they glow all over like the Weetabix kids when they eventually come out of their flat to pop into Maplins, but I can't ask how they do it because they don't speak English, effendi. On that improper note, please don't anyone go inviting attention from the authorities with enquiries to companies about supplying radioactive stuff. MK

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:40 pm

MadKev wrote:

There's a couple of blokes at the end of our street, they glow all over like the Weetabix kids when they eventually come out of their flat to pop into Maplins, but I can't ask how they do it because they don't speak English, effendi.

Probably Ex Russion Nuclear Power Station workers :lol: :lol: :lol:

Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:55 pm

VFR, you got a PM.

Out.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:48 pm

Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen, used in research, fusion reactors and neutron generators. The radioactive properties of tritium are very useful. By mixing tritium with a chemical that emits light in the presence of radiation, a phosphor, a continuous light source is made. This can be applied to situations where a dim light is needed but where using batteries or electricity is not possible. Rifle sights and exit signs are two examples of where this phenomenon is commonly used. The phosphor sights help increase nighttime firing accuracy and the exit signs can be life saver if there is a loss of power. The radioactive decay product of tritium is a low energy beta that cannot penetrate the outer dead layer of human skin. Therefore, the main hazard associated with tritium is internal exposure. In addition, due to the relatively long half life and short biological half life, tritium must be ingested in large amounts to pose a significant health risk. In keeping with the philosophy of ALARA, internal exposure should be kept as low as practical.

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:52 pm

Tritium, as a form of Hydrogen, is found naturally in air and water. Most hydrogen is made up of one proton, and an orbital electron, but tritium has two extra neutrons in the nucleus. In nature, it is produced by cosmic rays in two source terms:
14N + 1n ---> 3H + 12C :lol:

and
2H + 2H ---> 3H + 1H :lol:
Cosmic rays interact with nitrogen (14N) or with deuterium (2H) and form tritium and carbon (12C). These are primarily interactions that happen in the upper atmosphere and the tritium falls to earth as rain. The unit curie is a measure of an amount of radioactivity. A curie (Ci) is the amount of a radioactive substance that has 3.7 x 1010 decays per second. The world wide production of tritium from natural sources is 4 x 106 curies per year with a steady state inventory of about 70 x 106 curies. The amount of tritium found in a typical rifle sight is about 0.012 curies and is human-made. Human-made tritium is generated by bombarding hydrogen with neutrons in a nuclear reactor or an accelerator (MLM-3719, 1991).
All atoms are composed of a center nucleus surrounded by shells of electrons. The tritium atom (3H) is unstable because it has two extra neutrons in its nucleus. These neutrons give tritium an excess amount of energy. Because of this, the atom will undergo a nuclear transformation or radioactive decay. In this, the atom emits two radiations: a beta particle (ß -), which is similar to an electron, and an anti-neutrino.

3H --> 3He + ß- + anti-neutrino 8O
This reduces the energy in the nucleus and the atom, now a helium atom (3He), is left more stable. The anti-neutrino is of no biological significance because it does not interact with matter.
The beta is non-penetrating with a maximum energy of 18.6 keV and an average of 5.7 keV. This is a low energy beta compared to most radioactive beta emitters and it can be easily shielded. The outer layer of dead skin is enough to stop all of the beta external of the body. Only if tritium is taken into the body can it produce a significant dose.

Tritium has a single electron the same as the more abundant forms of hydrogen. This causes tritium to react chemically to form compounds in the same manner as hydrogen. The two primary forms that personnel will likely to be exposed to are HT (which is similar to hydrogen gas) or HTO (tritiated or heavy water). Of these two forms, the HTO is the only form that is a significant exposure hazard. HT gas is inhaled and exhaled with only of 0.005% of the activity being deposited in the lungs. The uptake of HTO vapor is near 100% for inhalation and ingestion. Tritium can also enter the body by absorption through the skin or open wounds. Skin contact should always be minimized to prevent absorption. Tritium will also be absorbed into materials such as gloves, clothing and metal. If not properly controlled, these contaminated materials can present an additional exposure source by releasing tritium when in contact with skin.

HTO is in the form of water, so one to two hours after an uptake, it will be evenly distributed through out the body's fluids. The amount of time it takes for half of the activity to be physically removed form the body is the biological half life. The biological half life of tritium varies significantly because of variations in bodily excretion rates, temperature dependence and fluid intake. Biological half-life of tritium is about 9.4 days, often rounded to 10 days. This can be shortened to 2-3 days (Fig 1) with ten fold increase of liquid intake (2 liters to 20 liters), or in serve cases to 4-8 hours by using dialysis machines. does this solve the problem madkev 8)

Guest

Spot the chemistry undergrad! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Guest

DuncBooth5 wrote:

Spot the chemistry undergrad! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Spot the Cutter & Paster from the Idaho State University Website!!!

Guest

Or just go fishing in the day time .... 8O

If you want night fishing, simply wear some sun bed eye protectors - or better still - a welding mask.

:lol:

Guest

Now thats my idea of sun screen-an asbestos suit and a welders helmet! :lol: :lol:

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:01 am

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha good one

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:02 am

Update on the luminous paint - the supplier has gone off to ask his R&D dept the questions I have posed - see what comes back eh?

Rich

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 4:11 pm

Thanks for that, beats my collection of old and broken rods and junk paints lying around.

Smashed my Grauvell tele rod last week, replaced so now I've got three more spare tips to experiment with.

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 5:17 pm

Well got a reply from www.glowtec.co.uk

Quote:

Hi Richard.

You should find that our paints are suitable for use on your tackle
providing you lay down a suitable white primer first. As regards resistance
to water and the elements, again our paints are designed to be resilient to
such conditions, the only caveat being wear n tear, in which case you should
apply Starglow top-coat to help protect the coating.

We have sold this paint to many fishermen for the same / similar uses and we
have not received any complaints yet.

Rich

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:54 pm

Sorry, not ignoring anyone, been away & busy. (Viffer, chain broke on the Beemer as exiting motorway! Doing a full service now.)

Thanks re glowtec, I will get in touch with them once other things calm down for me. Perhaps they can let me have a tester pot, I haven't looked at their site yet. I shall report any results. MK