Re[2]: Radium's Use in Medicine

[FRAMEP@ORAU.GOV]

          Bruce:

          Neat device eh!

          You might want to check out a paper by Ed Landa "
          Radioactive and Nonradioactive Solutes in Drinking Water
          from Rn-Charging Devices" Health Physics Vol 54 #1, p99.
          He measured the output from a number of these devices
          including the Revigator. What ends up in the water depends
          to a large extent on the quality of the water that is used.

          The AMA had a policy between 1916 and 1929 that they
          wouldn't approve such devices unless they generated more
          than 2 uCi of Rn/l water within 24 hours. The Revigator
          didn't measure up. Nevertheless, over 100,000 were sold in
          California alone (the price in 1929 was $29.50). Health
          authorities in LA became so cocerned about these sorts of
          things that they approached Robert Millikan at CalTech ca
          1932.  He put his student Robley Evans on the project and
          the rest is history.

          The patent date was actually 7-16-12 and was taken out by a
          German, Curt Schmidt, but not for the Revigator per se.
          (they also exploded the first a bomb on July 16 if that
          means anything) If you are interested I can send a copy of
          the patent and Revigator sales brochures.

          I was talking to Evans yesterday and he
          had little info about radium dials to add to what has
          already been said. He said that the most common adhesive was
          gum arabic and that you could tell how old the paint was by
          the size of the ZnS crystals: they start out large and break
          up over time due to the radiation damage. The activators
          varied from one manufacturer to another and were trade
          secrets.

                    Regards and salutations

                       Paul Frame