Re: Re[4]: smoke detector overkill

[pward@iastate.edu]

Radioactive starters for fluorescent lights are becoming more common
nowdays.  The new very rapid start units which screw into regular
incandescent fixtures have a miniscule (microcurie) amount of radioactive
material, usually promethium, to preionize the gas and make the starting
process almost instantaneous.  The radionuclide is a relatively low energy
pure beta emitter which can't be detected outside the glass envelope.  If
you read the very fine print on the tube, they are required labeled with the
nuclide and nominal activity.  
---
Paul Ward
pward@iastate.edu
215 Nuclear Engineering Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011
(515) 294-0746, (515) 294-9357 FAX