Thorium Mantles as Check Sources

[Tad Blanchard <Tad.M.Blanchard.1@gsfc.nasa.gov>]

If you have a calibrated instrument and attach a lantern mantle to it and
immediately log the contact reading (or at a measured distance), why
wouldn't this be a good "operational" check source.  

The Thorium won't lose much activity over time (14,100,000,000 half life).

It seems this would be a relatively inexpensive check source that would not
require regulatory agency involvement, routine inventories, leak tests, etc.





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