Extremely Rare Nuclear Fuel Pellet Displays
The nuclear fuel pellets below that are encased in lucite capture the early days of nuclear energy. The lucite preserves the pellets and ensures that no direct contact occurs.
RBG - Reaktor Brennelemente Gesellschaft (Reactor Fuel Element Company) Manufacturing Process from Ore through Fuel Rod.
Description: The incredible display is from Germany in the late 1960’s. Presumably it was used to illustrate RGB’s fuel pellet production process to prospective customers. It shows the steps in their process starting with Uranium ore and ending with the finished pellets in a fuel rod. Each element in the display is real, and shows significant activity on a Geiger counter. The pellets in the display read about 100,000 CPM with a Ludlum Model 3. The machining of the plexiglass display is impeccable and it consists of three Lucite layers that were cut to fit each component of the display. It is held tightly together with machine screws. We acquired this one-of-a-kind display from Norman Guerrero who found it at an estate sale. Note that the UF6 vial, while very active, is marked “dummy” as it would not be possible to have UF6 gas in the display. Instead, it contains its precursor Yellowcake.
Here are the English translations of the labels on this display.
RBG - Reaktor Brennelemente Gesellschaft (Reactor Fuel Element Company) Manufacturing Process from Ore through Fuel Rod.
The incredible display is from Germany in the late 1960’s and is absolutely the only one of its kind on the market. The machining of the display itself is phenomenal, and the display can in fact can be disassembled via the machine screws in the lucite. Each of the components has a measurable level of activity, and is of tremendous historical significance. A Gamma spectrometer analysis of the pellets in the fuel rod above shows a 184 keV line which indicates U-235, and the 766 and 1001 lines indicate the U-238 daughter nuclide Pa-234m. The 93 line indicates the presence of Thorium. An interesting Argonne National Laboratory analysis of the 184 keV line as an indicator of U-235 can be found here: Application of Scintillation Spectrometry to Research Reactor Fuel Assay
Not for Sale
CANDU Reactor Fuel Plate
CANDU Reactor Fuel Plate
Description: Extremely rare uranium fuel plate from the first CANDU natural Uranium reactor in Ottawa. The Uranium fuel is clad in Aluminum. This fuel element is at least 50 years old. Plates were typically used in research reactors rather than pellets. It was obtained from a friend of Dr. Les Cook who worked in Otto Hahn’s lab during the time that fission was discovered. The CANDU design is in use by many reactors around the world today. The small notch is due to a piece taken out for early cloud chamber experiments. It is 5 cm x 2 cm x 0.5 cm in size. This plate pegs a CDV-700 Geiger counter at 30,000 CPM on contact with the Beta shield open and measures over 100,000 CPM on a Ludlum Model 3 detector with a 44-9 probe placed at the surface of the element.
Not for Sale
Uranium Yellowcake from the Eldorado Mining and Refining Company, in Uranium City, Saskatchewan
Description: This Uranium Yellowcake circa 1950 is from Eldorado Mining and Refining Company, Uranium City, in Saskatchewan Canada. The ampule is approximately 7 cm x 1 cm in size and weighs 11 grams. It measures about 42,000 cpm and 17 mR/hr through ampule using a Ludlum Model 3 counter with a 44-9 probe placed at the surface of the vial.
Not for Sale
Uranium Oxide from 1938
Description: This is a bottle of of extremely rare Uranium Oxide from 1938. The Bottle is 9 x 2.5 cm in size and the weight is 50 grams. This UO2 measures over 50,000 CPM and 15 mR/hr on a a Ludlum Model 3 counter with a 44-9 probe placed at the surface of the vial..
Not for Sale
Barium Radium Sulfate
Description: This Ba-Ra-SO4 is a precipitate that remained after environmental clean-up of in-situ Uranium mining waste from the Smith Ranch Mine in Wyoming. This material contains the Radium that was been removed from the waste. Material ranges from coarse chunks to fine powder. The spectrometer indicates Ra-226 in the material.
Not for Sale
Teapot with Fused Debris from Little Boy Bomb Blast over Hiroshima
Teapot with Fused Debris from Little Boy Bomb Blast Over Hiroshima
Description: This small piece of pottery was collected in Hiroshima by a soldier from Australia in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. It appears to be a teapot that bent and collapsed inward due to the extreme heat and force of the blast with debris fusing onto its surface. Portions of the debris-covered surface of the teapot still show a slight elevated level of radioactivity versus background radiation (about 10%). Analysis by a Gamma spectrometer indicates the presence of isotopes of Europium associated with neutron radiaition from the blast.
Not for Sale
Melted Glass Window Fragment with Inclusions from Hiroshima Blast
Melted Glass Window Fragment with Inclusions from Hiroshima Blast
Description: This fragment of glass was collected by a soldier in the US occupation force stationed near Hiroshima. This soldier reports that he was walking around the “perimeter" of the atomic blast. As he went into a building that was mostly intact, he saw what he described as melted glass "icicles" hanging from a window. This fragment is a piece of one of the icicles.
As would be expected, one side of the glass is an unusual almost smooth white texture, due to the instant effects of the intense heat from the blast. Charred wood, presumably from the window frame, can be seen inside the glass. As with the melted teapot above, analysis of the smooth, white side of the glass fragment using a Gamma spectrometer also indicates the presence of isotopes of Europium associated with neutron radiaition from the blast.
Not for Sale
Unknown Fragment with Fused Debris from Hiroshima Blast
Unknown Fragment with Fused Debris from Hiroshima Blast
Description: This fragment of perhaps some type of conduit has melted debris fused to its exterior. It passed through the Hiroshima Survivor Kiyoshi Kikkawa's famous souvenir shop which was near the Dome in the 1950’s. It is about 2” in length.
As with the other artifacts above, analysis of the fragment using a Gamma spectrometer also indicates the presence of isotopes of Europium associated with neutron radiaition from the blast.
Not for Sale
Custom-Made Atomic Bomb Viewer from the Manhattan Project
Custom-Made Atomic Bomb Viewer from the Manhattan Project
Description: This viewer was made for observers to “safely” view an atomic bomb blast, with its intense release of energy in the form of visible light that was brighter than the sun (only a portion of the energy released by the bomb). The viewer looks and feels heavy and weighs about 4.5 pounds. It seems very well constructed. This device is unique in that it is not the standard goggles typically seen in photos or film records of the project. Note - this device should not be used to view the sun as its exact optical specifications are not known.
Price: $750 Shipping: $15
Extremely Rare C-101-P Plutonium 238 Isotopic Pacemarker (Display Model)
Extremely Rare C-101-P Plutonium 238 Isotopic Pacemarker (Display Model)
Description: This is a non-working display model of one of a very few Pu-238 powered pacemakers that have not been manufactured for decades. Our measurements confirm that, as expected, this device shows no level of activity above background.
Price: $900 Shipping: $15
Set of Eight Unused Pencils with Uranium Ore
Set of Seven Unused Pencils with Uranium Ore
Description: An incredible set of eight unused pencils filled with Uranium ore. The printing on the pencils over the Uranium sample says “Actual Sample Uranium Ore The Start of Atomic Power.” The printing on the main body of the pencils says “ Nucleonics, Chemistry and Electronics Shares, A Mutual Investment Fund Prospectus Available from Your Investment Dealer.”
Our measurements show that the level of activity from any one of the eight pencils is about 20X background (200 CPM) and .4 mR/hr.
Price: $800 Shipping: $15
Antique Container and Case for Radium Needles
Antique Container for Radium Needles
Description: This container was used to carry highly radioactive radium needles that were used for medical purposes. On one side of the container, "Radium Chemical Company, Distributors, Pittsburgh, PA. USA” was embossed. The other side the container reads "Standard Chemical Co. Pittsburgh, PA. USA.” The container is about 7 cm long and it weighs 146 grams.
The container was empty when we acquired it, and it shows no activity above background levels of radiation.
Price: $600 Shipping: $15
Hammer Laboratories Carnotite Standard
Hammer Laboratories Carnotite Standard
Description: Extraordinarily rare Carnotite Standard from Hammer Laboratories in Denver Colorado. The tin, which seems to have never been opened, contains the Carnotite U3O8 reference standard and is also labelled with Radium content. The tin is about 2 inches in diameter and 1 5/8 inches thick. It weighs 43 grams
Surface Radioactivity: The radioactivity of the tin at the surface (unopened) is 20,000 CPM and 7 mR/hr.
Price: $250 Shipping: $15
Very Rare FCDA Item CD V-787 Ten-Day Water Standard
Very Rare FCDA Item CD V-787 Ten-Day Water Standard
Description: The CD V-787 Ten-day Water Standard was manufactured in the early 1960s by Jordan Electronics. Its purpose was to help make a somewhat quantitative evaluation of the activity of fallout in food and water. The Item Specifications note that “The comparison standard is designed for use under conditions of extreme emergency.”
The procedure involved comparing the readings made of a food or water sample with the readings made using the standard. To permit reproducible measurements, the probe could be rested on the edges of the can. If the measurement of the activity in the food or water was less than that made with the standard, it was safe to consume for a ten day period.
According to the Department of Defense item specification, the standard was manufactured by mixing 3.0 grams of uranyl acetate with 5 grams of epoxy resin in a “standard 4 ounce circular seamless ointment tin.”
This item is of tremendous historical value, however it should not be used for testing the radioactivity of food for consumption.
Size of Tin: 8 cm in diameter and 2.5 cm in height.
Weight: 40 grams
Surface Radioactivity: 90,000 cpm at surface of epoxy resin. The output is primarily Beta.
Note: These tins are over fifty-five years old and the one that you receive may be more worn than the one above, some have tape on the surface of the tin, etc. but the epoxy is identical in each tin.
Price: $75 Shipping: $7
Very Rare Uranium Source Food and Water Comparison Standard
Very Rare Uranium Source Food and Water Comparison Standard
Description: These tins contain an epoxy that is green rather than brown, however in all other aspects are identical to the ones above. As noted above, this item is of tremendous historical value, however it should not be used for testing the radioactivity of food for consumption.
Size of Tin: 8 cm in diameter and 2.5 cm in height.
Weight: 40 grams
Surface Radioactivity: 90,000 cpm at surface of epoxy resin. The output is primarily Beta.
Note: These tins are over fifty-five years old and the one that you receive may be more worn than the one above, some have tape on the surface of the tin, etc. but the epoxy is identical in each tin.
Price: $75 Shipping: $7
United Nuclear Corporation Silver Recovery
United Nuclear Corporation Silver Recovery
Description: Rare are unusual slab of silver that was part of the United Nuclear Corporation “Silver Recovery Naval Products Division” dated 1978. Research that we’ve done on this suggests that it was part of a program to recover silver from nuclear reactors.
Size: 2.5 “ cube of Lucite with the silver embedded in the center of the cube.
Surface Radioactivity: Background.
Price: $350 Shipping: $15
Commemorative Coin from Project Gasbuggy Underground Nuclear Test Site
Commemorative Coin from Project Gasbuggy Underground Nuclear Test Site
Description: Rare are unique coin that was at the blast site during the Project Gasbuggy underground nuclear test. This was an attempt at “nuclear tracking” which did release natural gas however it was too radioactive to use. As noted on the backside of the coin, the test took place on December 10, 1967. The coin is reportedly discolored due to the blast itself. A few of these coins were located at the site, and then after the blast encased in lucite. This cube reads background levels of radiation. Some of the coins were in fact bent, and the discoloration is apparently due to the effects of the blast itself. Here is a link on Youtube to Project Gasbubby: Project Gasbuggy
Size: 2.5 “ (6 x 6 x 6 cm) cube of Lucite with the coin embedded in the center of the cube.
Surface Radioactivity: About 125 - 150 CPM.
Price: $500 Shipping: $15
Beautiful Radium Mineral Water Bottle from Germany
Beautiful Radium Mineral Water Bottle from Germany
Description: Incredibly rare green Radium Mineral Water bottle from Germany. Additional identification as shown in the photos. We have never seen this piece before. It appears to be hand blown and very old.
Surface Radioactivity: The radioactivity of this bottle is close to background.
Price: $400 Shipping: $25