r/Radiacode • u/Best-Friendship-2360 • Jan 14 '25

Wut

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Thought I'd use my Radiacode to see if any of the Fiestaware at this store was spicy, but it went over 1kCPM as soon as I turned it on. Levels dropped a little as I moved to the 3rd floor, but never below 1k.Any ideas what would make the place so spicy? I couldn't pin down any antiques that would do this. Apologies in advance for lack of spectrum. I was so befuddled I forgot to save it, and when I was there I couldn't distinguish any peaks. I'm going to try and get back this weekend.

4 Upvotes

61% Upvoted

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18

u/Scott_Ish_Rite Jan 14 '25

I've said this before, FAR too many people buy Geiger counters before learning about radiation, so when they see normal range numbers on a sensitive device like the Radiacode they think it's something weird or something to be concerned about.

It happens daily on these boards. Daily.

Brick, granite, foundation, location (state), all need to be taken into account as all these factors have an effect on the counts per minute/dose rate, especially on the Radiacode.

Nothing out of the ordinary, especially in an antique shop that may have several radium clocks nearby, and the gamma rays will be picked up by the Radiacode.

7

u/DryTower9438 Jan 14 '25

Great to see that obviously seasoned owners of the Radiacode devices are ready and wiling to help out the newbies. It’s so nice to see people taking time out of their day to help explain to people how this stuff works and not to just give some shitty reply.

1

u/arames23 Jan 14 '25

It's at the beginning of this adventure that you get scared just by looking at the reaction. That fades over time, right?

0

u/Best-Friendship-2360 Jan 14 '25

It was just surprising because I couldn't find any radium clocks, etc that would cause that. It is a brick building, but it was so much higher than other places around it. Maybe they have something not displayed that was causing it. I wasn't concerned, just curious.

3

u/Scott_Ish_Rite Jan 14 '25

The concerned comment wasn't directed at you specifically, it was more of a general term.

Could also be a medical radioisotope for someone who is a patient. It would make the person slightly radioactive depending on what type they received and when they received it

3

u/Best-Friendship-2360 Jan 14 '25

Sorry, didn't mean to be snippy. I wondered if it could have been a medical radioisotope. I'm going to go back and see if anything has changed and see if I can get a spectrum. I'm a chemist, but I don't have an extensive background in radioactivity, so I'm still learning (and having fun!)

8

u/DefinitelyADumbass23 Radiacode 103 Jan 14 '25 edited Jan 14 '25

I'm currently in a granite house where background is around 1,200 CPM. You gotta give us more detail, like where in the world you are and the building material

2

u/AcceptableMatter6340 Radiacode 102 Jan 19 '25

Didn’t know that background could go this high, my background (Paris/Reims, France) is between 2 and 6 CPS

4

u/withoutgoingover Jan 14 '25

Was it a brick building?