Where to get depleted uranium?
 

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

Thanks for your help.

"Bruce W.1" wrote in message
...
I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't be
very dangerous.

Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

Thanks for your help.


From: http://science.howstuffworks.com/bunker-buster3.htm
"Density - Depleted uranium is 1.7 times heavier than lead, and 2.4 times
heavier than steel. "

Something that I didn't know:
"Depleted uranium burns. It is something like magnesium in this regard. If
you heat uranium up in an oxygen environment (normal air), it will ignite
and burn with an extremely intense flame. Once inside the target, burning
uranium is another part of the bomb's destructive power."

From: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/faq_17apr.htm
"Depleted uranium is a heavy metal that is also slightly radioactive"
and give further information about the effects and the human body.

From: http://www.miltoxproj.org/DU%20Fact%20Sheet.htm
DU is regulated as a radioactive substance by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.

there was a mod to the L-1011 airplane that involved putting depleted
uranium weights as counterbalances on a couple of control arms - I wonder
what happens to those weights when the planes are decomissioned.

and, if you go to iraq, near the kuwait border, you will find a fair amount
of it from the desert storm campaign - of course it's a bit of a trip.


"Lane" lane (no spam) at copperaccents dot com wrote in message
...

"Bruce W.1" wrote in message
...
I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be
very dangerous.

Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

Thanks for your help.


From: http://science.howstuffworks.com/bunker-buster3.htm
"Density - Depleted uranium is 1.7 times heavier than lead, and 2.4 times
heavier than steel. "

Something that I didn't know:
"Depleted uranium burns. It is something like magnesium in this regard. If
you heat uranium up in an oxygen environment (normal air), it will ignite
and burn with an extremely intense flame. Once inside the target, burning
uranium is another part of the bomb's destructive power."

From: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/faq_17apr.htm
"Depleted uranium is a heavy metal that is also slightly radioactive"
and give further information about the effects and the human body.

From: http://www.miltoxproj.org/DU%20Fact%20Sheet.htm
DU is regulated as a radioactive substance by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.

"william_b_noble" wrote in message
news:1113964852.5d08e5c3f6a40a45cff67c45c0346ce9@t eranews...
there was a mod to the L-1011 airplane that involved putting depleted
uranium weights as counterbalances on a couple of control arms - I wonder
what happens to those weights when the planes are decomissioned.

and, if you go to iraq, near the kuwait border, you will find a fair
amount
of it from the desert storm campaign - of course it's a bit of a trip.



Found article about someone who actually got a hold of some...

http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/092/
About half way down the page, look for "Depleted uranium cylinder".
"After several false starts, I now have an indisputably genuine, solid
machined cylinder of pure depleted uranium metal. Although vast quantities
of this stuff exist (vast as in at least a million tons worldwide), it is
incredibly hard to get a hold of. This is because there are no uses for it
that are not fairly tightly regulated: Most are military, and the civilian
uses are for things like aircraft counterweights or radio pharmaceutical
shipping containers. Not the sort of thing that's likely to end up in the
local surplus auction."

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1
wrote:
I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.

The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./

Another reason depleted uranium is used by the military is for its "self
sharpening" property - instead of flattening out like lead and other metals
upon impact, it lengthens and gets thinner - great for armour piercing. It
would be interesting to see how that property would work in a machining
context - either as the metal being machined, or as the cutting tool..

My father was a Marine for 25 years and from every source I have heard
depleted uranium is very toxic and yes radioactive. The gunners in
CH-53's have to wear special gloves when loading the rounds and while
firing, they are used in weapons like the GAU 2B mini gun and such.
Very unlikely you could buy any as it is a controlled material.

In article 1113964852.5d08e5c3f6a40a45cff67c45c0346ce9@teran ews,
"william_b_noble" wrote:

there was a mod to the L-1011 airplane that involved putting depleted
uranium weights as counterbalances on a couple of control arms - I
wonder what happens to those weights when the planes are
decomissioned.

IIRC from A&P school, more than a few large aircraft use it as a control
surface counterweight material. The weights must be disposed of properly
when the aircraft is written off.

After accidents, finding the weights (and recorders) are a top priority.

Recall they're heavily cad plated... impression stamped with warnings,
and painted international orange for easy identification.

I Googled a little, found this FAA advisory circular.

http://www.faa.gov/fsdo/orl/files/advcir/AC20-123.TXT

Erik

maybe so, but when I was in the lab and these were being tested, they were
green, and two of them fit in a 1 galon paint can (that was surpsingly
heavy) - it was amusing to watch the company mail person pick up the can -
or almost pick it up, do a double take, and then barely move it with both
hands, from the "out box" it was in, into his mail cart.

"Erik" wrote in message
...
In article 1113964852.5d08e5c3f6a40a45cff67c45c0346ce9@teran ews,
"william_b_noble" wrote:

there was a mod to the L-1011 airplane that involved putting depleted
uranium weights as counterbalances on a couple of control arms - I
wonder what happens to those weights when the planes are
decomissioned.

IIRC from A&P school, more than a few large aircraft use it as a control
surface counterweight material. The weights must be disposed of properly
when the aircraft is written off.

After accidents, finding the weights (and recorders) are a top priority.

Recall they're heavily cad plated... impression stamped with warnings,
and painted international orange for easy identification.

I Googled a little, found this FAA advisory circular.

http://www.faa.gov/fsdo/orl/files/advcir/AC20-123.TXT

Erik

Wish I could have found about 4000 pounds of the stuff when I was casting my
keel bulb. With that density down in the bulb I could have had a higher
righting moment and saved about 2000 pounds in total weight. Encased in
lead it would have been safe too. The spot price for DU was about
$8/pound when I was looking. Way to high for the quantity I needed and the
paperwork requirement was outrageous.

OTOH, Iridium would have been even better but at $2400/pound I will pass.
:-)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Bruce W.1" wrote in message
...
I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't be
very dangerous.

Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

Thanks for your help.

Ignoramus20427 wrote:

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1 wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.


only 1.5 times heavier.


The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.


nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?


you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./

i

The Phalanx anti-missile gun (of "oops, forgot to turn it on" fame) used
to use depleted uranium rounds, but they switched to tungsten. I have
no idea why, but if gunners had to use special gloves to load the dang
things it would make sense.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

John Sefton wrote:

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1

wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.


The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./


Another reason depleted uranium is used by the military is for its "self
sharpening" property - instead of flattening out like lead and other metals
upon impact, it lengthens and gets thinner - great for armour piercing. It
would be interesting to see how that property would work in a machining
context - either as the metal being machined, or as the cutting tool..


It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, "Bruce W.1"
wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

You should read this
http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/

They can offer samples too, if you do paperwork
http://www.element-collection.com/RG...CT04_rev05.pdf

The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

That's a somewhat contentious statement ! (Do you have newspapers
locally?)

As a pragmatic approach (I'm not interested in the DU toxicity argument
today), the metal is safe and the oxide is toxic. However burning the
metal produces the oxide as huge quantities of breathable fine dust and
mechanically abrading the surface may do so too. You can safely own this
stuff, but it should either be plated or sealed into a glass vial. You
don't want to be handling it.


Is this a controlled material?

You have Bush as President. Johnny Appleseed has just been sentenced as
a terrrorist for posession of apple pips containing cyanide.

If you want some funky heavy metal, then go to a welding shop and buy
some TIG electrodes. These are tungsten, and look and feel as close to
uranium as you could wish for. Get the ones that are plain titanium,
not those with thorium alloyed.

--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.

In article ,
Tim Wescott wrote:
John Sefton wrote:

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1

wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.



30 years ago the Toronto Science Museum had a brick-sized chunk of DU
on display under a plexiglass dome. The dome had a hole for your hand
and you could lift the brick. impressive heft.


--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

"Ignoramus14555" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 18:11:11 +0100, Andy Dingley
wrote:
If you want some funky heavy metal, then go to a welding shop and buy
some TIG electrodes. These are tungsten, and look and feel as close to
uranium as you could wish for. Get the ones that are plain titanium,
not those with thorium alloyed.

I am confused, you suggest to get tungsten electrodes, but to make
sure to get plain titanium ones?

By the way, tungsten used to be sold on ebay, that's where I got my
collectible piece.


McMaster-Carr sells machinable tungsten alloy rods in many sizes.

Randy

What is depleted uranium depleted of?
I've always thought that this stuff is the byproducet of the nuke bomb
industry where the valuable U-235 is removed from the not valuable U-238
which isn't radioactive.
I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings with it
without concern.

--
Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:41:36 -0700, Bob May wrote:
What is depleted uranium depleted of?
I've always thought that this stuff is the byproducet of the nuke bomb
industry where the valuable U-235 is removed from the not valuable U-238
which isn't radioactive.

U-238 is radioactive, it has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings with it
without concern.

It's detectable, but that doesn't mean that it's a problem. A chunk of
granite is less interesting to a Geiger counter than a smoke detector is.

In article ,
Tim Wescott wrote:

It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

It also burns the armor itself; Iron + Uranium is an exothermic reaction.

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

Bruce W.1 writes:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

Gold and platinum are denser than either of those, plenty nifty, and more
practical to own.

In article ,
Ignoramus14555 wrote:

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 09:51:02 -0700, Tim Wescott
wrote:
The Phalanx anti-missile gun (of "oops, forgot to turn it on" fame) used
to use depleted uranium rounds, but they switched to tungsten. I have
no idea why, but if gunners had to use special gloves to load the dang
things it would make sense.

Thanks for the info. I hope that they are not wasting tungsten during
training.

i

IIRC, the army depends on tungsten shipments from China to make their
ammo.

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

"Tim Wescott" wrote in message
...
John Sefton wrote:

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1

wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It
would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.


The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I
can
get a small piece?

you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./


Another reason depleted uranium is used by the military is for its "self
sharpening" property - instead of flattening out like lead and other
metals
upon impact, it lengthens and gets thinner - great for armour piercing.
It
would be interesting to see how that property would work in a machining
context - either as the metal being machined, or as the cutting tool..


It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

Makes for an interesting home workshop experience, then!

In article ,
Dave Hinz wrote:
On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:41:36 -0700, Bob May wrote:
What is depleted uranium depleted of?
I've always thought that this stuff is the byproducet of the nuke bomb
industry where the valuable U-235 is removed from the not valuable U-238
which isn't radioactive.

U-238 is radioactive, it has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings with it
without concern.

It's detectable, but that doesn't mean that it's a problem. A chunk of
granite is less interesting to a Geiger counter than a smoke detector is.



Or flying at 30,000 ft, I believe.

--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.

I got a bunch of it out of and old RF-4c that used it for ballast when
they removed caeras. They are little blocks about 1/2" x 1" x 1 1/2"
in size,,,,,,,and heavy as hell. They are coated with some type of
coating. We used to have a container about the size of a 3 pound
coffee can setting on the table, filled with them. We used to say to
new guys, Hey, how about sliding that can of blocks over here..they
would about push their shoulder out of joint trying to just slide that
can across the table. Been told as long as the coating is on them and
you do not drill, machine or weld on them they are safe. I use em for
weights etc when I glue up odds and ends.....

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Tim Wescott wrote:

Ignoramus20427 wrote:

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1
wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It
would be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.



only 1.5 times heavier.


The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it
can't be very dangerous.



nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I
can get a small piece?



you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./

i


The Phalanx anti-missile gun (of "oops, forgot to turn it on" fame) used
to use depleted uranium rounds, but they switched to tungsten. I have
no idea why, but if gunners had to use special gloves to load the dang
things it would make sense.

DU isn't zero radiation.

Our troops hunt it down and salvage the gunship targets for used DU. They look
for radiation.

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings
with it without concern.

It's detectable, but that doesn't mean that it's a problem.

Actually, it is! As I recall, removed granite waste is a low-level
radiation "hazard".

Banannas will also kick off geiger counters, I guess they are too commonly
used by the public to be classed though.

Tim

--
"California is the breakfast state: fruits, nuts and flakes."
Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Tim Wescott wrote:
John Sefton wrote:

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1

wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It
would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.



30 years ago the Toronto Science Museum had a brick-sized chunk of DU
on display under a plexiglass dome. The dome had a hole for your hand
and you could lift the brick. impressive heft.

A standard brick has a volume of about 1 liter, so your DU brick weighed 19
kilograms.

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 09:52:02 -0700, Tim Wescott
wrote:

John Sefton wrote:

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1

wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.


The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./


Another reason depleted uranium is used by the military is for its "self
sharpening" property - instead of flattening out like lead and other metals
upon impact, it lengthens and gets thinner - great for armour piercing. It
would be interesting to see how that property would work in a machining
context - either as the metal being machined, or as the cutting tool..


It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

Distracting...I like that.

Flaming spalls the temperature of the face of the sun ricochetting at
ultra high speeds around the inside of the crew compartment setting
fire to the hydraulics, padding, clothing, ammunition.....

Distracting..thats good.

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

"Bob May" wrote in message
...
What is depleted uranium depleted of?

U235

I've always thought that this stuff is the byproducet of the nuke bomb
industry where the valuable U-235 is removed from the not valuable U-238
which isn't radioactive.

Correct.

I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings with it
without concern.

And the basements of houses built on granite fill up with Radon.
There's plenty of radioactive fallout from the 50s, the CO2 in the air is
has Carbon-14, water has tritium, potassium-40 occurs in natural potassium,
which is everywhere, including bannanas and people. Space is full of natural
fusion reactors, the earth has Van Allan belts, recently we got hit with a
massive cosmic ray burst, etc.

In rec.crafts.metalworking Martin H. Eastburn wrote:
(snip)
DU isn't zero radiation.

Our troops hunt it down and salvage the gunship targets for used DU. They look
for radiation.

Martin

DU is a very mild alpha emitter. Alpha particles are stopped by a sheet
of paper or your skin.

--
Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

So, the quick way to obtain a quantity of DU would be to go to Bagdad
and point something at a chopper?
- -


wrote:
My father was a Marine for 25 years and from every source I have heard
depleted uranium is very toxic and yes radioactive. The gunners in
CH-53's have to wear special gloves when loading the rounds and while
firing, they are used in weapons like the GAU 2B mini gun and such.
Very unlikely you could buy any as it is a controlled material.

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 05:36:25 GMT, the inscrutable Gunner
spake:

It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

Distracting...I like that.

Flaming spalls the temperature of the face of the sun ricochetting at
ultra high speeds around the inside of the crew compartment setting
fire to the hydraulics, padding, clothing, ammunition.....

Distracting..thats good.

Radioactive gas from burning DU gets into the body via the lungs and
eventually kills the breather.

That's a bit distracting, too, isn't it?


================================================== =======
What doesn't kill you + http://diversify.com
....makes you hurt more. + Web application programming
================================================== =======

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 00:04:24 -0500, Tim Williams wrote:
"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings
with it without concern.

It's detectable, but that doesn't mean that it's a problem.

Actually, it is! As I recall, removed granite waste is a low-level
radiation "hazard".

Well...somewhere, in some secure storage facility, are dozens or hundreds
of white "bunny suits", gloves, masks, hats, and assorted clothing worn
by me, while working in the "hot lab". I was packaging _very_ low level
solid sources into test fixtures (for tuning medical nuclear imaging
scanners). Even the packing materials are in some "low level nuclear
waste" facility, even though the bags couldn't leave our hot lab if there
was _any_ detectable radiation level.

Banannas will also kick off geiger counters, I guess they are too commonly
used by the public to be classed though.

I have to try that tonight. The potassium, I suppose?

Dave "What, doesn't _everyone_ have a Geiger counter at home?" Hinz

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 09:55:32 -0500, Rex B wrote:
So, the quick way to obtain a quantity of DU would be to go to Bagdad
and point something at a chopper?

Quick, yes. Not sure I'd call it "best" or "practical", but it would
be effective.

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 08:00:56 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 05:36:25 GMT, the inscrutable Gunner
spake:

It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

Distracting...I like that.

Flaming spalls the temperature of the face of the sun ricochetting at
ultra high speeds around the inside of the crew compartment setting
fire to the hydraulics, padding, clothing, ammunition.....

Distracting..thats good.

Radioactive gas from burning DU gets into the body via the lungs and
eventually kills the breather.

That's a bit distracting, too, isn't it?

Id not worry too much about the radioactive gas part. Those flaming
spalls at high speed and the exploding ammo tend to make any long term
consequences pretty much a moot point.

Ever drop a hotdog in a blender?

Gunner



================================================= ========
What doesn't kill you + http://diversify.com
...makes you hurt more. + Web application programming
================================================= ========

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

I used to work for General Dynamics, the company that made the Phalanx. But
that is off topic.

I saw a show recently that stated the the US Army is switching to a
tungsten/plastic mixture for bullets to replace lead. They call it a green
bullet because it is more environmentally friendly. They claim that they
spend a lot of money cleaning up shooting ranges from the lead
contamination. That is probably true. However, I bet the higher mass for the
same caliber has something to do with the decision as well. Since it is
tungsten powder glued together with plastic, I bet the bullet brakes up to
powder upon impact. That means that all the energy is absorbed by the
target. It should still incapacitate you from the impact, even if you were
wearing body armor. Just speculation on my part. No armor would mean even
more damage than a normal round.

"Ignoramus14555" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 09:51:02 -0700, Tim Wescott
wrote:
The Phalanx anti-missile gun (of "oops, forgot to turn it on" fame) used
to use depleted uranium rounds, but they switched to tungsten. I have
no idea why, but if gunners had to use special gloves to load the dang
things it would make sense.

Thanks for the info. I hope that they are not wasting tungsten during
training.

i

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as
dense as lead.

Not true, although it is denser.

If not then does anyone know where I can get a small piece?

Get in a war with the US or NATO and the military will deliver it, no
charge even!

Tim.

On 21 Apr 2005 15:22:24 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 00:04:24 -0500, Tim Williams wrote:
"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
I'll also note that granite is radioactive yet we build buildings
with it without concern.

It's detectable, but that doesn't mean that it's a problem.

Actually, it is! As I recall, removed granite waste is a low-level
radiation "hazard".

Well...somewhere, in some secure storage facility, are dozens or hundreds
of white "bunny suits", gloves, masks, hats, and assorted clothing worn
by me, while working in the "hot lab". I was packaging _very_ low level
solid sources into test fixtures (for tuning medical nuclear imaging
scanners). Even the packing materials are in some "low level nuclear
waste" facility, even though the bags couldn't leave our hot lab if there
was _any_ detectable radiation level.

Banannas will also kick off geiger counters, I guess they are too commonly
used by the public to be classed though.

I have to try that tonight. The potassium, I suppose?

Dave "What, doesn't _everyone_ have a Geiger counter at home?" Hinz

I have 4 . And various dosimeters. All work just hunkey dory.
I hope they never get used.

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

So where does one buy a geiger counter, if one were so inclined?

- -
Rex Burkheimer

Gunner wrote:
Dave "What, doesn't _everyone_ have a Geiger counter at home?" Hinz


I have 4 . And various dosimeters. All work just hunkey dory.
I hope they never get used.

Gunner

Sorry, just a typo - I should have said tungsten instead of titanium.

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 12:38:04 -0500, Rex B wrote:
So where does one buy a geiger counter, if one were so inclined?

First thought is "American Science and Surplus" in Milwaukee and Chicago.
They do mail order. Mine came from a former employer - we moved a factory
from England to the US, and the test equipment came along. The type of
geiger counter they sent wasn't certified by the NRC, so it couldn't be used
for production (or at all) here, so I was told to make sure it went away
and never came back.

I have to try that tonight. The potassium, I suppose?

K40? shrug :)

Lange's Handbook of Chemistry 1967:
Abundance % .0119
1.3x10^9 years beta-1.33;K;gamma1.46

Report back, please.

Dave "What, doesn't _everyone_ have a Geiger counter at home?" Hinz

LOL! :)

Alvin in AZ