The Early Days of Nuclear Science

For the last class I wanted to post something that underlined the sort of thing that seemed like a good idea at the time in the nuclear history of the world. First, a story about radium's popularity due to it's faint blue glow. Before the dangers of radiation were understood, radium was used in a variety of consumer products, at a huge danger to everyone involved.

The link to a New York Times article on that.

Another good example is the x-ray shoe fitting device popular up to the 1960's. Few people experienced serious effects from this, but the idea seems completely surreal to me knowing what I do about radiation.

Here's the link to a summation of the history of these devices.

I guess that's it. Have a nice vacation everyone!

Ben