Interesting stuff under UV

[BigWave]

I thought I'd start this to show interesting stuff fluorescing under UV lamps.
Not just minerals, but our currency has some great anti-counterfeit effects using UV lights:
Can you see the bird on our $5 notes (and check out my ciggy lighter handle):

Can you see the manufacture date and serial number:

Can you see scorpions in the bush at night? They glow like light houses at 10m using a Convoy S2+ UVA torch. They're everywhere in the Vic GT. In your tent?

Then check out ladies' UV nail polish, real rubies (glow a brilliant red - not fakes), diamonds (50% glow blue), lichens in rain forests - all sorts of colours.
Hundreds of other things glow when exposed to UV light that you can't see when only illuminated with visible light.
Tonic water glows faint blue, dog/cat piss (well - maybe you don't want to know - don't check your carpets or sofas where they sit).
Also, don't use a UV torch in your hotel room at night - particularly the dunny - well - you really really don't want to know.
No wonder these lights are used by forensics staff.

 

[user 794]

Thanks BW. As a result of your earlier posts i got a convoy UV light. Looking forward to getting our there and having a gander with that and an IR light.

BTW have you been to the Crystal Caves shop in Atherton Qld? They have a room that switches from white light to UV. Fantastic.

 

[RM Outback]

:Y: now you've really got me interested, not the cats and dogs or the motel rooms (thankfully we very rarely use them) but the scorpions, money ect. I can see this as an interesting subject to experience and enjoy with the grand kids :Y: they'll keep me on my toes making sure they don't blind everyone plus themselves :lol: :lol:

Might be worth making it a sticky.

 

[user 14190]

We have used a UV light now for some time when ever we are selling something and the buyer hands over cash, was originally purchased for a particular type of glass ware that the wife was interested in, saves a lot problems with the money. On the older notes just the number fluoresce.

Graham

 

[LONEWOLF]

Thanks BW. As a result of your earlier posts i got a convoy UV light. Looking forward to getting our there and having a gander with that and an IR light.

BTW have you been to the Crystal Caves shop in Atherton Qld? They have a room that switches from white light to UV. Fantastic.

Detectist, You also need a special type of filter glass for use with your Convoy S2+ 365 torch....

From here... There are other places but this was the first I found..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32649282235.html

I will put up some pics of my 'Black light' torch and some Minerals that DO show a reaction... Not many UV Minerals will 'Glow' under this torch, but it is a good starting point if the Convoy S2+ is out of your reach...

There are lots of imitation Convoy s2+'s on the market... BEWARE of the Imitation ones... They are just a 'Black Light' torch...

2lateagain, that 'special' Glass is also Radioactive... So Don't handle it too much..

Emmaville Mining Museum also has a pretty good Display of UV Minerals too... :Y:

They also use a special type of Fluro tube in Public Toilets (Glows blue,) to prevent Needle users finding a Vein... :/

LW...

 

[Solid Luck]

Mmmmm...roast scorpions.

 

[user 14190]

LW, most of the radioactive glass that we own came from my mother and they were always on display in my parents house for as long as I can remember, we were not aware of what it was until we got one of the UV lights about 8 years ago, my wife liked them when she saw them a long time ago and they became hers when my parents passed.

I have always wondered why I glowed in the dark, always thought it was the clean living and being a really nice person was the reason, but looks like I was badly mistaken as I have been told by a lot of people. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Graham

 

[LONEWOLF]

Hang on to them as they are worth big :money: :Y:

LW...

 

[Sandta]

I remember seeing displays of that type of glassware at bottle shows
Dont really know the history , but pretty sure its called depression glass

 

[LONEWOLF]

That is one name for them... I have also heard them called 'Radio' Glass as well...

LW...

 

[user 794]

Thanks BW. As a result of your earlier posts i got a convoy UV light. Looking forward to getting our there and having a gander with that and an IR light.

BTW have you been to the Crystal Caves shop in Atherton Qld? They have a room that switches from white light to UV. Fantastic.

Detectist, You also need a special type of filter glass for use with your Convoy S2+ 365 torch....

From here... There are other places but this was the first I found..

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32649282235.html

I will put up some pics of my 'Black light' torch and some Minerals that DO show a reaction... Not many UV Minerals will 'Glow' under this torch, but it is a good starting point if the Convoy S2+ is out of your reach...

There are lots of imitation Convoy s2+'s on the market... BEWARE of the Imitation ones... They are just a 'Black Light' torch...

2lateagain, that 'special' Glass is also Radioactive... So Don't handle it too much..

Emmaville Mining Museum also has a pretty good Display of UV Minerals too... :Y:

They also use a special type of Fluro tube in Public Toilets (Glows blue,) to prevent Needle users finding a Vein... :/

LW...

Thanks LW - I got a C8 (Fyrfly) that had the filter already installed. I got it from Aliexpress too at a pretty good price.

It'd be great to see your pics of fluro minerals. I'll keep Emmaville in mind too - thanks.

I bought a few fluro samples from a detecting shop (Treasure Enteprises) that closed down in Brisbane but haven't had a chance yet to see them light up with my new torch. EDIT - And I just remembered - I picked up a couple of samples of stuff I picked up at the Emu sites. That'll be interesting to see when I find them again and have time to see if they glow.

 

[RockRat]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=313&p=1
This topic was started in 2013, great to see it revived :Y:

 

[BigWave]

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=313&p=1
This topic was started in 2013, great to see it revived :Y:

Thanks RR. Didn't know that.
For those that want extra filters for their Convoy S2+ torches (these torches don't really need them, as they already put out very little visible light), then you can buy these:

They further decrease the already small amount of visible light given off by the Convoy S2+ torches.
As shown, a pack of 5 costs US$13 (a few months back). Make sure the diameter is 20.5mm, as they have a whole range of diameters.
You could likely buy larger diameters for torches such as the Convoy FyrFly, but I have not tried.

 

[Dignit]

The glass that glows under UV light is uranium glass. Highly collectable, and worth good dollars.

 

[Dutch]

We have used a UV light now for some time when ever we are selling something and the buyer hands over cash, was originally purchased for a particular type of glass ware that the wife was interested in, saves a lot problems with the money. On the older notes just the number fluoresce.
Graham

This is a very handy tip. Thank you!

I remember seeing displays of that type of glassware at bottle shows
Dont really know the history , but pretty sure its called depression glass

That is one name for them... I have also heard them called 'Radio' Glass as well...
LW...

Uranium glass. Most of it is early 20th century. Saw a piece, vase or liquor bottle sold at Pawn Stars for USD1000 or more if i remember correct. I once also saw a very old German advertisement for uranium toothpaste somewhere. Imagine hey!

Back to UV...... UV-A and UV-B light is increasingly used in greenhouse horticulture. The plants look much healthier and some produce even more.

 

[user 4386]

Uranium glass is vaseline glass is depression glass. There still is modern uranium glass, not purely for decorative reasons, but "Uranium glass is usually 0.5% uranium encased in a glass matrix, which you can usually tell it is uranium by pointing a UV light at it". However older glass can contain very high uranium (some is illegal to send through the post). "Its actually not [always] the uranium that [can] make uranium glass dangerous but other elements found in the uranium ore". Only 0.75% of the uranium in natural uranium (such as is used in glass as the oxide) is fissile. That is why you hear of uranium enrichment - unless you enrich the percentage of that particular uranium isotope it is useless in bombs and nuclear reactors. Reactor grade uranium is between 3 and 5% U235, bomb grade is greater than 20% U235, So uranium glass usually contains 0.5% of 0.75% U235 in most modern uranium glass, i.e. around .004% U235. Which is very little. Uranium oxide ("yellowcake") is simply shipped in 50 gallon drums on trucks - people mistakenly think it highly dangerous and Australian states have some strange laws relating to its transportation (I have photos of mates sitting on full drums - inhaling the powder is NOT advised though). However the dangerous radioactivity is more often in the slimes dam after the uranium oxide has been extracted, than in the uranium oxide product. Radioactive radon gas released during blasting and mining is the main hazard (it is trapped as tiny gas bubbles in the ore). Basements in some granite areas in NE USA and Canada use pumps to extract the radon gas that builds up in them (eg New York) - the problem is that the gas is very heavy so accumulates as an invisible very high-radon layer in the basements over time.

You probably eat off radioactive objects, possibly have it in older watch dials, the water in tritium compasses, you even have it as tritium (radioactive hydrogen) in your drinking water. Granite bench tops are 3-6% potassium, which is 0.16% a radioactive potassium isotope, weaker than uranium (they also contain minor but measurable uranium). Bananas have up to 0.5% potassium each, spinach, avocados, watermelon, coconut water and a sweet potato contains more. Don't stop eating them - I only mention it to emphasize that radioactive material is in a large proportion of things - it is the percentage, not its presence, that matters to health.

The only real danger I would expect is cutting it (inhaling the dust from high-uranium older glass) but best to be wary of any older glass objects. We used to not worry about natural uranium at all (I have held lumps of kilograms of uranium when working in laboratories in my youth), but that was unwise - some care is needed (gloves etc). I used to carry kilograms of it in passenger luggage on airliner flights in those days - it would actually not have been of any risk in its bag - but try doing that nowadays and obey when they point weapons at you. Mind you, I had one Qantas Captain carry my pointed geology pick in the cockpit for me when I forgot to remove it from my hand luggage! Some wabvelengths of UV light are far more dangerous (not your average UV torch).

And before I get the usual incorrect smart-arse comments from the usual commentators about cutting and pasting to falsely indicate expertise, I used to be an isotope geochemist, did a PhD on it, explored for uranium, worked on the mineralogy of uranium ores, used enriched radioactive isotopes, put samples through nuclear reactors, worked in uranium mines and mills, and worked for an organisation that built atomic bombs (I didn't personally) and have done formal courses on radiation safety and ionizing radiation.

 

[BigWave]

My Grandpa gave my dad several yellow-cake rocks which register well on my Geiger Counter but which don't glow under UV (A or C).

He also gave me a crystalline sample from Rum Jungle (NT - near Bachelor) that fluoresces brilliantly and which hammers the Geiger Counter.
So, I'm guessing, it must be something about Uranium in glass (a compound) that that makes it fluoresce?

 

[Pat Hogen]

It might be smart to enclose those samples in plastic or resinous boxes.

 

[LONEWOLF]

It might be smart to enclose those samples in plastic or resinous boxes.

Yes a 'Must Do'... Shame a Mate didn't and He wonders why he is battling Throat Cancer with his extensive 'Radioactive Collection'.... :skull:

LW...

 

[user 4386]

Carnotite (or possibly autunite) is the most likely mineral in your sample - yellowcake is not a natural mineral but is produced by humans as part of the chemical leaching process of uranium ore.

https://www.britannica.com/science/carnotite

The chances of it doing you harm are very small, but as a general principle I would wear plastic gloves, and put it in a plastic box so that others are not tempted to handle it.
LoneWolf, I doubt that your mate got throat cancer from his collection (not completely impossible but not a fraction as likely as with smoking cigarettes). However if he collected underground, radon gas can do it....Miners work with uranium in uranium mines, and it is thought that radioactive radon gas (rather than the uranium minerals) that gives them the higher rates of things like lung cancer that occurs in these miners. But of course the radon comes from radioactive decay of uranium minerals.

https://youtu.be/uyL_kpSslqY

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pgms/worknotify/uranium.html

As for fluorescence, it is the nature of the uranium (its "oxidation state" - hexavalent uranium) that gives a yellow fluorescence. Many uranium minerals are not hexavalent and do not fluoresce.