Tom Vales’s demonstration on radiation was very interesting especially learning about how radiation is all around us, even in our homes in our smoke detectors. Even though it is not dangerous, I was surprised to hear about that. I learned

that radiation is all around us and it is part of our environment. I also learned about radon which is a radioactive gas. It can be found in decay or minerals in the ground, which can all contain uranium and radium. As I mentioned before, radon is also found in smoke detectors in homes.

Then, he talked about the characteristics of a radioactive element. It is constantly decaying and it is unstable. It is made up of alpha particles, which is made up of two protons and two neutrons and has the least amount of penetration. There is also the beta particle which is made up of electrons and it penetrates deeper than the alpha particle. Lastly, there is the gamma ray which signals high energy waves and will go through anything.

After that, he showed us a Geiger counter which was used to measure radiation in different products. Radioactivity in these products were caused by radium. If radium was to accidentally go into someone’s eyes, it would cause cataracts, so it can be very dangerous. The first item he showed us was a candle stick that was made up of uranium glass. He would put it up to the geiger counter and it would start making a beeping sound. He also showed us a UV flashlight, a pocket watch, and a camera lens. He also showed us a Fiestaware bowl that used to be called “radioactive red” because of the color of the paint. Natural radiation can also be found in the soil, rocks, air, water, and cosmic rays.

The demonstration was interesting because we got to see everything that he was talking about like the radioactive items on the Geiger counter. It was very informative especially right before the visit to the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory.