It’s widely known that a smoke detector is a good ionizing radiation source, as they contain a small amount of americium-241, a side product of nuclear reactors. But what about other sources? [Carl ...

Americium isotope Am 241 was identified by a group of researchers at the University of Chicago in 1944 and was the fourth trans-uranium element to be discovered, via successive neutron capture ...

When you think of a radiation detector, you’re probably thinking of a Geiger tube and its high voltage circuitry. That isn’t the only way to measure gamma radiation, though, and [Alan] has a great ...

For decades, deep space exploration has depended on a handful of obscure isotopes quietly heating small nuclear batteries on robotic probes. Now a different, even less familiar element is moving to ...