“So you know, in terms of people who collect it, I think a lot of people love the fact that they can display it in their homes and it has a wow factor. “It’s fun to turn off the lights and see it glow in the dark, and kids love it too,” Madarasz says. Madarasz says the prices for these collector items fluctuate greatly based on how much people value them at the time.īut don’t let that stop you from picking up a quirky new hobby that can beautify your corner curio cabinet and make a statement, all while piquing your interest in science. ORAU estimates that about 4.16 million pieces of decorative uranium glass were produced in the U.S. Madarasz says it’s even better to find a local collector’s club in your area, where longtime members can prime you on the antiques and help you find them nearby. So how do you get your hands on these beautiful, scientifically fascinating treasures? You can check out Facebook Marketplace like I did or hit your local thrift store. “I think a lot of people love the fact that they can display it in their homes and it has a wow factor.” Most of the radiation doses would fall on the folks involved in transporting the glassware from the manufacturer to a distribution center. And that’s probably a high estimate for everyday people that want to have a glass of wine out of a uranium chalice. It states that the maximum estimated dose of radiation that a person could absorb from uranium glass is on the order of 4 millirems per year, or about 1 to 2 percent of the average American’s annual radiation exposure. Uranium oxide can react with acids, so it’s not a great idea to leave a uranium pitcher of orange juice sitting in your fridge for days.Ī 1992 study published in Health Physics backs up Madarasz’s points. So then we’re being exposed to it from everyday objects at low levels on a constant basis.” Madarasz does have an important caveat, though. “There’s uranium in things like cell phones in our environment. “Most of the tests show the leaching of is not substantial,” Madarasz says. But I assured him the glass wouldn’t harm us-I’d done my research after all. My partner freaked out when I brought home a cardboard box filled with about $100 worth of uranium glass that I bought from a total stranger on Facebook Marketplace back in February. “The uranium fluoresces under UV light because the UV excites the electrons above the ground state and gives off photons as the electrons transition back to the ground state,” Naomi Marks, a research scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, tells Collectors Weekly. Rather, it’s the uranium’s chemistry that gives off the eerie slime-colored incandescence. To be clear, it’s not the uranium oxide’s radioactivity that causes the glass to glow. (A small handheld UV flashlight like this one will do the trick). According to the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity, a black light will cause uranium glass to glow a rich green color. Ultraviolet light is also the only fool-proof method for identifying true radioactive uranium glass. Ultraviolet light is a type of electromagnetic radiation with shorter wavelengths than visible light it’s the reason why you need to wear sunblock on a hot summer day to avoid a sunburn, since 10 percent of the total electromagnetic radiation from the sun comes in the form of UV rays. While this greenish-yellow colorway was the trend du jour, it had the unintended and intriguing side effect of glowing bright fluorescent green under ultraviolet (UV) light. Sometimes, this uranium glass can even appear opaque and colorless. As an additive in the glassmaking process, it imbues the final product with a transparent yellow or yellowish-green hue. Join Pop Mech Pro.Įnter uranium oxide, an insoluble and thermally stable source of uranium that doesn’t conduct electricity. ☢️ Don’t miss any of our radioactive stories. Glass was a big business at the time, and to make tableware desirable to consumers, companies were constantly on the hunt for the next intriguing coloring agent. This “ uranium glass” originated in Germany in the 1830s and 1840s, says Anne Madarasz, chief historian at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and curator of a longstanding exhibit on glass. As an adult, my enthusiasm for fluorescent tchotchkes hasn’t gone anywhere I’ve merely transferred my obsession into collecting antique, radioactive, glow-in-the-dark glassware. After turning my bedroom light on for a few minutes, I couldn’t wait to flip the switch and hop into bed to stare up at the glowing green galaxy I’d created. If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you probably remember those glow-in-the-dark stars we all used to paste to our ceilings as kids. Hey y’all, Courtney Linder here, deputy editor at Pop Mech.
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