|
Date: |
|
Description: | Radium finger ring in original box. This is a rare historic survival illustrative of one of the black incidents in the history of science where enthusiasm for the newly discovered element radium exceeded contemporary knowledge. The finger ring is in its own velvet lined box and has been passed for storage in a larger box by the University's Radiation Safety Officer. It is mainly alpha active and alpha radiation is stopped by thin amounts of material, little more than paper thickness. In the 1930s, Marischal College was a centre for the preparation of radium needles used in cancer treatment. These were sent by train to hospitals down the East Coast as far as Newcastle. The ring is therefore not only symbolic of folly but also of the value of additional knowledge in directing discovery into useful, indeed life-saving, knowledge. It was probably obtained by Professor Niven. The ring's presentation box is stored within a larger perpex box with warning labels. | License: | http://www.abdn.ac.uk/historic/Copyright_terms_conditions.shtml | Publisher: | ABDNP University of Aberdeen, Natural Philosophy Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments | Rights holder: | 47718 | Temporal: | 1905-1915 | Source: | University of Aberdeen | Identifier: | http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/Geology/dserve.e... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bracelet
A worn, coiled cast copper-alloy…
-
BRACELET
A worn, coiled cast copper-alloy…
-
BRACELET
A worn, coiled cast copper-alloy…
|