Hi all,
After Gary Reese emailed me with the results that my Zuiko 55/1.2 was
radioactive, I decided to test an early (and pretty ugly) silver-nose Zuiko
50/1.4 I have which has a yellow appearance similar to the 55/1.2. It is
also radioactive! Gary found that radioactivity was emitted from both the
front and rear of the 55/1.2, while the 50/1.4 is strongly active from the
front, but not as active from the rear. This suggests that a) the
radioactivity is attenuated by the other elements, and b) the 55/1.2 has more
than one rare-earth element, while the 50/1.4 only has one, probably the
front element.
While I say "strongly radioactive," this isn't really that strong of a
source. It's probably about as active as the old fiestaware pottery that had
radioactive dyes in the glaze, or a luminous watch dial. I don't think that
this is a large hazard, although I would think twice about carrying one
around in my front pocket as a good luck piece ;)
[Obligatory uPay content] I don't know what uPay's policy on selling
radioactive items is, but from their past history, I'd say that advertising
an early Zuiko as radioactive might be a good way to get an auction cancelled
:)
Many thanks to Gary for continuing to test Zuikos, and for discovering that
the 55/1.2 was radioactive in the first place!
Mark Marr-Lyon
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