Re: Stereomatic cord and stopping dust!

[P3D Bob Wier <wier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>    I would also like to share some personal experience trying to reduce
>dust on negatives and slides.  The best thing I have EVER used to (almost)
>obliterate dust is also a very expensive route, but well worth it if you
>can spare the cash.  It is an electronic static brush.  The one I used is

On anti-static brushes, some of us olsters will remember the "Static
Master" brush. You may still occasionally see these especially in estate
sales, etc of darkroom equipment. The downside is that they incorporated
a radioactive coating (behind a grill) of "Polonium (sp?". The life span
on this was rated as something like 5 years, which I'm not sure was
the half life of the isotope or of the bristles :-)

Mine still seems to work reasonably well (at 20+ years of age). Depending
on how nervous you are about radiation, this could also be something
to look for. (Right offhand, I'd think if you don't cut or abrade the
strip so you don't breath it, you'd be close enough to it so rarely 
to cause any problems that the danger would be small - I seem to recall
they suggested not to let it sit on top of an unexposed film pack, but
I never saw any suggestion that it would fog film - I'm assuming that
it emitted alpha particles which don't penetrate well). Any nuclear
types on the list?

Just as a matter of interest - back in the days when you could get
radium dial wristwatches, I wore one for several years. I once took
a college chemistry course (late 60's) and stuck it under a counter.
It was HOT! Even thru the glass of the faceplate. Much more radioactive
than the uranium ore samples we were testing. Ouch!



THANKS

 -------- Bob Wier ----- wier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -----
          Wednesday, May 8, 1996  2:05:56 PM
  East Texas State University Computer Science Dept.
   keeper of the Motorola MC68HC11, ICOM Radio, and
 Overland-Trails mailing lists and the LDS Genealogy
            State Research Outlines 
     "Con*gress - n. - the antonym of Pro*gress"
        stereo smiley      : -)        :  - ) 



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