Unleash your superpower: This gadget lets you detect nuclear radiation

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Radiacode 103 is a radiation detector available from Amazon for $325. When you’ve got additional modest desires, the marginally lower-spec Radiacode 102 is only $255.
• It’s a unbelievable, versatile, extraordinarily right nuclear radiation detector.
• The potential of the iOS app is behind that of the Android app.

I actually like using know-how to current me superpowers, notably within the case of enhancing my senses. Trendy tech offers unimaginable devices that allow us see points in every other case invisible to the naked eye.

From thermal cameras to night vision to a weird plastic sheet that’s reactive to magnetic fields, I actually like having the ability to uncover hidden components of the world spherical me. These superior utilized sciences open up new dimensions of notion, making the invisible seen and transforming our interaction with our environment.

Moreover: Are you being tracked? What new privacy features from Apple and Google can (and can’t) tell you  

In my quest to harness know-how for superhuman skills, I recently purchased a Geiger counter — nonetheless not merely any Geiger counter. The Radiacode 103 nuclear radiation detector is an ultrafast delicate scintillation detector designed for searching and measuring Gamma, X-ray, and laborious Beta radiation in precise time. With this high-performance instrument, I can exactly detect and analyze quite a few types of radiation, extra rising my talent to uncover hidden components of the world spherical me.

View at Amazon

Radiacode 103 tech specs

• Detector: Thallium doped cesium iodide (CsI:TI) 10 x 10 x 10 mm crystal and solid-state photomultiplier 6 x 6 mm
• Vitality choice: 8.4% ±0.3% (FWHM) for Cs-137
• Vitality fluctuate: 0.02 – 3.0 MeV
• Present: Monochrome graphic LCD, 128 x 48 pixels, 34 x 13 mm
• Battery: Lithium-polymer 3.7 V, 1000 mAh as a lot as 200 hours on single price (charging takes roughly 2 hours)
• Dimensions: 124 x 35 x 20 mm
• Connectivity: Bluetooth and USB-C
• Weight: 65 g 
• Mud and moisture security: IP64

The Radiacode 103 is a top-tier transportable radiation detector, dosimeter, and spectrometer, utilizing a extraordinarily delicate scintillation detector for actual environmental radiation analysis. That’s presently the highest-spec unit obtainable from Radiacode, although the company is planning to launch a mannequin that makes use of a particular detector — generally known as the Radiacode 103 G — in June.

Versatile and user-friendly, the Radiacode 103 capabilities as a standalone unit or may be associated to iPhone or Android devices by the use of Bluetooth. The Android app presently offers additional choices compared with its iOS counterpart. In Radiacode’s safety, the iOS app has been receiving vital updates currently, suggesting it might shortly align additional intently with the Android experience. 

Moreover: This $20 USB-C cable includes a surprisingly awesome feature

What can the Radiacode 103 do? This superior system offers 4 distinct modes to cater to quite a few radiation detection desires:

• Monitor mode: Presents real-time dose cost and rely cost measurements, very similar to the acquainted clicking Geiger counter. This mode ensures regular monitoring of radiation ranges, offering you with fast ideas on environmental circumstances.
• Dose mode: Reveals cumulative dose measurements, transforming the system into a personal dosimeter. This mode helps you observe your long-term radiation publicity.
• Search mode: A graphical mode exhibiting rely cost in each CPM (Counts Per Minute) or CPS (Counts Per Second). This mode is sweet for pinpointing sources of radiation with precision.
• Spectrum mode: Offers a graphical present of the ability spectrum of gamma radiation on a linear or logarithmic scale. This mode is used to find out explicit radioactive provides exactly.

I’ve been wandering spherical looking for points to verify, and one issue that I found to basically set off the Radiacode was tritium vials for glow tags (when you want to know the science behind why these try this, do that informative Stack Exchange post), which pushed the counts so extreme that it set off an alarm.

I moreover dwell in an area the place there are numerous portions of granite rock, and, by extension, radioactive radon gasoline, so it has been attention-grabbing to wander about from place to place watching the background radiation vary.

Properly, attention-grabbing for me.

Because of the Radiacode 103 has a spectrum mode, you need to put it to use to find out radioactive substances, which pushes it far behind what a cheap Geiger counter can do, and into the realms of serious scientific gadgets.

ZDNET’s looking for advice

I’m the first to admit that not all people desires a radiation detector. For these merely curious, there are cheaper — albeit a lot much less succesful — objects obtainable, such as a result of the GQ GMC-800 (stay away from a funds, no-name producers, they’re principally garbage). 

If you want an actual superpower and wish a extraordinarily succesful unit that goes properly previous merely detecting radiation publicity, nonetheless, the Radiacode 103 is properly worth considering. It is among the greatest pocket radiation detector I’ve used, stuffed with superior choices that far surpass elementary fashions. With the Radiacode 103, I’ve cherished uncovering points I was completely blind to sooner than, making it a helpful instrument for anyone vital about radiation detection and exploring the surrounding setting.