Atomic energy toy

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

How did steam engines kill?

[Martin Brown]

Boiler explosion with an inadequate, jammed or no safety relief valve. When even a small steam boiler explodes you really know about it!

A couple of examples from the Mamod mailing list:

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

"While he was endeavouring to get a higher pressure on the engine, an old oil can that served as the boiler" sounds like he wasn't following the instructions and using the supplied materials.

[charles]

If you look at the date of the incident, I suspect that it is unlikely there was a kit of parts or even instructions.

[Tim+]

Because the wifi stops working too. ;-)

Tim

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

Mine doesn't. It's on the same UPS as the computer and the stereo. And all the house lights actually, but only so the LED bulbs last longer with power surges and brownouts. It also informed me my mains was 253 volts at one stage when they changed the substation (which was working fine, god knows why they changed it). When I reported it, the guy that came out didn't even know they'd changed it and went over to investigate. He claimed that 253 was within tolerance, yet the overvoltage went away a couple of weeks after I reported it. Maybe they can flip a switch on the substation to remove a winding?

[Martin Brown]

If it is pitch black and where I live on a moonless night it isn't that far off then you have to stand still for at least fifteen minutes if the power fails and you can't immediately lay your hands on a torch.

You can just about pick your way by starlight but it isn't easy.

I have a pair of those glo torches and a couple of mains standby emergency lights for this very reason as our power does drop out usually in the middle of winter storms or cooking supper.

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

Blind people manage, stop being such a sissy.

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

The emergency exits I've seen are lit by a battery operated lamp.

[Martin Brown]

You must lead a very sheltered life. They are available in the UK.

[charles]

and, how much do they cost? battery powered signs are about £15.

[Adam Aglionby]

te:

How hard is it to reach the sign to change the battery is possibly a consdi deration and run power to maintain it.

Tritium signs require no power at all.

BTW seem to remember something about U.S. having no reactors capable of mak ing tritium and relied on supplies from U.K. Calder Hall to maintain their supply for H bomb fuelling.

[Martin Brown]

Where power to weight ratio and/or flameproof areas are concerned maintenance free and fail safe is far more important than unit cost.

Aircraft, oilrigs and refineries are amongst the places where these signs make very good sense. Flameproof electrical kit is expensive!

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

Yet they plaster every bloody building with the things.

-- =

Never play leapfrog with a unicorn!

[Tough Guy no. 1265]

Or I'm not sad enough to seek out emergency exit signage.

[Windmill]

And if it's true that bananas are a good source of potassium (as low-salt 'salt' most certainly is, in spades) they'll also be a good source of a slightly radioactive potassium isotope :-)

Half-life over a billion years and a beta emitter so not very 'hot' at all.