[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1205160/radioactive_night_vision_soviet_vintage_scope_gammarae_radiati/

Suprising high level radiation from Vintage Russian Nightscope, not sure whether it is gamma or xray, anyone got any idea?

Also showing GammRae Pager, scintillator radiation detector. (makes our walks in the country that little bit more entertaining while looking for hot rocks.

[Bored chemist]

How much metal will the rays go through? Compare that with the gammas from a radioactive source like a suitable rock.

[lyner]

How many kV is the EHT on your image intensifier tube? That will tell you the energy of the photons. It's unlikely to me more than a few kV so they will be X rays. To be gamma rays you would need several MV.

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

BKn (on)   Bb1Kn (off)

The radiation travels through thick cast housing possibly aluminium with mild steel cover around switch area. Radiation registers all around the boxed area so travels through the casting and the “mild steel plate which measures around 1-2 mm”

Unable to determine  Russian numerals and text on plate other than npobepke  QYH  40HKP0BAHKR (R is opposite way round)

NPN THE  Rest of plate information corroded away

Travels through china dinner plate, 4 mm steel plate, 7 mm aluminium plate

Does not travel though single concrete block with cement render, 35mm cast iron bar

[lyner]

Does your detector click click or does it sound very busy? If it does, then you shouldn't use it often!
Alternatively, you could make yourself a nice box for it. Give yourself a hernia instead of radiation sickness.

[Andrew K Fletcher (OP)]

The video on the first post link shows the detector is pretty busy.

Like this GammaRae pager, it picks up an extra 3-5 clicks above background radiation when close to local granite, some of the houses around Cornwall and Devon have high levels of radiation detected due to the stone being mined along with tin and some active materials. The stone was used to build a lot of the older houses in Cornwall which means they are constantly bombarded with Gamma.Bit like living in a microwave oven.

The Nightscope is on loan from a friend so he can take it home asap, although when the 19v power is turned off there is no radiation leaking out.

[lyner]

when the 19v power is turned off there is no radiation leaking out.

OK, so the radiation must be produced by high energy electrons - I think that defines it as X rays. There seems to be an overlap of X and gamma on many versions of the definitions of em radiation. It seems that the origin defines which you call them over a certain range. You can get low energy gamma produced in some nuclear reactions and high energy X from particlularly high energy electrons. They still do the same thing, tho.