Trains.com

Techno frustration, again

6747 views
140 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 6,199 posts
Posted by Miningman on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 6:34 PM

Pitchblende.

The sample and the mined orebody came from the Sue C Pit located in the Athabasca Basin here in Northern Saskatchewan. 

There were many seperate lenses of ore composed of fragments of Quartz-cordierite-garnet gneiss supported by pitchblende.

These occurred as very dark bands and easy to distinguish the ore from the waste rock. 

I have attached the geological report of the Sue C Pit 

It is good reading and loaded with information.

See Minerology starting on page 12. The sample came from the massive type occurance as described on page 15.

http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/310/88703-tourignyetal.pdf

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: San Francisco East Bay
  • 1,360 posts
Posted by MikeF90 on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 5:30 PM

@Miningman, do you know what the name of the beautiful, flourescent and radioactive mineral is?  I could not track it down definitively.

 

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 8:20 PM

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 7:17 PM

After 34 days, our sailing trip is over. It was a great one, despite our engine incident. Sleeping tonite on our mooring, driving home tomorrow. Hoping 6-8 auto races that were supposed to record while we were away actually in fact did. Car racing (F1 and IndyCar) is my favorite sport, and in anticipation of watching theses races, I have not looked at any racing news in over a month. (But I did hear about the Dale, Jr. plane crash, and miraculous outcome.) Technology can be great: I can now go back in time and catch up on my races.

Sans TV and movies, you folks have been a great source of entertainment.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Saturday, August 10, 2019 3:43 PM

Lithonia Operator
Is this just me? Often, here on the phone, on this forum, in the little boxes at the bottom with links to other pages in the thread, I will get these numerals: -1, 0, 1, 2, 3

 

I think it's called the Page 6 glitch.  On the next page, the numbering will go back to normal.  It's very aggravating if you are trying to find a posting on the previous page.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    December 2017
  • From: I've been everywhere, man
  • 4,269 posts
Posted by SD70Dude on Saturday, August 10, 2019 3:37 PM

It's a software glitch.  I get it too.  Only seems to do it on page 5.

Overmod - I updated Firefox and now I have the PM problems too.  Sigh.

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Saturday, August 10, 2019 3:11 PM

Is this just me? Often, here on the phone, on this forum, in the little boxes at the bottom with links to other pages in the thread, I will get these numerals:

-1, 0, 1, 2, 3

etc.

Just sometimes, not all the time.

???

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, August 10, 2019 8:00 AM

You may be right; the rectifier was an OZ-4--and that was about 70 years ago. I used it in a power supply that I built to run an amplifier that I built. I also used a rectifier which had a 5 volt filament, which simply had a slight red glow.

Johnny

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 21,669 posts
Posted by Overmod on Saturday, August 10, 2019 6:08 AM

Deggesty
Another mention of ozone--did you ever see a rectifier tube that was filled with ozone at work?--a beautiful purple glow inside the tube  (no filament, just cathode, plate (anode), and ozone.

I thought that was mercury vapor, not ozone.  All the oxygen would have been gettered (in a glass-envelope tube) long before significant power was applied across it, or so I would think.

Fixed mercury-pool rectifiers, like the ones on the original 3000V Lackawanna electrification circa 1928, may have had some air inside the tank to be excited during arc conduction.  As the punchline went in a less PC age: "i don't know,,, I never looked."

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Friday, August 9, 2019 7:22 PM

Paul of Covington

 

 
Lithonia Operator

Please note that in my most recent post there was a brief railroad mention.

Sleep

 

 

 

   Here's a railroad related question.   Mooring buoys: I know of nowhere around here where they are used, but from what I've read, they're quite common in New England.   I read sometime ago that someone got some old locomotive wheels to use as an anchor for a mooring buoy.   Have you heard of that, and if so, is it a common practice?

 

Never heard about that.

  • Member since
    July 2010
  • From: Louisiana
  • 2,310 posts
Posted by Paul of Covington on Friday, August 9, 2019 7:03 PM

Lithonia Operator

Please note that in my most recent post there was a brief railroad mention.

Sleep

 

   Here's a railroad related question.   Mooring buoys: I know of nowhere around here where they are used, but from what I've read, they're quite common in New England.   I read sometime ago that someone got some old locomotive wheels to use as an anchor for a mooring buoy.   Have you heard of that, and if so, is it a common practice?

_____________ 

  "A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Friday, August 9, 2019 6:25 PM

Flintlock76

riding the "Night Train" sooner than you should!  (Railroad reference.)

Big SmileYes

 

  • Member since
    December 2017
  • From: I've been everywhere, man
  • 4,269 posts
Posted by SD70Dude on Friday, August 9, 2019 4:25 PM

As long as you limit exposure, and don't play with that stuff a-la Louis Slotin, you should be fine.  An amazing sight to be sure!

Greetings from Alberta

-an Articulate Malcontent

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, August 9, 2019 4:17 PM

Yikes!  Goes without saying, you be careful, or you'll be riding the "Night Train" sooner than you should!  (Railroad reference.)

On the other hand, I suppose that third eye in the back of your head comes in handing for making sure your students aren't goofing off!

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 6,199 posts
Posted by Miningman on Friday, August 9, 2019 4:11 PM

The rock is NOT under UV light, just normal room lighting. NO it is not safe. I wouldn't recommend licking it! ( Geologists lick rocks all the time), also don't sprinkle on your cereal. It's safe as stored and handled.

It is stored away, wrapped in lead in a lead lined suitcase sealed in a lead lined barrel 30 feet up by an exhaust fan which vents out any radon gas. It is secretly under care by 2 people. The room is massive and is specially built for storage of radioactive core samples with prism stations for continuous monitoring. 

We open 'er up once a year to show new students. We give ourselves less than a minute, more like 20 seconds. 

It comes from one of our Uranium Mines from years ago. 

Except for the third eye I've acquired in the back of my head I'm fine! 

There was an in depth discussion on this maybe 2 years ago on String Lining. Also look up Gabon Reactors. 

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Friday, August 9, 2019 4:07 PM

Please note that in my most recent post there was a brief railroad mention.

Cool

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, August 9, 2019 3:29 PM

Never cared for Hendrix, thought it was so much noise, but WOW, what kind of rock/mineral is that?  Is it under UV light (I suspect it is) or does it always look like that?

And if it always looks like that, is it safe?

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 6,199 posts
Posted by Miningman on Friday, August 9, 2019 1:39 PM

Purple Haze

Acting funny and I don't know why

'scuse me while I kiss the sky

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Friday, August 9, 2019 1:21 PM

York1

Lithonia Operator

 What places have you been the past several days?

 

 
Hi York,
 
We left Camden ($1500 lighter). Went to Carver Cove on the island of Vinalhaven, at the east end of the Fox Island Thorofare, in Penobscot Bay; spent two nights there. Continued eastward, getting near The Acadia area, spending a night in Mackerel Cove, on the north side of Swans Island. From Swans we moved on to Southwest Harbor, which is on Mt. Desert Island, where Acadia NP is located. This was scheduled as a re-provisioning stop, and a for a meet-up with my sister, who drove up from Massachusetts. The plan was to take her on a four-night mini-cruise to locations in this area. Mother Nature had other plans. First came dense fog, so we stayed put for a night. Then there approached a nasty weather system. The mooring we were on was exposed to the SE, and the forecast was for 13-17 knots from the SE, with gusts to 25 knots, torrential rain, and 5-foot seas. We tried to move, through the fog, to a better harbor, but found out there was no room for us, so had to turn around. Went back to the mooring, which fortunately was still available. Then, after pondering what was going to be 24-36 hours of being cramped inside the cabin of a bucking bronco, we threw in the towel. For the first time in 32 years of cruising, we booked a hotel room for two nights, and got the hell out of Dodge. The weather truly sucked, and we were glad we made that decision, enjoying shoreside amenities, eating out, etc, making use of my sister’s car. Saw, but did not ride, the Downeast Scenic Railroad. Came back to boat this morning, then made the short hop over to mega-scenic Northeast Harbor, also on Mt. Desert Island, where we are currently hanging out in gorgeous weather. Two of us are reading books. One is on the web, and that latter individual is mere minutes away from commencing to nap.  
  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, August 9, 2019 11:56 AM

Deggesty

Another mention of ozone--did you ever see a rectifier tube that was filled with ozone at work?--a beautiful purple glow inside the tube  (no filiament, just cathode, plate (anode), and ozone.

 

No, but the corona wires inside the copiers I used to work on had a purple glow around them while energized, interesting to see.

The new machines have them pretty well shielded, so the glow isn't as observable as it once was, or not observable at all.  Made them harder to diagnose and work on.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Friday, August 9, 2019 10:21 AM

Another mention of ozone--did you ever see a rectifier tube that was filled with ozone at work?--a beautiful purple glow inside the tube  (no filiament, just cathode, plate (anode), and ozone.

Johnny

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Friday, August 9, 2019 8:57 AM

Lithonia Operator

 What places have you been the past several days?

York1 John       

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Friday, August 9, 2019 8:46 AM

Overmod

 

 
Flintlock76
No biggie. If toner was toxic I'd be dead by now!

 

Toner is just finely divided, fancily formulated black plastic.  The SRC used in the coal-burning Eldorados looks just like it, but doesn't fuse like it.

A significant example of a hazardous 'chemical' in your business would be ozone from the corona wires.  And I'll bet you had a lot of exposure to that without a mask over the years...

 

I never worried about ozone.  I figured it was protecting me from any loose cosmic rays that may have been floating around the office!

  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Dallas, TX
  • 6,952 posts
Posted by CMStPnP on Friday, August 9, 2019 2:01 AM

Flintlock76
Ever blow your nose and have it come out black?  

Unfortunately, dye mixed with plastic pellets in a plastic moulding firm has the same effect.    So I had black, red (Milwaukee Electric Tool red), green, etc.

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 21,669 posts
Posted by Overmod on Friday, August 9, 2019 1:43 AM

Flintlock76
No biggie. If toner was toxic I'd be dead by now!

Toner is just finely divided, fancily formulated black plastic.  The SRC used in the coal-burning Eldorados looks just like it, but doesn't fuse like it.

A significant example of a hazardous 'chemical' in your business would be ozone from the corona wires.  And I'll bet you had a lot of exposure to that without a mask over the years...

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Thursday, August 8, 2019 4:32 PM

Lithonia Operator

 

 
Flintlock76

I shed enough blood working on Japanese copiers over thirty years to qualify for a Purple Heart and a Pacific Theater ribbon!

That's not counting the burns...

 

 

Lord knows, you might have also been breathing toxic chemicals.

(I‘m just trying to cheer you up.)

 

No biggie.  If toner was toxic I'd be dead by now!

Ever blow your nose and have it come out black?  Ick!

The color copier guys usually get a Technicolor effect!  Surprise

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: US
  • 25,292 posts
Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, August 8, 2019 12:19 PM

Shadow the Cats owner
You think boats are tough try some of the positions that my companies mechanics have to get into to change parts into on the trucks.  I know my husband has a few horror stories about parts in hard to reach locations.  The slave cylinders on top of the transmissions are a real treat on all conventional style trucks with a sleeper.  The mechanic has to shove his head and chest in between the frame and cab to get to the top of the transmission disconnect the air lines on the slave clyinder causing the truck to loose all air pressure in the system and then replace the parts.  It's even better on the newer automated manual transmissions when the ECM of the transmission needs replaced.  They are located between the firewall and transmission behind the engine in a space that the only way to get to it is literally drop the entire exhaust and transmission out of the truck to get to 1 bolt that you can not get to any other way.  So that means you are pulling the DEF SCR and everything to get to 1 freaking bolt on the transmission ECM that is on it.  We normally send those to the dealer to have fun fixing.  Or the best one is the air clyinder for the sliding fifth wheels that are located under it.  You have to remove the fifth wheel to get to the cylinder and the plate itself weighs over 400 pounds and it is held on by 1 inch thick pins that are held in by roll pins also located under the fifth wheel that is inbetween the drive axles.  Oh yeah the fun of working on some of these things.

All one has to do is watch some videos of how various things get built.  The 'building block' approach.  Various sub-assemblies are constructed - with each part in a easy place for the technician to attach it.  Then the sub-assembly gets attached to another sub-assembly or the ultimate product and then the 'easily attached' parts get placed in virtually unreachable locations in the final product.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

  • Member since
    April 2016
  • 1,447 posts
Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Thursday, August 8, 2019 11:30 AM

You think boats are tough try some of the positions that my companies mechanics have to get into to change parts into on the trucks.  I know my husband has a few horror stories about parts in hard to reach locations.  The slave cylinders on top of the transmissions are a real treat on all conventional style trucks with a sleeper.  The mechanic has to shove his head and chest in between the frame and cab to get to the top of the transmission disconnect the air lines on the slave clyinder causing the truck to loose all air pressure in the system and then replace the parts.  It's even better on the newer automated manual transmissions when the ECM of the transmission needs replaced.  They are located between the firewall and transmission behind the engine in a space that the only way to get to it is literally drop the entire exhaust and transmission out of the truck to get to 1 bolt that you can not get to any other way.  So that means you are pulling the DEF SCR and everything to get to 1 freaking bolt on the transmission ECM that is on it.  We normally send those to the dealer to have fun fixing.  Or the best one is the air clyinder for the sliding fifth wheels that are located under it.  You have to remove the fifth wheel to get to the cylinder and the plate itself weighs over 400 pounds and it is held on by 1 inch thick pins that are held in by roll pins also located under the fifth wheel that is inbetween the drive axles.  Oh yeah the fun of working on some of these things.

  • Member since
    May 2019
  • 1,768 posts
Posted by MMLDelete on Thursday, August 8, 2019 9:39 AM

Flintlock76

I shed enough blood working on Japanese copiers over thirty years to qualify for a Purple Heart and a Pacific Theater ribbon!

That's not counting the burns...

 

Lord knows, you might have also been breathing toxic chemicals.

(I‘m just trying to cheer you up.)

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy