Home Alpha Radiation Detector

How to make an alpha radiation detector out of a webcam, a smoke detector, and a box. Thanks to Inventgeek's page on this project: http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/AlphaRad/Page1.aspx The insanelymac post: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=180402 This flickr photo album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frijole/sets/72157600012546571/ Wikipedia article on Cerenkov radiation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation As for radioactive risk, here is some safety information: http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q3704.html Alpha particles are a type of radiation that interacts with matter very well so they usually stop moving within a few centimeters of air. The speed of light in *in any vacuum.* If light has to move through a substance, it travels at a slower speed, depending on the density of the substance. This density is measured by a number called a refractive index. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refractive_index