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Radium Emanator Filter Jar (ca. 1935) |
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The Radium Emanator Filter was patented by John Wichmann of Los Angeles in
1932. Quoting the patent: "My present invention is designed to highly
charge the water such as may be required for professional purposes, in which
the water having a certain number of Mache units, is to be taken according
to a physician's prescription. The filter emanator may also be utilized as a
general device for charging water with radium emanation for household
use."
The device was manufactured by the Radium Emanator Filter Co. Inc. of North Haledon, New Jersey. As a nice decorative touch, the jar was made from uranium (vaseline) glass and it is the uranium that is responsible for the beautiful greenish-yellow glow under UV illumination (photo above right). The uranium (natural rather than depleted uranium) does not add radioactivity to the water, but there is a slight increase in the exposure rate immediately adjacent to the jar. |
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| In the 1990s, a number
of these were discovered in a New Jersey warehouse owned by the family of
the manufacturer. This is undoubtedly one of those. None contained the
radioactive source described in the patent and shown in the diagram to the
right.
Size: ca. 21" high, 9 1/2" diameter at widest point Exposure Rate: ca. 4 uR/hr above background on contact. Nothing detectable at one foot. References Kolb, W. and Frame, P. Living with Radiation, The First Hundred Years. Syntec Inc. 2nd Ed. 2002.
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