9
next 200 or more years, this work was considered as the miner’s bible on metallurgy and mining. For centuries it was widely used as a sort of manual for mining
ores and their metallurgical processing. He is considered the father of mineralogy
(René 2018).
In the early seventeenth century, the silver ores were exhausted, and attention
turned to nickel, cobalt, bismuth and arsenic. The mining interest gradually shifted
later to uranium and radium. In the years that followed, some more compounds
extracted from uranium ore were found to serve as a substance which could be used
for painting on glassware or porcelain and some other materials, producing colourful, shining images. Ironically, it was from the “worthless” residues of the uranium
extraction process that M. Curie-Sklodowska separated, at that time, a miraculous
new element, she called radium. I radium is mixed with zinc sulphate; this compound could glow in the dark.
Moreover, uranium, when added to glass in conjunction, produces amazing yellow and green colours and fluorescence effects. Uranium paints attracted attention
of many producers of glassware and pottery. Especially popular were articles such
as vases and various decorative figurines (Fig. 6). The content of uranium varied
from very tiny concentrations, well below 2% to around 25% of uranium. In the
latter case, the external gamma radiation emitted by uranium decay products was
likely not negligible. This was why the use of uranium paints is now extremely rare.
Old items coloured by uranium are today considered antiques or retro-era
collectibles.
This application of various uranium oxides helped Jáchymov to overcome the
crisis after silver mining proved to be unprofitable. The business became so successful that several factories were built to satisfy the increasing demand for such commodities. Gradually, some other uranium colours for the glassmaking industry
(orange yellow) and the “black uranium colour” for the porcelain industry were
developed (Wikipedia 2018). Photos of two such factories in operation at the turn of
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are shown in Fig. 7.
While in 1853 about 85 kg of uranium colours were produced in Jáchymov, in
1886 it was already 12,776 kg. At this time, the local factories were famous, and the
Fig. 6 Some examples illustrating the use of uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a
glass mix before melting for colouration
Uranium in the Beginning of the Nuclear Age: Reflections on the Historical Role…
next 200 or more years, this work was considered as the miner’s bible on metallurgy and mining. For centuries it was widely used as a sort of manual for mining
ores and their metallurgical processing. He is considered the father of mineralogy
(René 2018).
In the early seventeenth century, the silver ores were exhausted, and attention
turned to nickel, cobalt, bismuth and arsenic. The mining interest gradually shifted
later to uranium and radium. In the years that followed, some more compounds
extracted from uranium ore were found to serve as a substance which could be used
for painting on glassware or porcelain and some other materials, producing colourful, shining images. Ironically, it was from the “worthless” residues of the uranium
extraction process that M. Curie-Sklodowska separated, at that time, a miraculous
new element, she called radium. I radium is mixed with zinc sulphate; this compound could glow in the dark.
Moreover, uranium, when added to glass in conjunction, produces amazing yellow and green colours and fluorescence effects. Uranium paints attracted attention
of many producers of glassware and pottery. Especially popular were articles such
as vases and various decorative figurines (Fig. 6). The content of uranium varied
from very tiny concentrations, well below 2% to around 25% of uranium. In the
latter case, the external gamma radiation emitted by uranium decay products was
likely not negligible. This was why the use of uranium paints is now extremely rare.
Old items coloured by uranium are today considered antiques or retro-era
collectibles.
This application of various uranium oxides helped Jáchymov to overcome the
crisis after silver mining proved to be unprofitable. The business became so successful that several factories were built to satisfy the increasing demand for such commodities. Gradually, some other uranium colours for the glassmaking industry
(orange yellow) and the “black uranium colour” for the porcelain industry were
developed (Wikipedia 2018). Photos of two such factories in operation at the turn of
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are shown in Fig. 7.
While in 1853 about 85 kg of uranium colours were produced in Jáchymov, in
1886 it was already 12,776 kg. At this time, the local factories were famous, and the
Fig. 6 Some examples illustrating the use of uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a
glass mix before melting for colouration
Uranium in the Beginning of the Nuclear Age: Reflections on the Historical Role…