Kearny Fallout Meter
Encyclopedia
The Kearny Fallout Meter or KFM is an expedient radiation meter designed to be able to be constructed immediately before or during a nuclear attack by someone with a normal mechanical ability and from common household items. It also is a science project demonstrating the effect of ionizing radiation
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An electrostatic charge is placed upon two aluminium foil leaves. As radiation strikes the meter the foil leaves lose their charge and start to droop. This droop can be measured and a rate can be established.
The Kearny Fallout Meter was developed by Cresson Kearny
from research performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
and published in the civil defense
manual Nuclear War Survival Skills
(ISBN 0-942487-01-X). The plans were originally released in Oak Ridge National Laboratory publication ORNL-5040, The KFM, A Homemade Yet Accurate and Dependable Fallout Meter and have been formatted in a newsprint ready layout so that they may be quickly printed with accurate dimensions in local newspapers.
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
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An electrostatic charge is placed upon two aluminium foil leaves. As radiation strikes the meter the foil leaves lose their charge and start to droop. This droop can be measured and a rate can be established.
The Kearny Fallout Meter was developed by Cresson Kearny
Cresson Kearny
Cresson Henry Kearny wrote several survival related books based primarily on research performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.-Career:Kearny attended Texas Military Institute in the 1930s, where he became the commanding officer of the cadet corps, a champion runner and rifle shot, and...
from research performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
and published in the civil defense
Civil defense
Civil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
manual Nuclear War Survival Skills
Nuclear war survival skills
Nuclear War Survival Skills or NWSS by Cresson Kearny is a civil defense manual. It contains information gleaned from research performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the Cold War, as well as from Kearny's extensive jungle living and international travels.The book aims to provide a...
(ISBN 0-942487-01-X). The plans were originally released in Oak Ridge National Laboratory publication ORNL-5040, The KFM, A Homemade Yet Accurate and Dependable Fallout Meter and have been formatted in a newsprint ready layout so that they may be quickly printed with accurate dimensions in local newspapers.
Plans
- PDF version of the plans
- online version
- Nuclear War Survival Skills Appendix C by Cresson Kearny ISBN 0-942487-01-X