Radioactive Spark Plugs

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  • December 1, 2017 at 11:42 am #392165
    Author nameAuthor names are only available to PAS members.

    Hi, anyone familiar with or in possession of old Firestone radioactive spark plugs? I understand they came about circa 1940 and were sold until the early-mid 1950s; they used polonium in the electrode, with the typical claimed advantages of efficiency and power increased, etc.

    It will have Polonium on the ceramic.

    Not certain if I would treasure one as an interesting artifact, or run from it…

    December 1, 2017 at 12:27 pm #405554
    Author nameAuthor names are only available to PAS members.

    Very interesting.

    I will have to check my stash of old plugs and see if I have one.

    I have mostly AC plugs from what I can recall.

    December 1, 2017 at 5:39 pm #405562
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    I had a set in one of my Model T’s a few years back. I didn’t notice any difference in how it ran but didn’t keep them either. Something about the radioactive part I really didn’t like.

    December 1, 2017 at 9:46 pm #405564
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    Relax kids. The most common radioisotope of Polonium is Po-210. It is an alpha particle emitter with a half life of 140 days. That means that its decay to harmless levels takes only four years. Even when new Po-210 is harmless unless it is ingested, i.e. ground up and swallowed or inhaled. Seems unlikely for sparkplug electrodes.

    December 1, 2017 at 11:30 pm #405566
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    Still, they sound like fun, don’t they?

    December 2, 2017 at 9:50 am #405576
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    Do they glow in the dark?

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