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The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab is a toy lab set that was produced by Alfred Carlton Gilbert, who was an American athlete, magician, toy-maker, business man, and inventor of the well-known Erector Set. The Atomic Energy Lab was released by the A.C. Gilbert Company in 1950. The kit's intention was to allow children to create and watch nuclear and chemical reactions using radioactive material.
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Background and development
Gilbert believed that toys were the foundation in building a "solid American character", and many of his toys had some type of educational significance to them. Gilbert was even dubbed “the man who saved Christmas” during World War I when he convinced the US Council of National Defense not to ban toy purchases during Christmas time.
The Atomic Energy Lab was just one of a dozen chemical reactions lab kits that were on the market at the time. For Gilbert’s toys, he often included instructions on how the child could use the set to put on their own “magic show”. For parents, he pushed the idea that the sets that used chemical reactions started their child in the right direction for a potential career in a science or engineering related field.
In 1954, Gilbert wrote in his autobiography, The Man Who Lives in Paradise, that the Atomic Energy Laboratory was “the most spectacular of [their] new educational toys”. Gilbert wrote that the government had unofficially encouraged the set's development because they believed that the lab would aid in public understanding of atomic energy and emphasize its constructive aspects. Gilbert also defended his Atomic Energy Laboratory, saying that it was completely safe and accurate, and that some of the country’s best nuclear physicists had worked on the project.
Description
The lab contained a cloud chamber that allowed the viewer to watch alpha particles traveling at 12,000 miles per second (19,000,000 m/s), a spinthariscope that showed the results of radioactive disintegration on a fluorescent screen, and an electroscope that measured the radioactivity of different substances that were in the set.
This toy has been called "the world's most dangerous toy" because of the radioactive material included in the set. Gilbert claimed that none of the materials could conceivably prove dangerous. However, the instructions cautioned that "users should not take ore samples out of their jars, for they tend to flake and crumble and you would run the risk of having radioactive ore spread out in your laboratory. This would raise the level of your background count."
The set originally sold for $49.50 ($493 today) and contained the following:
A product catalog describes the set as follows: "Produces awe-inspiring sights! Enables you to actually SEE the paths of electrons and alpha particles traveling at speeds of more than 10,000 miles per SECOND! Electrons racing at fantastic velocities produce delicate, intricate paths of electrical condensation – beautiful to watch. Viewing Cloud Chamber action is closest man has come to watching the Atom! Assembly kit (Chamber can be put together in a few minutes) includes Dri-Electric Power Pack, Deionizer, Compression Bulb, Glass Viewing Chamber, Tubings, power leads, Stand and Legs."
Among other activities, the kit suggested "playing hide and seek with the gamma ray source", challenging players to use the Geiger counter to locate a radioactive sample hidden in a room.
Legacy
Unlike other chemistry sets that Gilbert's company released, the Atomic Energy Lab never gained popularity and was soon taken off shelves. Less than 5000 kits were sold, and the product was only offered in 1950 and 1951. Gilbert believed that Atomic Energy Lab was commercially unsuccessful because the lab was more appropriate for those who had some educational background rather than the younger crowd that the A.C. Gilbert Company usually aimed for. Columbia University purchased five of these sets for their physics lab.