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The following article appeared in Bottles & Extras December 2001: |
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Irradiating the Mail Could Cause Bottles to Change Color Report by Cecil Munsey |
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We all know that glass changes color under various circumstances. I researched and published that information over 30 years ago for my book ** For those of you who are not old enough remember the book or do not own a copy, let me review: Exposure to the sun or the ultraviolet rays of a germicidal lamp can “color” bottles that contain manganese. Shortcut methods that change bottle colors are treatment by mercury-arc radiation, X rays, and gamma rays. Depending on the makeup of the glass, a variety of colors can result from such exposures. I suppose most of us have seen such altered bottles for sale at bottle shows. Today our nation is facing and trying to deal with anthrax terrorism that is being spread through the mails.The recent decision by the U.S. Postal Service to try using electron beams to kill harmful organisms in the mail has prompted experts to caution that the technology has potential, but they urged caution. The technology, known as ion bean sterilization, uses a particle accelerator to produce beams of electrons, which are then fired through mail. No radiation or significant heat is generated in the process that is already widely used to sterilize a number of things including some food. If a particular piece of mail should contain a bottle being exchanged between collectors, that bottle could be changed in color. The technique could also change other materials in unpredictable ways. For example, electrons can bounce around inside minerals, including gemstones, and, as already indicated, glass, in ways that change the color of the material. Topaz is routinely modified commercially from clear to blue through ion beam sterilization. With glass, the consequences would vary tremendously depending on the type of glass. Clear glass could turn brown, for example. From a collecting standpoint, all of this points to the need for caution by collectors when buying bottles that are presented in unusual colors. |
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| **The Illustrated Guide to COLLECTING BOTTLES by Cecil Munsey. Hawthorn Books, Inc., New York, 1970. | |
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