How on earth did they know about these radioactive isotopes 130 years plus ago...So many people must have died just being near them when they were first discovered and mined...
We didn't even know about radioactivity 130 years ago and there were no uranium or thorium mines then. Most isotopes of thorium emit alpha particles, which cannot even penetrate skin. In minute quantities it is quite save and is still used in mantles for gas lanterns.
Some gas mantels. Most these days on It the thorium and that is why they don't have the same color temp as they used too. If you have old ones sitting around and put them in a lantern and you compare them to most modern ones the old ones are noticeably more yellow in light and the new ones whiter.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at May 28, 2019 9:01 AM MDT
Thorium is more abundant than uranium and cleaner to dispose of. You can't use it to make tea because it has to be heated to about 8400 ° farenheit to get it boiling.
Element 99 