physics

Radium Dial Company

Radium Dial Company is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Radium Dial Company rather than just read about it. In short: The Radium Dial Company was one of a few now defunct United States companies, along with the United States Radium Corporation, involved in the painting of clocks, watches and other instrument dials using radioluminescent paint containing radium. The resulting dials are now collectively known as radium dials.

Key takeaways

Radium Dial Company belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Radium Dial Company to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Radium Dial Company from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Radium Dial Company was one of a few now defunct United States companies, along with the United States Radium Corporation, involved in the painting of clocks, watches and other instrument dials using radioluminescent paint containing radium. The resulting dials are now collectively known as radium dials. The luminous paint used on the dials contained a mixture of zinc sulfide activated with silver, and powdered radium, a product that the Radium Dial Company named Luma. However, unlike the US Radium Corporation, Radium Dial Company was specifically set up to only paint dials, and no other radium processing took place at the premises. The company is notable for being involved in the radium poisoning of the Radium Girls. The workers in the factories were told that the radium paint was harmless. Radium's negative health effects were well-known at the time, however it was thought that small amounts of radium were not dangerous and even a cure for lack of energy. The workers in the factories consumed deadly amounts of radium due to being told by management to "point" their brushes on their lips for a fine tip. The young workers also used the radium paints to adorn their fingernails, lips and teeth to make them glow. This led to significant health problems and deaths among the company's workforce. The workers eventually sued Radium Dial Company and received financial compensation for their health problems, though the Radium Dial Company continuously appealed so this process took years and many workers had already died of their injuries. This litigation led to significant reforms in workplace safety and eventually led to the establishment of OSHA decades later.

History The Radium Dial Company was started in 1917 and was in full production of painted dials by 1918. The company was a division of the Standard Chemical Company based in the Marshall Field Annex building in Chicago. In 1920 the company relocated to Peru, Illinois to closer proximity to the clock manufacturer and major customer, Westclox. By 1922 the company had moved to a former high school building at 1022 Columbus Street in Ottawa, Illinois where it remained until the mid-1930s. At the highest point in production (around 1925), the Radium Dial Company employed around 1,000 young women who turned out around 4,300 dials each day. The company was headed by Joseph A. Kelly Sr. at the time of its dissolution during the trial. Kelly opened up a new corporation called Luminous Processes Inc. a few blocks away from the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois shortly after closing down the Radium Dial Company. Luminous Processes Inc. continued producing fluorescent watch dials powered by radium radioactivity until 1978.

See also Radium Girls Radium jaw Radioluminescence

References

Radium in Humans: A review of US Studies Petitioned Public Health Assessment, Ottawa Radiation Areas, Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois Film Festival; A View of the Radium Dial Horror

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Radium Dial Company

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Radium Dial Company claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Radium Dial Company before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Radium Dial Company ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Radium Dial Company

In research: Radium Dial Company appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Radium Dial Company in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Radium Dial Company is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1917 establishments in Illinois, American companies established in 1917, Defunct manufacturing companies based in Illinois, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Radium Dial Company outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Radium Dial Company in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Radium Dial Company means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Radium Dial Company out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Radium Dial Company in simple terms?

Why does Radium Dial Company matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Radium Dial Company?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Radium Dial Company.