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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 U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was released by the A.C. Gilbert Company in 1950. This lab's intention was to allow children to create and watch chemical reactions using radioactive material. The lab contained a cloud chamber that allowed the viewer to watch alpha particles travel at 12,000 miles per second, 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 is looked upon as being dangerous because of the radioactive material in the set, but Gilbert claims that none of the materials could conceivably prove dangerous.〔Gilbert, A.C. (1954) ''The Man Who Lives in Paradise (pp. 333-334).〕 Unlike Gilbert's other chemistry sets that his company released, the U-238 Energy Lab never gained popularity and the toy was taken off shelves only a year later, selling only from 1950 and 1951. ==Background== 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 U.S. Council of National Defense not to ban toy purchases during Christmas time.〔Watson, B (1999) (''Hello Boys! Become an erector master engineer.'' ) ''Smithsonian'', 30(2), 120〕 The Atomic Energy Lab was just one of a dozen chemical reactions labs 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 set up their child in the right direction for a potential career in a science or engineering related field.〔DiVernieri, R. (2008, September) ("Stinks and bangs: They heyday of the chemistry set." ) ''Endeavour'' 32(3) 107-110〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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