radium dials
Luminescent watch faces
Radium dials are clock, watch, or instrument faces painted with radium-based luminous paint so they glow in the dark.
Popular from the early 1900s through the mid-20th century, they allowed pilots, soldiers, and civilians to read timepieces in darkness.
The women who painted these dials—often called "radium girls"—suffered severe radiation poisoning, leading to landmark workplace safety litigation.
Vintage radium dials remain mildly radioactive and are now collectible curiosities.
- timepiecesInstruments measuring elapsed duration
- watchesPortable personal clocks
- luminescenceHeatless light emission
- handsGripping limbs' extremities
- glowSteady, soft light
occupational safety · nuclear safety · watchmaking · Marie Curie · bone cancer · clocks · alpha particles · markers · paint · phosphorescence · pitchblende · thorium · factory workers · numerals · Geiger counter · uranium glass · vintage watches · watch faces
- luminescenceluminescence, fluorescence, phosphorescence, bioluminescence, chemiluminescence