Timothy C. May writes:
2. Incorporating Am-241 or other alpha emitters in microcurie levels would require licensing, regulatory oversight, etc., etc. Don't count on it.
3. Data rates are fairly low. Anything that "clicks" at high rates (> 1K counts per second) would be too radioactive to ship.
4. Zener diodes and other random noise sources are cheaper to build, more consistent in output, and easier to integrate into actual products.
However, radiation detection devices are far easier to assure correct operation. You can buy pre-built radiation counters with RS-232 interfaces, so its really just a question in many cases of buying them and small radation sources, the latter of which is available in most scientific supply catalogs. Unlike other devices, its very hard for outsiders to tamper with radation sources to make them produce specially skewed numbers.... Perry