Homebuilt Cathode Ray Tube

Here is an instructable that describes how it can be built: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electron-Accelerator-A-Cathode-Ray-Tube-i...

This is my first attempt at building a cathode ray tube. I used a Viot VPD3 15 micron pump to evacuate a chamber made using a modified wine bottle. The power supply is a 9kV 30mA NST, the same one that I used in my spark gap Tesla coil. The dark band around the center of the tube is caused by sputtering of the electrodes.

This project is a replication of the work originally done here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=813-2aAJ300&feature=related

Thanks for all the support, guys! This project was featured on Slashgear, Engadget, Gizmodo, Gadgetblog, Tecmundo, Matuk, Zedomax DIY, and Make, as well as on instructables!

Be sure to visit my website to see more of my projects:
http://xellers.wordpress.com/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Cathode
• Ray
• Tube. DIY
• Homebuilt
• High
• Voltage
• Electron
• Particle
• Accelerator

[DhrTressie]

Lets all bathe in high-energy ionising radiation - for science!

[Xkcdification]

@DhrTressie Please read the instructable before posting ignorant comments. I'm not a greenhorn, I know my way around high voltage equipment and I got an OK on this project from a physicist at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

[DhrTressie]

@Xkcdification Don't take mine or any other physicist's word for it, get hold of a dosimeter and afford yourself the opportunity to learn something new. That or maintain the apparent constricted mindset and enjoy your un-enlightened oblivion.

[Xkcdification]

@DhrTressie I would need a dosimeter..... if it was physically possible for small amounts of soft x-rays to penetrate the chamber. Again, read the instructable please.

[Ryuuken24]

"The dark band around the center", don't you need oxygen for that? Isn't this a vacuum tube of sorts? I do have a question, can I get bigger plants if I increase the atmospheric pressure?

[Xkcdification]

@Ryuuken24 The dark band is caused by sputtering, which has nothing to do with oxygen. As for your other question, I'm not sure this video is the proper place to discuss growing plants. I'm sure there's a forum out there somewhere that has what you're looking for, though!

[jayynecobb]

The only thing missing now is Part II: Mentos Cathode X-ray Diet Coke Bottle Tube.

The dark band also forms on the Xray tubes we manufacture and test at work. Its the impurities being thrown out of the cathode (or anode, we have another type that's completely opposite).

Great work. PLEASE dont get a career at a company that kills inventive minds with their goddamned Six Sigma bullshit. It's why we've lost all our good engineers and dropped our stock to $12 from $49 (and also lost dividends).

[Jameslikespudding]

oh shoot it was electrons, sorry

[Jameslikespudding]

My science teacher says that cathode ray tubes are in the TVs that have the big box on the back with a O shaped anode so the... i forget if it is protons or neutrons sorry im only in grade 9 and just starting to lear about this, anyways so with the O shaped anode the "particles" can go through it and the have a small "punching" power. so basically he told us that a old TV has a ray gun in it XD

[marcostadeu77]

RETURN TO HALF LIFE !

[mcallister61407]

@DhrTressie Clarification: I mean no arrogance nor malice. I am simply wondering what specifically you believe is a harmful emission from devices such as this, that is all. I am not trying to prove who is smarter than who, or anything of that sort. If it came across the wrong way, I apologize publicly.

[mcallister61407]

@DhrTressie "high-energy ionising radiation" ... "dosimeter"

If not X-radiation, what specifically are you suggesting a precaution be taken against?

[DhrTressie]

@mcallister61407 Never mentioned X-ray. Not once.

[mcallister61407]

@DhrTressie Geiger counter would be more appropriate. I've built "booze-bottle" CRTs since back in '06, I've worked with them enough to know the danger is minimal from radiation. I'm not dead. What he's doing is safe. This is 15kV and down, very little if any gets through the glass. OTOH, magnetically deflecting the electron beam to the glass wall, on the other hand, can heat a spot a LOT... the bottle potentially could shatter. The cathode can also get HOT. The risk is thermal, not X-ray.

[clagwell]

Here we go again. 7kv will not produce any more of an ionizing radiation problem than taking a nature stroll on a warm sunny day. The biggest safety threat in this video is electrocution and implosion.