Making Electron Trees with a Linear Accelerator

This Tree Party video was taken in Roseburg, Oregon back in 1996, courtesy of Mr Don Russel, Medical Physicist Extraordinair, who graciously allowed me to temporarily turn his Varian Medical Linear Accelerator from a cancer therapy life saving device into a Lichtenburg making device. Many thanks to Don and also his lovely wife who provided food for us nut cases who are trying profusely to electrocute ourselves. One of the Physicists recieves a "SHOCKING" surprize when discharging this particular block of plastic.

Also, many thanks to the late Russel and Sigurd Varian for inventing these incredible machines, wich have cured millions of cases of cancer, and has relieved the suffering of millions of people since thier introduction in the early sixties.

This video is of a bunch of crazy nuts making Electron Trees with a 6 Mega Volt Sub Atomic Electron Beam, from a Linear Accelerator. The plastic is irradiated with a 6 Million Volt Beam of pure electrons. I'm guessing approximately 3 to 4 Million Rads/Reontoens are delivered to the plastic in just 5 short seconds. Certainly enough radiation to kill a person ON THE SPOT if it was delivered to the whole body. We have to temporarily leave between exposures to operate the controls on the outside of this thick concrete bunker.

At this energy level the electrons are stopped just short of center. Appx 2 cm into the plastic. The piece is then flipped over and radiated again. These electrons also stop just short of center. This is done simply to get a wider tree as observed from the side.

The plastic will later be polished on the sides so the tree will be visible from the sides.

After being radiated, the Plastic Piece is charged up to an EXTREMELY high negative potential, as it then has excess electrons.

The plastic is then discharged to mother earth using a technique approved by UNDERTAKER laboratories.

The resulting discharge leaves what appears to be a lightening bolt frozen in plastic. As the electrons rush out of the plastic, they fracture the plastic leaving a "Frozen Lightening Bolt" in thier place. It's scientific name is a 3Dimensional Lichtenburg Figure. If you put a light under it, it really lites up the "tree", and they are simply beautiful. I have made Squares, Globes, Cylinders, all kinds of shapes.

For more information you can visit Bert Hickmans Web Site at:
http://www.teslamania.com



sid mouser

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• electron
• tree
• trees
• 3d
• dimensional
• lichtenburg
• figures
• lightening
• in
• bottle
• glass
• plastic

[pistonslap]

This is the perfect kind of tinkering for fun to get young people interested in STEM! (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.) We built a Jacob's Ladder at San Jose City College back in the eighties and blew up capacitors with a 500 volt power supply (after our classwork was completed of course). Also, our Laser professor tried to burn through a sample of orbiter tile from the space shuttle and couldn't do it- that's some tough stuff! Science is COOL!

[hayseed1957]

@pistonslap

Thanks for your comments.

I went to SJCC to complete my AS Degree back in 1979 and 1980, right after I got out of the Navy. I had a lot of fun there. I still get my lab books out every once in a while and review them. Great memories of that place.

Science is DEFINATELY cool..

I have built a jacobs ladder before, and a Tesla Coil. Those were fun projects.

[thekingsora]

so what was that pump thing you were doing at the beginning

[hayseed1957]

@thekingsora

I am just measuring it with a measuring tape, and putting a mark on the plastic with a spring loaded center punch. That way, if the piece does accidentally "self discharge", while it is beaing radiated, then hopefully it will pop out this spot. It is just an insurance policy that the exit point, or the base of the tree is where you want it. 

[hayseed1957]

Thanks, that doesn't make me feel old at all.... ha ha......

But, when all the computers are dead, I will still be able manipulate large numbers using a SLIDE RULE...... ha ha...

[dzdice]

@hayseed1957 Yup science rulez.! xD 

[jeeprnovru]

Why didn't you guys tie a wire to the end of that center punch that was leading to ground, just touching the floor...so you don't make yourself such an easy ground???

[dougspair]

...Pretty cool trick, but been around awhile...you charge up the plexiglass, which becomes conductive at high voltage..then, pop it with a spring-loaded center punch..the stored energy instantly goes...through the punch..into your hand....you can also use a nail and a hammer..

[ShadyCrazy2009]

1:44 For the result

[recneps4444]

i like the part where they show us what they did.

[Gmoooba]

@DeadHappyFilm "sciences say"? Hm. Anyway, in case you mean scientists, they say a lot of things which aren't true. They also say, for example, that the speed of light is CONSTANT (which it of course never is, because it's always travelling through a medium of some sort, and life has different speed depending on the medium through which it travels - even space isn't a perfect vacuum). Math is just a map,not the reality - and scientists have erred throughout history. They still do.