> Several people have been killed doing fractal art with a microwave oven transformer
Those transformers are dangerous as hell, because one side of them is ground (plus nearly a full amp or so available current - 1 kW, right?) - super easy to get a path through YOU to ground. I've done "fractal art" (nothing to do with actual fractals, of course), but I used a neon sign transformer - isolated, and only around 15 mA of current - and switched it with a momentary foot pedal. It would still have been an exceedingly bad day to get across it, but I probably would have survived. I was extremely careful... On Monday, November 25, 2024 at 6:50:28 PM UTC-8 gregebert wrote: > It can be done, but it's very dangerous. Bombarding current is on the > order of hundreds of mA, and in the kilovolt range. I've heard of incidents > where an arc went thru the manifold and into the evacuation pump; if such a > path is possible, there are undoubtedly other paths thru your body, which > are fatal at the currents being used. Several people have been killed doing > fractal art with a microwave oven transformer, and that's at a lower > voltage than bombarding. It only takes 1 small mistake; for me, the reward > was nowhere near the risk so I never got into neon art. For others, it's a > different story and that's why they jump out of airplanes, URBEX high > rooftops and bridges, or spray tags on freeway signs. > > On Monday, November 25, 2024 at 5:13:14 PM UTC-8 Miles Thatch wrote: > >> I'm not sure what is so dramatic about the bombarding process? Sure it's >> high voltages, as one would expect with this sort of manufacturing but if >> the young lady can do it with confidence, I don't see why full grown men >> here can't. >> >> On Saturday, November 23, 2024 at 12:49:13 PM UTC-5 Instrument Resources >> of America wrote: >> >>> I saw bombarding being done. I sit here now shaking and shuddering from >>> the experience. Here is a fairly detailed video of neon sign >>> manufacturing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH635AEawGY >>> The bombarding process starts at about 12:30. The demonstration that I saw, >>> they deliberately drew a two foot arc just for show. It was impressive, and >>> S-C-A-R-R-Y. This may not help you with your endeavors, but it is >>> interesting, and mentions 'neon' a number of times. >>> >>> Ira. >>> >>> >>> >>> On 11/22/2024 8:27 PM, gregebert wrote: >>> >>> >>> Several years ago I researched neon signage, and you need a high-vacuum, >>> around 1 micron (10-3 Torr). The books I have didn't get into specific >>> vacuum levels, as there are multiple ways to cleanse the tubes, notably via >>> bombarding. They did not cover nixie tubes. >>> >>> To get micron-level vacuum, you need a mechanical pump to get around 100 >>> microns, followed by a diffusion pump. There might be other ways to get the >>> required cleanliness without a diffusion pump, but I dont have any details. >>> If you just want to do some experimenting, start with a mechanical pump. I >>> plan to do that soon, as I have a small pump used for evacuating air >>> conditioning equipment. >>> >>> Some of the reasons I'm not doing neon work are the cost of the >>> equipment, the dangers of bombarding, need for mercury to extend tube life, >>> and I expect it to be difficult to find getter material. All I want to do >>> is get some sort of discharge glow, and play around with easy-to-find gases >>> like argon and helium. >>> >>> I saw a mention in the Weston book of pressures in the 10-2 to 10-4 >>> Torr, though it covers theory of operation rather than fabrication details. >>> On Friday, November 22, 2024 at 12:33:28 PM UTC-8 Miles Thatch wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> [image: vac.png] >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "neonixie-l" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion, visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/7e19cde9-eb07-42fa-bb3b-2ccf0d4b22a6n%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/7e19cde9-eb07-42fa-bb3b-2ccf0d4b22a6n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/1771bace-db18-4c29-9d2a-fa1240323afcn%40googlegroups.com.
