The Jacob's ladder is spectacular, of course, and so are Tesla coils
in general, but, with reasonable precautions, like don't touch!, are
pretty safe. However, an unshielded x-ray with enough output to
nicely light up a flourescent screen?
For perspective, though, as a kid I looked through a flouroscope at
my feet in shoes. They used to have these things in shoe stores. I did survive.
I notice something about that video. He's not near it when it's
operating, as far as any evidence shows. The object being x-rayed is
on a turntable, and the video camera can be sitting there recording
it all. He doesn't even need to be in the same room. Pop the breaker
from the basement....
What's really cool about this is that the magnetron is an interesting
device that you can get really cheap, or free, from a junk microwave oven.
I had a broken smoke detector. Presto! Americium-241 alpha source. A
little bit of cheap zinc sulfide spinthariscope screen, and I can see
nuclear radiation effects, quite safely. It's claimed in the
literature that I could swallow the source and I'd still be safe,
it's apparently happened. It's oxidized fully, and it isn't soluble
at all. Let's see, should I get a bunch of these sources, reduce
them, and collect the Americium? Let me pass on that one!
These sources can be shipped through the mail, individually, and you
can buy a smoke detector, new, with such a source in it for about $6.
So you can easily guess what will be used to calibrate the
polycarbonate SSNTDs I'll be fabricating from makrolon sheets. They
will almost certainly have significant background from normal
storage, I don't yet know how much, I should know in less than a
week, I hope. In the end, if this approach doesn't work, I'll break
down and use something like Landauer detectors, they are expensive
but not out of range. I have a few, courtesy of an anonymous donor,
but they are old; I also have new LR-115 detectors which I'll use
supplementally. But I won't be able to view the cathode through them,
like I can with clear CR-39, at least until the surface gets too damaged.
(Yes, for the polycarbonate detectors, I'll be working wet. Too many
advantages. If I'm looking for neutrons, and I am, the front surface
isn't terribly relevant anyway.)
