Here’s a DIY X-ray Machine from The Scientific American Book of Projects for The Amateur Scientist (1960) – “From an old radio tube, some copper wire, and other inexpensive materials — total cost: roughly $20 — you can construct an X-ray machine that will make good pictures through an inch of wood.” – Link.
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Around 1968 a junior high school student in the neighborhood asked me to help him make that project for a science fair. We had no idea what an oudin coil was but figured what we needed was really high voltage.
We took a 10,000 volt oil burner ignition transformer and wired up a voltage quadrupler circuit using four 1B3 TV high voltage rectifier tubes and TV doorknob capacitors. About the only way to keep it from blowing itself up with arc-overs was to build it on sheet of glass and even then, on dry days — well it was pretty scary.
I suspect the power supply emitted far more X-Rays than the tube.
The school forbid him from operating it at the science fair and I don’t remember if he actually ever took X-Ray photos with it or not.
Around 1968 a junior high school student in the neighborhood asked me to help him make that project for a science fair. We had no idea what an oudin coil was but figured what we needed was really high voltage.
We took a 10,000 volt oil burner ignition transformer and wired up a voltage quadrupler circuit using four 1B3 TV high voltage rectifier tubes and TV doorknob capacitors. About the only way to keep it from blowing itself up with arc-overs was to build it on sheet of glass and even then, on dry days — well it was pretty scary.
I suspect the power supply emitted far more X-Rays than the tube.
The school forbid him from operating it at the science fair and I don’t remember if he actually ever took X-Ray photos with it or not.
mmmmmmmm, scrotal melanoma!
Anyone See Burn Notice Where Michael Weston Made an Xray in his trunk with parts from a TV & a Stun Gun? Yeah well its pretty cool