[TCML] Need ALPHA WINDOW to detect x-rays in phantom streams

[William Beaty <billb@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012, Jeff Behary wrote:
> (Though, recently, lightning experts in Melborne FL have witnessed some 
> of my coils and suggested the possibilty of very low level X-Rays being 
> produced from the streams - they were the first experimenters to 
> document non-vacuum X-Rays generated from lightning as well as certain 
> laboratory sparks.super cool work!)

On detecting TC x-rays, here's a possible source of confusion of which to 
be aware.  Geiger counters are extremely sensitive to x-rays; much more 
sensitive than any phosphor screen ...but this only is true of fairly hard 
x-rays.  Down below 20KV, soft x-rays have a hard time getting through a 
glass x-ray tube, much less a metal GM counter wall.  They also don't 
penetrate far into water, so they're responsible for the early cases 
of melanoma (back before the medical designers learned to include a 
low-cut filter.)

So, in order to solidly reject the possibility of soft x-rays, you really 
need an alpha-window GM counter.  If you only have an inexpensive 
beta/gamma detector, then you cannot use it to reject the existence of 
all x-rays.

But also, I've seen one GM counter which, when a "vacuum tester" coil was 
waved about 9" away from the probe cable, responded with great quantities 
of random-seeming clicks.  I wouldn't have expected such RF interference 
to sound like a particle flux, yet it did.   No buzz, no 120Hz.  Best to 
use a tiny kit-style GM counter inside a metal box with a screen-window.

Here's a brief holiday sale on a tiny GM counter kit, $9.00 without GM 
tube...

  http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G18410

Then just buy a 712 alpha-window tube for about $100 from sparkfun etc., 
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8875?
http://www.lndinc.com/products/711/
http://www.imagesco.com/geiger/geiger-counter-tubes.html

Also:
  https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10742?
  http://www.electronickitsbychaneyelectronics.com/prodinfo.asp?number=c6998


(((((((((((((((((( ( (  (   (    (O)    )   )  ) ) )))))))))))))))))))
William J. Beaty                            SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
billb at amasci com                         http://amasci.com
EE/programmer/sci-exhibits   amateur science, hobby projects, sci fair
Seattle, WA  206-762-3818    unusual phenomena, tesla coils, weird sci
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