Paul,
I am certainly no authority on this matter but from what I have gleaned, you are not going to produce "hard" x-rays in this manner. Besides the hard vacuum, this would also require a white-hot filament (for an electron source) for the cathode, a heavy metal target (usually tungsten) for the anode, and well over ~50 kVDC potential between the said cathode and anode to really produce the ionizing, body penetrating hard x-rays (even dental x-ray tubes typically run about 70 kV(DC)). That being said, if you are powering your tube with say 10 to 20 kVDC, you may produce some low energy "soft" x-rays, but I don't think it's going to be a significantly ionizing radiation source. I'm not even sure if you can produce any kind of x-rays at all with AC? That's just "my" 2 cents. ;^)
David
On Thursday, September 18, 2014 6:01 PM, Paul B. Thompson <mrapol@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I just recently found a local neon sign maker and asked him to make me a
simple vacuum tube, which he did, gratis (!). It's 18 inches long, clear
glass tubing about 3/4 inch in diameter, with electrodes at opposite ends. I
don't know how hard a vacuum he pulled on this, but very quick tests show a
pale blue glow from end to end. A strong magnet placed next to the tube
pinches the beam, intensifying it at the spot.
I've not run this for more than a few seconds. I am concerned about x-rays.
I'd like advice about operating this tube safely.
Thanks,
Paul
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