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Date: | Mon, 6 Aug 2007 15:50:09 -0700 |
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ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Hi everyone,
We're knocking around the idea of building an exhibit based on the
Crookes Tube -- you know, those physics-lab cathode ray tubes, like
this:
http://www.uvm.edu/~dahammon/museum/crookstubes.html
(Basically, we'd like visitors to be able to deflect a particle beam
with a magnet -- to be able to do on a small scale what Ernest
Lawrence did on a grand scale.)
A couple of questions: Has anyone ever seen such an apparatus as a
standalone exhibit? I've personally only seen them in physics labs,
and I haven't been able to find any references to hands-on exhibits
(as opposed to Crookes tubes in museum collections; the Web is lousy
with those...).
A related but more important question: Would this be safe? I found a
paper from 1967 that seems to indicate that the X-ray emission from a
Crookes tube is pretty stunningly high, regardless of whether you're
measuring in front of the unit or off to the side. Unfortunately,
the paper doesn't give details like the voltage they're driving the
tube with or other information like that, but I'm starting to get a
sinking feeling of "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES can we do this on the
floor" (short of sealing the exhibit behind leaded glass or
something)....
I'd appreciate hearing about any experiences or lab safety knowledge
anyone would like to contribute! Thanks much,
--Allan
--
~~
Allan Ayres
Exhibit Developer
Lawrence Hall of Science
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-5200
[log in to unmask]
510-642-1254
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