Re: 40w globe lightbulb = safe plasma ball?

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <mereness-at-mindspring-dot-com>

I looked in the Pupman archives and found this thread. 

It seems that if there is sufficient gas in the vessel to create
streamers/corona then the evacuation is insufficient to create hard radiation.
 But if the walls fluoresce, X-Rays may be being produced.  Perhaps there is a
threshold torr that may allow both situations to occur.  

But this is beyond the scope of my knowledge.  

Jamie

-Shooting arcs in Tesla's old neighborhood; the Lower East Side of New York
City.-



Jeff,
Many modern light bulbs do not have a high vacuum, but instead
a medium vacuum and a small amount of gas such as argon.

If you can see corona coming off of the filament inside the
bulb, then you have a bulb with gas. These are quite safe
and produce no measureable x-rays.

Almost ALL older light bulbs were made with a HIGH vaccum,
which explains Jeff's "antique bulb" giving off x-rays.

Some of the smaller SIZE lighbulbs still use a high vacuum.
Just last year I was producing x-rays with a 30 watt bulb.
It is easy to distinguish when a bulb has a high vacuum.
When you attach them to a source of HV they fluoresce
green, blue, or white along the walls of the tube. If you
see corona inside the tube, then there is no fluoresence
and no x-rays.

Things that I personally KNOW give off x-rays:
X-RAY tubes
Crookes tubes (and other types as found in science labs)
SOME Geissler tubes (walls fluoresce)
Older style light bulbs (almost all)
New light bulbs of small size/wattage (Large ones don't)
Radio tubes (Not all, but about 50% of the types *do*)
Cathode ray tubes / Oscilloscope tubes / TV screen /
Computer monitor screen

ANY higly evacuated vessel is a candidate for x-ray
production:

Dewar flasks
Thermos bottles

Bottom line: if it fluoresces, it most likely can produce
x-rays. The exception to this rule is the fluorescent
light bulb. These contain mercury vapor that when excited
gives off UV light that in turn excites the fluorescent
material coating the tube. They do not produce x-rays.

If a light bulb is being run on a Tesla Coil such that 
the filament is giving off incandescent light, this is OK.
No x-rays. If the filament has corona coming off of it,
this, too, is OK. No x-rays. If you see the GLASS walls
fluorescing, the danger of x-rays is quite real.

Hope this helps.
Fr. Tom McGahee

----------
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: X-rays from light bulbs/Tesla Coils !!!
> Date: Monday, September 06, 1999 12:33 PM
> 
> Original Poster: "Jeff W. Parisse" <jparisse-at-teslacoil-dot-com> 
> 
> John, Jeff, Group...
> 
> Wait a minute! Let's back up. Maybe I missed something.
> 
> X-rays from a TC excited light bulb? I use a VTTC to light lightbulbs
> and/or create corona on the filaments all the time as I'm sure
> many of us with VTTCs do.
> 
> Are there any x-ray experts willing to comment on the thread below?
> 
> Jeff Parisse
> 
> > >Just wanted to relate that I have produced x-rays using an antique light
> > >bulb and a small 3-4" spark Tesla coil.  The radiation was strong enough
> to
> > >weakly fluoresce an x-ray screen with a target shadow (paper clip used
> for
> > >target object) between the bulb and screen.
> >
> > THANK you for this email.  When I started out fiddling around with Violet
> > Rays and different smaller Tesla Coils, knowing nothing anything about
> > Tesla, sparks, or radiation I was lighting up Edison bulbs and noting that
> > the glass phosphoresced a beautiful yellow green colour, and that the
> > filaments and posts inside cast black shadows on the glass.  Didn't have a
> > clue what was going on.  I must have played quite a long time with this
> > light bulb, and in the weeks time acquired a half dozen or so more bulbs
> to
> > play with, and found similar results.


On Mon, 07 Oct 2002 16:57:44 -0600 Tesla list <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com> wrote:

> Original poster: "D.C. Cox by way of Terry
> Fritz " 
> 
> 
> You might borrow a radiation badge from a local
> hospital X-ray dept.  If you
> befriend the X-ray tech I'm sure they will give
> you a badge to do the test.
> Then the tech processes it to check.  This
> would be a good test --- please
> report your results to the Tesla List so we all
> know.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Dr. Resonance
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tesla list" 
> To: 
> Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 6:23 AM
> Subject: Re: 40w globe lightbulb = safe plasma
> ball?
> 
> 
> > Original poster: "Jamie Mereness by way of
> Terry Fritz
> " 
> >
> > I recall learning on this list that low
> wattage bulbs have high vacuum and
> > no backfill.  The evacuation is sufficient to
> generate X-rays.
> >
> > > Original poster: "davep by way of Terry
> Fritz "
> > > 
> > >
> > >> I use a 40watt clear glass globe light
> bulb to aid in
> > >> tuning and an interesting display.
> > >
> > >> when it displays purple, I find this
> pleasing.  however,
> > >> the bulb has started to emit a pale green
> tint (on its interior)
> > >
> > >> as well.
> > >
> > >> I'm guessing that lightbulbs typically are
> not a very low vacuum.
> > >
> > > Most are NOT vacuum at all, being
> backfilled with
> > > Argon, or whatever, to help keep the
> filament from
> > > evaporating itself onto the inside.
> > >
> > >> Low enough that xrays or higher energy
> emissions would be possible.
> > > There is little higher than xrays (ok: hard
> gammas:
> > >
> > > also hard to make.
> > >
> > >
> > >> I've heard some comments on some tesla
> pages that coils can
> > >> generate such high energy particles. 
> under what conditions should
> > >> i expect xrays or higher from a coil ?
> > > Almost always need hard vacuum for xray
> production.
> > >
> > > Might do some test runs with film, in light
> tight
> > > packet.  Hard to know how to calibrate
> results.
> > >
> > > (Tesla did some experiments with xray
> tubes...)
> >
> >
> 
> 
> 
>