[Rockhounds] DIY XRD?

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

I've often wished I could move a lab into my basement and do x-ray 
analysis of minerals, but cost makes it just a dream.

Now it has been discovered that unrolling scotch take in a vacuum 
produces x-rays.
	http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081022/ap_on_sc/sci_scotch_tape_surprise

Using a roll of tape, a small motor to unwind it, and a vacuum pump, to 
produce a source of x-rays turns the dream into a possible do it 
yourself project.

The database for comparison against known minerals is available at 
places such as http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/AMS/amcsd.php. The rest of 
the details are relatively trivial once you have a source of x-rays.
	http://productsearch.machinedesign.com/mdproducts/x_ray_diffraction

Anybody interested in a science project?

Kreigh