[Rockhounds] DIY XRD?

[J Bryan Kramer]

It has been known for a year or two that lightning not only produces X-Rays
it produces Gamma.

<http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15675313>

<http://news.ufl.edu/2003/01/30/lightxray/>

<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071011-lightning-rays.html>

BK

On Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 09:55, <Pmodreski at aol.com> wrote:

> Ah, yes, now, let's not throw too much cold water on Kreigh's cool  idea.
> Who knows, "in theory" it might work, but in practice... yeah, the  amount
> of
> X-rays produced are probably very miniscule, and although in theory  one
> might
> filter out just one wavelength of X-rays, in practice what one is  starting
> with is probably too spread over a range of X-ray wavelengths, to be
>  useful.
> And the X-rays are probably emitted in all directions, not focused
> geometrically at all, so by the time one collimated just the ones traveling
> in a
> particular direction toward the sample, one would again lose 99% of the
> tiny  amount
> that had been produced...  There was also the caveat in the story,  that
> the
> X-rays were only detectable when the experiment was done in a vacuum
>  chamber.
>
> I wonder, if a miniscule amount of X-rays are produced in any electrical
> discharge, where high-voltage electrons are hitting something; as in a
> lightning
> bolt, or even, in a static electricity discharge when you shuffle across
> the
> rug  and touch your finger to something metal?  Seems like that and the
> Scotch
>  Tape, are just different versions of the same thing.  That would be even
> the simpler way to generate the X-rays for Kreigh's homemade
> mini-diffractometer!
>
> Cheers, and keep at it, Kreigh,
> Pete
>
>
> In a message dated 10/22/2008 7:49:23 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
> Kreigh at tomaszewski.net writes:
>
> Bryan,
>
> The Bragg Equation requires the wavelength. Coherent  x-rays from an
> incoherent source are fairly easy to produce using a small  aperture
> monochromator. That problem was solved about a hundred years  ago.
>
> I agree that the real problem is the energy. There has to be  enough at
> some wavelength to produce a detectable beam out of the filtered
> source. I assume there is enough since they were able to x-ray a
> finger, but it might require a slower scan than a commercial unit; it
> is easy to make x-ray detection cumulative.
>
> How long will a roll of  tape last? How many times can it be reused? I
> would be really happy to be  able to get an analysis for the cost of a
> roll of  tape.
>
> Kreigh
>
>
>
>
> On Wednesday, Oct 22, 2008, at 20:58  America/Detroit, J Bryan Kramer
> wrote:
>
> > Doesn't x-ray  energy/wavelength make a difference for x-ray
> > diffraction? I
> >  read that scotch tape article and it didn't sound like you could
> >  control
> > much beyond being able to produce some sort of x-rays in  bursts.
> >
> > BK
> >
> > On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 20:44,  Kreigh Tomaszewski
> >  <Kreigh at tomaszewski.net>wrote:
> >
> >> 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
> >>
> >>
> >> --
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> >
> >
> >  --
> >
> >
> > "The thunderbolt falls on an inch of ground; but  the light of it fills
> > the
> > horizon."
> >
> >    Ralph Waldo Emerson
> >
> > J Bryan Krämer
> > North Florida,  USA
> > photos at:
> >  http://pbase.com/photoburner
> >
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-- 


"The thunderbolt falls on an inch of ground; but the light of it fills the
horizon."

                       Ralph Waldo Emerson

J Bryan Krämer
North Florida, USA
photos at:
http://pbase.com/photoburner


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