Homemade X-Ray Machine: Liftoff

[james_s]

Lots of people experiment with xrays, it can be a very rewarding hobby. The key is to do so carefully and safely, never exposing yourself or others.

[cdev]

If you are doing this thinking it will give you an edge getting into a better college, keep in mind that college admissions counselors get lots of applications from creative people and a top worry in colleges these days is people who endanger others safety.

If I were you I would wait on this particular experiment until you are older and can afford at least a lead lined case as is used in professional x-ray machines for materials science.

Frankly, I am surprised that what you are doing is legal. Everybody is a little bit reckless at your age but keep in mind that radiation can actually damage your brain.

To be a bit more specific, all cells have a finite number of divisions in them, (the so-called Hayflick Limit) and radiation can use up that repair capacity inherent in your cells before their time.

Despite what you read, there is no safe level of radiation, because of its quantum nature, it all damages cells, the only question is how many get damaged.

If I were you I would pursue some other, safer line of scientific inquiry.

[james_s]

It's not legal, but neither are a lot of other fun things people do.

[SiliconWizard]

Hopefully your next project is not involving plutonium.

Seriously though, however interesting that may be, experimenting with X-Rays as an amateur is probably best avoided.

As my 1930s book "The Boy Electrician" notes, if your skin turns red you are probably using it too much.

 

I actually just got ahold of a PDF copy of this book out of curiosity. This thing is a goldmine historically speaking. I love it. Makes you dive right into the 30's.
They have a chapter about X-Ray experiments and at one point they suggest putting your hand at least 15 minutes straight under the X-Ray tube in order to get a good picture.

You have to place this book in its context. This was also a time were radioactive cosmetics was a thing: http://www.cosmeticsandskin.com/aba/glowing-complexion.php

Seriously though, for the youngsters (and older ones), that's not safe.

[Neukyhm]

they suggest putting your hand at least 15 minutes straight under the X-Ray tube in order to get a good picture.

I Imagine what they would say about a CT scan if they had it:
"We need more than 1000 images from different angles to get a good and noise free scan, at 15 minute per shot, you will have to be in the machine without moving for 10 days being irradiated."  LOL.

[cdev]

We have to stop raising people to be so trusting of technology just because its 'new'. There is so much technology thats actually quite unhealthy that we have around us for one reason or another, that its a ticking time bomb as far as health goes. In particular I am thinking about endocrine disrupting chemicals (of which there are a great many used for common things like food packaging, flame retardants in furniture and on carpets, and non-stick/stain resistant coatings on cookware and rugs/clothing. Also in wiring insulation.) These chemicals are making people morbidly obese and giving people predispositions to get metabolic syndrome and diabetes, as well as reproductive cancers in a dose-related manner.

They change the body's energy set points. This impact isn't just on the person who is exposed to them. By some mechanism thats not understood at all, this set of problems also impacts their offspring.