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Step 6Assemble the Tube
To finish construction of your cathode ray tube, first, apply a layer of epoxy over the rim of the mouth of the wine bottle. Then, carefully lower the cathode construction so that the glue is even and the brake line is centered on the vertical axis of the bottle. Make sure no epoxy gets into the tube so that it doesn't become clogged.
After that, bend the steel wire into a C shape roughly the inner diameter of the wine bottle. Allow a couple inches of extra wire on one end of the C for an electrical connection. Next, insert the C into anode hole drilled in the wine bottle so that the couple inches of extra wire sticks out of the bottle. Twist the electrode until the C is normal to the vertical axis of the bottle. In other words, you should orient the anode such that all points on it are roughly equidistant to the cathode. This may take a few tries, so be patient!
Once the anode is mounted correctly, secure it with plenty of epoxy to make sure the hole is airtight.
When everything has dried (give it at least a few hours), use a pair of needle nose pliers to bend the end of the anode that is protruding from the bottle into a small circle and put a bead of solder over it. This optional step will help to reduce corona discharge losses and will make it easier to make a solder connection to the anode.
OPTIONAL:
Scrape some phosphors off the inside wall of a fluorescent tube, dissolve them in water, pour the mixture into the tube before mounting the cathode, and allow it to evaporate so the phosphors are deposited on the bottom of the bottle to make a "screen" for your tube. Electrons that make it past the anode will continue down the tube, hit the phosphors, and cause them to fluoresce. This is something that I will definitely do if I ever get around to making a second tube.
After that, bend the steel wire into a C shape roughly the inner diameter of the wine bottle. Allow a couple inches of extra wire on one end of the C for an electrical connection. Next, insert the C into anode hole drilled in the wine bottle so that the couple inches of extra wire sticks out of the bottle. Twist the electrode until the C is normal to the vertical axis of the bottle. In other words, you should orient the anode such that all points on it are roughly equidistant to the cathode. This may take a few tries, so be patient!
Once the anode is mounted correctly, secure it with plenty of epoxy to make sure the hole is airtight.
When everything has dried (give it at least a few hours), use a pair of needle nose pliers to bend the end of the anode that is protruding from the bottle into a small circle and put a bead of solder over it. This optional step will help to reduce corona discharge losses and will make it easier to make a solder connection to the anode.
OPTIONAL:
Scrape some phosphors off the inside wall of a fluorescent tube, dissolve them in water, pour the mixture into the tube before mounting the cathode, and allow it to evaporate so the phosphors are deposited on the bottom of the bottle to make a "screen" for your tube. Electrons that make it past the anode will continue down the tube, hit the phosphors, and cause them to fluoresce. This is something that I will definitely do if I ever get around to making a second tube.
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Aug 21, 2011. 2:15 PM
Pyrophoric
says:
Pyrophoric
says:
When one takes a doorknob to accelerate particles it's... glorious.
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