You Shouldn’t Build an X-Ray Machine, But You Could
1 min read
Summary
Hyperspace Pirate has created his own X-ray machine using a high voltage supply to power an X-ray tube, and a normal camera as the display mechanism, with an intensifying screen to make the object visible.
While it’s an interesting project, he warns that it is very dangerous and should not be attempted by anyone who doesn’t fully understand the dangers of X-rays, with lead shielding necessary to prevent radiation leaking out.
The build reminds one reader of The Boy Electrician, a book from the 1920s, which described how to make an X-ray machine from scratch, although spares for the CRT were much more available at the time.
Another reader comments that even with careful shielding, some radiation scattering is inevitable, and they observed this when making their own crude X-ray machine as a child.
