Most people will be aware that microwaves, magnetrons and the like deal with radiation and also that there is such a thing as ionising radiation, which is really bad for you.
It is generally quite well known that microwave ovens don’t and can’t produce ionising radiation.
However, if you were to strip a microwave’s magnetron of its magnets and hook it up to a 40kV AC power supply, the tube apparently produces X-rays.
Clearly this is something that shouldn’t be tried at home, not least because of the general risks associated with producing ionising radiation, but more specifically because magnetrons contain toxic beryllium.
