Crazy experiments using microwave energy - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: poida_pie
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 07:48:53 am
content: From Lugansk (Ukraine) comes kreosan (note the occasional artillery shells in the background)This shows some nice open air experiments with a magnetron.andor maybe not so nice, rather insane.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 08:52:44 am
content: i liked the video with the tv and lightning.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 11:43:45 am
content: Sterility, cataracts and possibly cancer from the beryllium.I'll sit out this one, thanks.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 02:48:10 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on March 26, 2015, 11:43:45 amHate to say it, hope sterility is at the top of the list. I wouldn't want to see that kind of stupid passed on.

author: electr_peter
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 02:59:57 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on March 26, 2015, 11:43:45 amAdd the facts that RF is not visible and eyes do not feel heating. But hey, they are not blind, so it must be safe.

author: bktemp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 03:41:34 pm
content: Did I miss something? When does he play with beryllium? Unfortunately the automatically translated subtitels are almost useless, so I do not understand much he is taking about.

author: electr_peter
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 04:12:45 pm
content: Quote from: bktemp on March 26, 2015, 03:41:34 pmBeryllium is inside a neck of magnetron and is potentially very dangerous to inhale if broken to dust. Videos linked above do not mention beryllium in any way, they just talk about burning various items.In all seriousness, I do not think it isthatdangerous of what they are doing. They get some microwave exposure for sure, but it is mostly local surface heating (except eyes). The most danger comes from the fact it is unclear where all RF is going. RF beam is somewhat concentrated with a can to a sideways beam, but what shape does it have exactly?Also, notice wiring on the magnetron/transformer - metal pieces are shining through. Danger of direct contact across main or HV. Additionally, earth reference may be an issue (IIRC, microwave internals are earth referenced).Would I do what they did? No, I would like to save my eyes from potential damage of RF heating and exploding superheated glass/metal pieces.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 04:22:57 pm
content: FWIW, not all white ceramic is BeO. Pure Al2O3 is the same appearance (e.g., SMT chip resistors). I think it is usually alloyed with some Cr2O3, giving a pink appearance (literally making artificial, polycrystalline ruby) to distinguish it.Tim

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 04:28:23 pm
content: Did you miss the mention of the work taking place in a war zone? the risks of just living there are a lot worse than what they are showing. Look at his one video where they nearly were the filling in a missile salvo.

author: bktemp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 04:35:24 pm
content: I doubt there is beryllium in a magnetron.Such a dangerous material next to food together with a fan blowing air over the magnetron into the food chamber. Every bit of broken stuff would end up in the food. I can't imagine this would be allowed without any warning sign.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 26, 2015, 04:48:08 pm
content: My favorite use of microwave energy was in a laboratory electron microscope. The cathode terminal, with control hardware inside, was a dome-like object at negative 1 MV DC voltage from a low-current power supply. To get a few watts of power to the dome, the engineers installed a dielectric waveguide (rectangular high-dielectric-constant ceramic tube) that could hold off the DC voltage and sent power from a microwave-oven magnetron to a simple dipole inside the dome. Rectifying the antenna voltage gave sufficient DC power for the controls.