Re: Unsafe High School Science Project

[Lew Helgeson <lewhelgeson@helge.com>]

This reminds me very much of my own experience when I took "Physics" at
Denfeld High School, Duluth, Minnesota, in 1940. I used the filament from a
Type 80 radio tube (rectifier) and one of the plates. These were sealed
into a 0.75-inch diameter glass tube with a wall thickness of about
0.625-inche (one-sixteenth, as I remember). Its general appearance was
similar to the "Crooke's Tube" that Miss Seipel (my teacher) had for class
demonstrations. I had a 0,25-inch glass tube fused into the side of the
large diameter tube and this was hooked to a vacuum pump. 

My power source was similaar to this young girl's: a Model T spark coil
connected to two 6-volt car batteries in series to give 12-volts. My wiring
was also exposed at the terminal ends. The glass "Crooke's Tube" was held
in place by standard laboratory clamps and stands.

To determine is I could actually produce x-rays, I loaded a piece of 4x5
photographic film from my Dad's Speed Graphic camera (I think the ASA
rating was about 60). This film was placed on the laboratory bench about
8-inches below the tube and was left there with a key on top of it to
repl9icate Roentgen's classical experiment. The exposure time was from
Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

I processed the film Monday evening and ws excited to see the faint shadow
of the key. I wrote up the experiment, received an "A," and moved on to the
next project.

When I enlisted in the Army (after 2-years of college) the Army Interviewer
asked about my hobbies. I told him about my ham radio interests, hoping to
get into the Signal Corps. I also told him about the x-ray tube experiment.
His reaction: "You are a natural for the Army Medics as an X-Ray
Technician," and that is what I became.

During my work in England I was asked by the Radiologist to use the
Victoreen Condenser R-Meter to measure the dose  rate from the old Picker
Portable X-ray machine. He used this equipment to irradiate Plantar Warts
on the feet of solders (I referred to this in a previous posting months ago.)

After I was discharged from the Army in April 1946 I finished my schooling
in Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. In February 1948
the interviewers from General Electric, then operating the Hanford Project,
interviewed many of the graduating Chem. Engineers. The interviewer asked
about my army experiences. When I told him about the plantar wart project,
he said "You are a natural for our Health Instruments department." Thus, I
was one of the 8 people hired, 7 of them at a  pay rate of $57.00 per week
to do chemical engineering at Hanford, but my pay rate was $59.60 per week,
because of my previous experience of measuring the dose rate from the x-ray
machine.