- #1
GENIERE
My questions follow this short preface re: attached photos.
Sometime ago in the mid 1960's, a friend had access to a linear accelerator. In the very late evening, we irradiated several plastic blocks of the dimensions ~10x10x2 cm. Individually, the plastic blocks were in a10 MeV electron beam (intensity forgotten) for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, using a grounded Phillips screwdriver and small hammer, the blocks were struck on the edge such that the accumulated static charge was violently discharged to ground. The tree-shaped discharge path through the plastic is evident in the first photo. The second edge-on photo shows the discharge exit point and that the “tree” is confined to the interior of the plastic block but is three-dimensional.
I “found” the block in my old roll-top desk and something caused me wonder what would be the consequence of placing the charged plastic block in deep space and mechanically vibrating it.
- Would the block produce radio waves?
- Would a suitable antenna receive the waves?
- If the receiving antenna were vibrated in same manner and synchronized to compensate for propagation delay, would reception cease?
Thanks for your replies.
Sometime ago in the mid 1960's, a friend had access to a linear accelerator. In the very late evening, we irradiated several plastic blocks of the dimensions ~10x10x2 cm. Individually, the plastic blocks were in a10 MeV electron beam (intensity forgotten) for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, using a grounded Phillips screwdriver and small hammer, the blocks were struck on the edge such that the accumulated static charge was violently discharged to ground. The tree-shaped discharge path through the plastic is evident in the first photo. The second edge-on photo shows the discharge exit point and that the “tree” is confined to the interior of the plastic block but is three-dimensional.
I “found” the block in my old roll-top desk and something caused me wonder what would be the consequence of placing the charged plastic block in deep space and mechanically vibrating it.
- Would the block produce radio waves?
- Would a suitable antenna receive the waves?
- If the receiving antenna were vibrated in same manner and synchronized to compensate for propagation delay, would reception cease?
Thanks for your replies.
