Do old CRT and O-scopes degrade to emit harmful X Rays?

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Albertgauss
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Hi all,

Presently I use an old oscilloscope and old cathode-ray-tube computer monitor as a demo/lab where students can bring a magnet near either device. In the case of the old oscilloscope, the magnet they bring near deflects the beam; in the case of the old computer monitor, colored circles appear. And there is a lot of educational value to these demos we discuss.

But I worry that as these devices age--and I thought i'd maybe get 2nd-hand-used stuff like this off ebay for my department--if they start to leak X Rays in any harmful manner. I am under the impression that for all televisions and CRT computer monitors made until the 1990s as consumer goods, these devices did produce X rays but the X rays were kept inside the tubes by a thin layer of lead that shielded the consumer while they watched tv. If that is true, would that shielding weaken over time and allow X rays out of the monitor or scope?

I attach a couple photos of the old machines in question.
20260326_123748.webp


20260326_123404.webp
 
Science news on Phys.org
Don't use any color CRT's before the FDA 1968 Radiation Control Act.
Before that time, unintentional and excessive X-ray radiation was emitted by many color TV sets.
The remedy included putting lead in the glass formula. Physical attacks notwithstanding, that type of shielding is not goes to degrade over mere centuries.

I believe that even specialty color TV CRTs max out at about 50Kv. Shielding for 50Kv x-rays is not challenging.
 
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