Re: [Leica] Light in the darkroom?

["Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@hotmail.com>]

Lucian writes:

> Got a flouro tube attached to nothing at all
> - ie. held in the hand - and stood underneath
> some high tensile power lines at night.  The
> flouro tube emitted a faint glow.  I can't
> remember the exact reason why because I was
> too busy not paying attention.

The intense electromagnetic fields around the power lines partially ionize the
gas in the tube and produce a small amount of fluorescence.  Cataracts are an
occupational hazard of electricians, and these fields might have something to do
with it, although nobody is quite sure.

You can get more spectacular results by holding a tub in front of a microwave
transmitter, but this is potentially hazardous for your health.  My father, who
once worked on radar equipment, says operators used to pull pranks on a nearby
office building by pointing the orientable dish antenna at the building and
sweeping across it, producing a wave of fluorescent lamps coming on through the
building as the antenna passed.  Apparently they didn't know or care about the
health risks of this in those days.  (The main risk from exposure to strong
microwave radiation is cataracts.)