[time-nuts] CS reservoir depletion

Robert Vassar rvassar at rob-vassar.com
Thu Jan 13 04:28:54 UTC 2011


Scott,


Just being a "high vacuum nut" may not be enough.  Most vacuum  
devices have "getters" engineered into them.  These are usually  
reactive coatings applied to the cavity wall that react with or  
absorb trace gasses to maintain the vacuum.   They are made of  
evaporated thin-films of exotic mixtures like zirconium and vanadium,  
aluminum, cobalt, etc...  If you've ever seen a glass vacuum tube  
with a "mirror top" coating, you've seen a getter.


The act of opening them in a high vacuum environment, may not destroy  
them, but introducing them to an any kind of atmosphere to perform a  
repair may destroy the getters, and render the life of the device  
quite short.


Rob
Ex-USGS Isotope branch "Vacuum Nut"


On Jan 11, 2011, at 6:06 PM, scmcgrath at gmail.com wrote:

> Now that we are discussing how to restore Rb lamps.
>
>  Has anyone given any thought to refilling or refluxing the Cs in  
> depleted Cs tubes?
>
> Obviously opening would require high vaccum equipment - which is a  
> totally separate category of nut (Or is it?)
>
> Scott
>
> Scott
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
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