Technology
Dynamax 40 X-ray tube
Description
This vaccum tube has a bulbous glass envelope that encloses a metal cathode, target surface, and rotor assembly. It is capped on the bottom by a metal base.
The first Dynamax was developed by Raymond R. Machlett of Machlett Laboratories in 1939. It was the first commercial tube to use a a rotating anode, which allowed for the creation of higher-energy x-rays for a longer period of time, which in turn allowed for higher quality radiograms. The company produced a variety of Dynamax tubes, each with a different total heat storage capacity and anode cooling rate. The “40” had a heat storage capacity of 1,250,000 units, and a cooling rate of 30,000 units per minute. X-ray tubes like these were used in a variety of medical and academic contexts, but this one, from the collection of Edward L. Bowles, was used at MIT for physics demonstrations.
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