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Bird Drinking from Plasma Fountain
Vacuum Discharge Tube

Crookes vacuum discharge tubes were a sensation at Victorian circuses, museums, schools, and even tea parties, and this is an example of a type of Crookes tube manufactured specifically for Victorian parlor demonstrations.

In the center of the Pyrex glass bell of this vacuum discharge tube is a hand-fashioned uranium-glass bird drinking from a uranium-glass fountain, both of which fluoresce with the beautiful green color uniquely produced by uranium glass when high voltage is passed across the tube. The stem of the fountain acts as a plasma tube through which the discharge passes, making the bird seem to drink from the fountain’s plasma fluorescence. This tube, which is hand made by an American scientific glassblower, stands 18 inches high in its finished hardwood stand. Price: $495

For more information about our line of reproduction antique vacuum discharge tubes, please call us at 607 387-6752 or drop us a line at pvsci@arcsandsparks.com.

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Crookes Y tube

Fluorescent Bird