[sdiy] Popcorn Noise Generator?

[Steve Lenham]

> It's very easy to build a GM tube, you just need an evacuated metal tube 
> with
> an internal electrode, not sure of the materials, but I could easily find 
> out.
> The circuitry consists of a small HV power supply and a preamplifier, 
> nothing
> too complicated either. Makes me wonder if anyone has ever tried using a
> standard rectifier tube for this.

Er...I don't believe a GM tube is simply evacuated, but filled with a 
mixture of neon, argon and a halogen. Incoming radiation ionises the gas 
atoms, generating charged particles which conduct electricity between the 
electrodes. The halogen "quenches" the cascade of ionisation, which would 
otherwise leave the tube permanently conducting after each event.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from building one - just pointing out 
that it might not be so easy :-(

Steve L.