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*  -----------------------------------                 ----------------  *  
*   the Bell Jar (electronic version)                                    *
*  -----------------------------------                 ----------------  *  
*                                                                        *
*  This newsletter contains material which has been extracted from the   *
*  hard-copy newsletter of the same name. Devoted to the vacuum          *
*  experimenter, the intent of "the Bell Jar" is to broaden interest     *
*  in vacuum technology through useful discussions of theory and         *
*  technique, and to present ways in which a variety of apparatus may    *
*  be assembled using common and inexpensive materials. Information      *
*  on "the Bell Jar" may be obtained by sending email to the editor,     *
*  Steve Hansen, at shansen@tiac.net or by writing to 35 Windsor Dr.,    *     
*  Amherst, NH 03031. Please feel free to circulate this electronic      *
*  version, intact, to others who might be interested in the subject     *
*  matter. New numbers will be mailed at approx. quarterly intervals.    *
*  Email subscriptions are free and may be obtained by contacting the    *
*  editor. Comments, contributions and criticisms are always welcome.    *
*  Copyright 1994, Stephen P. Hansen.                                    *
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                        "the Bell Jar"
                Vacuum Technique and Related Topics 
                    for the Amateur Investigator  
                        ISSN 1071-4219 
          
                 The Complete Newsletter and Journal
                     for the Vacuum Experimenter 

        $20 (US addresses), $23 (Canada, Mexico), $29 (elsewhere)


The following outlines the article content by annual volume: 

1992-Vacuum basics, elements of an amateur's system, conversion of 
refrigeration and auto a/c compressors to vacuum service, a
discharge tube gauge, magnetically driven plasma accelerators
demonstrated with a rail gun, history of vacuum units, a mini
system for fabricating graded density optical filters, a universal
thermocouple gauge controller.

1993-Plasma apparatus developed from microwave ovens, vacuum system
operation, a coaxial plasma gun, synthesizing fullerenes, easy 
fabrication of glass to metal seals, reconfigurable vacuum chambers 
standard glassware components, a baffle chiller made from a room 
dehumidifier, exploding wires, units of outgassing, Magdeburg
hemispheres made from plastic pipe fittings, production of low
temperatures, a homebuilt diffusion pump, principle of the
pseudospark electron beam source.

1994-Experiments with x-rays produced by receiving tubes, building
a multiplate chamber pseudospark electron beam source, a kit of
components for conducting gaseous discharge and electron beam
experiments, building a simple cathode ray tube, a De Forest style
audion triode, electron optics kits from the 50's and 60's, a
simple chilled baffle for small diffusion pumps, an amateur's
homemade transmission electron microscope, compression fittings
from the sink drain, simple electrical feedthroughs, amateurs
rebuild a large vacuum coater for telescope mirror making, original
thought experiments in vacuum, a 250 kV impulse transformer, a
cheap oil mist filter, simple ways of making electron and ion
optics, a radio using the homemade vacuum triode, cleaning
procedures for epoxy bonding. 

Plans for 1995 (and probably beyond) include simple apparatus for 
classroom use, simple Pirani and Penning gauges, a windowed vacuum
tube for transmitting electron beams into the air, ideas for
original research, a shock tube for simulating micrometeorite
impacts, the Mather device, a crossed-field tube capable of
initiating nuclear reactions, a 1-1/2" diffusion pump, topics in
ultra-high vacuum, novel high voltage pulse and dc power supplies,
vacuum coating, demonstrating the multipactor effect.