stroboscope - motion study by flash-light

motion study by flash-light WARNING! The circuit of the stroboscope is connected directly to the mains and experiments on the opened unit are therefore highly dangerous. Even after the unit has been disconnected from the mains, some capacitors may still give you a lethal shock! Preset P1 must have a nylon spin- dle and be fitted so that none of its metal parts can be touched: ignoring this may be lethal. The heart of the unit is, of course, the gas-discharge tube, which is U- shaped and filled with xenon (Xe - one of the inert gases). The tube is fitted with an anode and cathode at either end, and an ignition grid. Diodes D1 and D2, together with capacitors C1 and C2, form a voltage doubler which raises the direct voltage to about 600 V. This voltage is applied to the anode and cathode of the tube. Normally, xenon (and other gases) is a poor conductor of electricity but the electric field resulting from the 600 V potential across the anode and cathode causes ionization of molecule...