Machlett Laboratories
Encyclopedia
The company began as E. Machlett and Son which was founded in 1897 in New York
, United States
as scientific glass makers.
and TV broadcasting
(857B mercury-vapor half-wave rectifier tube) and for industrial induction heating
. These two sides of the business were about equivalent for most of the life of the company.
They moved to 1063 Hope St., Stamford in Connecticut
in the early 20th century, and remained there. Amongst their achievements was a counter made by them for Irene
and Frederic Joliot-Curie
for use in their experiments on artificial radioactivity in 1934 which is currently contained in the Science Museum
in Great Britain. They were given an “E” award by the US government in 1945 for their contribution to the war effort. http://www.stamfordhistory.org/ww2_machlett.htm no longer at 1063 Hope st.
attached (for use with CT scanners
), with 5” diameter rotating anodes formed from tungsten-rhenium alloy and molybdenum
, with a large mass of graphite
attached to act as a heat sink
. Smaller tubes without graphite heat sinks had highly radiative coatings to disperse the generated heat into the oil surrounding the tube itself.
The manufacture of X-Ray tubes was licensed to two other companies, GEC Medical
and Comet SA of Berne
in Switzerland
.
, and an indicating unit. A separate radiation monitor could be used with this, and an oscilloscope could also be attached to this device if desired. Some 2,500 of the most recent version were sold, and this device survived the sale of the company to Varian and later buyers, being in production from the early 1980s to around 1995.
There were 3 generations of the Dynalyzer produced. Maintenance on the Dynalyzer is available by its inventor, Dr. Jon Shapiro, at http://giciman.com
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as scientific glass makers.
Early days
Machlett Laboratories was created from E. Machlett & Sons in order to exploit the then new technology of X-Rays. They would make X-Ray tubes from the beginning to 1989 when they were bought by Varian. In addition to making X-Ray tubes they also manufactured high power vacuum tubes for use in radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and TV broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
(857B mercury-vapor half-wave rectifier tube) and for industrial induction heating
Induction heating
Induction heating is the process of heating an electrically conducting object by electromagnetic induction, where eddy currents are generated within the metal and resistance leads to Joule heating of the metal...
. These two sides of the business were about equivalent for most of the life of the company.
They moved to 1063 Hope St., Stamford in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in the early 20th century, and remained there. Amongst their achievements was a counter made by them for Irene
Irène Joliot-Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie was a French scientist, the daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. This made the Curies...
and Frederic Joliot-Curie
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie , born Jean Frédéric Joliot, was a French physicist and Nobel laureate.-Early years:...
for use in their experiments on artificial radioactivity in 1934 which is currently contained in the Science Museum
Science museum
A science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
in Great Britain. They were given an “E” award by the US government in 1945 for their contribution to the war effort. http://www.stamfordhistory.org/ww2_machlett.htm no longer at 1063 Hope st.
X-Ray Tubes
They were the first company to utilize the concept of the rotating anode, something which is just about universal in medical x-ray systems at this date. Towards the end of the time of manufacture, they were producing oil circulating x-ray tubes with a heat exchangerHeat exchanger
A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact...
attached (for use with CT scanners
Computed tomography
X-ray computed tomography or Computer tomography , is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing...
), with 5” diameter rotating anodes formed from tungsten-rhenium alloy and molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
, with a large mass of graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
attached to act as a heat sink
Heat sink
A heat sink is a term for a component or assembly that transfers heat generated within a solid material to a fluid medium, such as air or a liquid. Examples of heat sinks are the heat exchangers used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems and the radiator in a car...
. Smaller tubes without graphite heat sinks had highly radiative coatings to disperse the generated heat into the oil surrounding the tube itself.
The manufacture of X-Ray tubes was licensed to two other companies, GEC Medical
GEC Medical
GEC Medical was a unit of the General Electric Company that was headquartered in what was known as East Lane Industrial Estate in North Wembley, behind the Hirst Research Centre which fronted East Lane....
and Comet SA of Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Accessories
As well as X-Ray tubes, they manufactured collimators – to define the beam size – and three marks of “Dynalyser” – an invasive instrument for measuring all the important parameters in an X-Ray tube. This consisted of an HV unit insulated with SF6Sulfur hexafluoride
Sulfur hexafluoride is an inorganic, colorless, odorless, and non-flammable greenhouse gas. has an octahedral geometry, consisting of six fluorine atoms attached to a central sulfur atom. It is a hypervalent molecule. Typical for a nonpolar gas, it is poorly soluble in water but soluble in...
, and an indicating unit. A separate radiation monitor could be used with this, and an oscilloscope could also be attached to this device if desired. Some 2,500 of the most recent version were sold, and this device survived the sale of the company to Varian and later buyers, being in production from the early 1980s to around 1995.
There were 3 generations of the Dynalyzer produced. Maintenance on the Dynalyzer is available by its inventor, Dr. Jon Shapiro, at http://giciman.com