Ideas for Hydrogen Discharge Tube

[Svenvbins]

I just came back from a re-giving activity at my uni and somehow ended up with a semi-working Hydrogen gas discharge tube. I don't have pics because my phone was dead and I left it at Uni to take a quick spectrum somewhere next week.

It's basically a big wooden box with a power cord, a knob that goes from minimum to maximum and a slit that shows the tube inside. "High tech shit", I hear you thinking ^^

The tube works, but at max setting it's fluctuating a bit and at minimum it's turning on & off. Even at max it's not really that bright.

* Is it (near)-broken, or do I just need adjustments to the internal settings?
* Does anyone have any ideas what to do with it? Current ideas are:

1. Open it up, see if we can make it into an 'art piece'/'fancy lamp'​

2. Salvage high-voltage parts and have some fun with those​

I'll admit, I haven't looked into it at all myself (yet!), but I was wondering if any of you have cool ideas already

 

[Cyparagon]

hydrogen isn't nearly as bright as most of its noble gas counterparts (neon, for example). A dim output is to be expected.

 

[Sigurthr]

Yep, it's likely perfectly fine. You get some electrode ablation and bore darkening from long hours of use and/or overheating but unless physical trauma is involved they usually last just about forever.

Fancy it up and make an accent light. Don't ruin a nice display for $5 of HV electronics.

 

[Svenvbins]

Thanks both of you, that's some info I wasn't aware of