Great Experiments

[AquaSwing]

Wow. Those are all experiments done by professionals with controls and other science like things. I was hoping for a thread about experiments you have done personally. So here's mine.

As an electrical engineering undergrad student and rookie audiophile, I wanted to see if a bucket of water could produce sound like a speaker. We gathered the required ingredients- an Adcom amplifier, a bucket, water, salt, and a scope.

We started by bridging the amplifier into mono for the 600 watt power. We choose the Adcom for two reasons- first, it could drive a high current and second, it was the only power amp available with an owner dumb enough to let me borrow it. We filled the 2 gallon bucket about half way and inserted the wires. We thought a nice 1k sine wave fed into the amp would provide a good starting point.

Initially we got nothing. Nada. We had the preamp cranked all the way. We started adding salt a tablespoon at a time until we had added maybe 15 or so and then the sine wave started playing. We measured voltage and current(Don't remember either value) and were suitably impressed. We put a few songs on and played them. Water does not make a very efficient or good sounding speaker.

The amplifier was very hot by this time and probably a little pissed off so to conclude the experiment I wondered if the water was getting hot. By the time someone had warned me that it was probably a bad idea I had jammed my right hand into the water. What came next could only be described by total pain while I realized that I was electrocuting myself and was pretty much locked in position. Fortunately one of the half dozen people that were observing the experiment noticed what was happening and quickly tackled me to get my hand out of the water before I died. That concluded the experiment.

[guids]

http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/162/44/


this isnt so much an experiement, as it is cool, you might enjoy it. I made one the othe day, it works, and is really neat, my next goal is to get a higher powered laser, and make my own bugging device, for [censored] and giggles.

[Oski]

[ QUOTE ]
By the way... I didn't want to post this in the body of the OP because that would have been lame, but I remember reading about an experiment a couple of months ago on del.icio.us or Damn Interesting or something (if I were able to remember accurately enough, I wouldn't be asking this), but the basic premise was that people really don't pay to their environments at all. A stranger would approach a person to ask for directions, and while they were speaking, their conversation would be broken up physically by workers carrying a door or something. While the workers walked past, the stranger would be replaced by an entirely different person! Some incredible amount of people failed to notice that they were talking to two different people.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Link? Pleeeaaase!

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know about the experiment, but I have some first-hand experience with this phenomena.

I went to the library desk to check out an audio tape. I was paying attention to the list of tapes. I did notice, however, that the clerk was an asian, college-age female. She told me that she would give me part II of the tape once I finished part I.

When I went to return the tape and get Part II, the clerk asked me why I didn't already have Part II. I looked at her and told her that she had told me to get them one at a time. I realized that I was speaking to another asian, college-age female. I quickly explained that I thought she was the first clerk.

"Oh, because we all look the same, right?" She said sarcastically.

I responded. "Well I don't believe that, especially since you look nothing like my wife!"

She apologized, and grumbled something about having a bad day.

(I didn't tell her that my wife is not asian, but I didn't appreciate her comment.)

[TiK]

[ QUOTE ]
As an electrical engineering undergrad student and rookie audiophile, I wanted to see if a bucket of water could produce sound like a speaker. We gathered the required ingredients- an Adcom amplifier, a bucket, water, salt, and a scope.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aquaswing,

Really strange that I came across this a little bit after I read your post.

[amplify]

Great experiments in physics:

Double-Split Experiment exposes the quantum weirdness of wave-particle duality, leading to ideas such as the many-worlds theory and causing Schroedinger to murder cats in a box.

Michelson-Morley Experiment gave the first evidence against the aether, confirming (to some extent) Einstein's gravitational theories.

[AquaSwing]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/162/44/


this isnt so much an experiement, as it is cool, you might enjoy it. I made one the othe day, it works, and is really neat, my next goal is to get a higher powered laser, and make my own bugging device, for [censored] and giggles.

[/ QUOTE ]
One of our official lab projects was to do the same with infrared. It never sounded all that good because the LED has such a slow response. I bet the laser if done properly would sound pretty good.

[miajag]

I opened this thread to post about Rat Park, but, not surprisingly I suppose, it was mentioned in the OP. Really makes you question a lot of the commonly held assumptions about drugs and addiction.

[The Truth]

[ QUOTE ]
Great experiments in physics:

Double-Split Experiment exposes the quantum weirdness of wave-particle duality, leading to ideas such as the many-worlds theory and causing Schroedinger to murder cats in a box.

Michelson-Morley Experiment gave the first evidence against the aether, confirming (to some extent) Einstein's gravitational theories.

[/ QUOTE ]


Physics experiments are always my favorite.


There is one more recent physics experiment I thought was very cool.

I forgot the name.

The experiment was such that they would randomly shoot an electron at one of 2 seperate films, and they could change which film the electron hit post experiment by simple observataion. Some how it was reacting earlier to events in the future?

I could be off by a good margin here, but if anyone recalls the experiment please link it.

I'll keep looking as well.

[Earl Sleek]

[ QUOTE ]
By the way... I didn't want to post this in the body of the OP because that would have been lame, but I remember reading about an experiment a couple of months ago on del.icio.us or Damn Interesting or something (if I were able to remember accurately enough, I wouldn't be asking this), but the basic premise was that people really don't pay to their environments at all. A stranger would approach a person to ask for directions, and while they were speaking, their conversation would be broken up physically by workers carrying a door or something. While the workers walked past, the stranger would be replaced by an entirely different person! Some incredible amount of people failed to notice that they were talking to two different people.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Link? Pleeeaaase!

[/ QUOTE ]

Tron,

I haven't heard of this experiment outside of the following video, but UK "psychological illusionist" Derren Brown has used it as part of his TV show several times, as seen here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFaY3YcMg1I

Brown has also recreated the Milgram experiment as part of one of his specials, but there doesn't appear to be a video of that online.

[Tron]

Earl,

Thank you! That video was incredible. And, as a result, I figured out that this is an example of change blindness (which is somewhat similar to the example given above where you are supposed to count the number of times a person throws a ball and you don't notice a monkey walking across the screen). The wikipedia link even references a number of peer-reviewed studies on the subject... I should check and see if I have access to them through my college's network.

Thanks again! Welcome to the El Diablo General Discussion Forum!