TheEskimo Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 (edited) God, I love my Physics 1 teacher. He's this really brilliant guy that knows his physics, but he also goes off on awesome tangents. We started talking about Center of Gravity, and Center of Mass, which segued into how we figure out whether a star has a planet, and how big the planet is, due to the wobble formed when a planet interferes with the stars CoM, and shifts it away fro mthe center of the star. This turned into a discussion of the amount of worlds out there, and the possibility of other life. He then talked a bit about people that think they were abducted by aliens, and their often sexually-charged interactions w/aliens. This turned into a discussion of about Dr. W. C. Minor, a crazy surgeon that made some of the most important contributions to the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Minor also believed that Irishmen came to spirit him away at night to perform deviant sexual acts upon him, rather like what people experience during alien abductions. He grew so paranoid that he cut off his own man-junk. Then we totally switched topics, and started discussing CoG and CoM again. He's one of those teachers that are so brilliant that they could teach any class better than 98% of teachers, regardless of subject. EDIT:: The Burj Dubai opening fireworks--really awesome--- Edited January 7, 2010 by TheEskimo
dagabu Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 I would guess the screen rusted a bit where there it contacted the screen due to residual wetness trapped between the screen and the media. The rust from the screen just transferred onto the brass. Just a guess, I'm no expert. On another brass related topic, I finally got in my brass rod... 14 feet of 3/4" round stock. Should I cut it into 1" lengths or 3/4" lengths for media? IMHO: I would cut it at 1", the media I make is 1/2" x 3/4", it works better that way. In the end, its your decision, perhaps you cut half 3/4" and the other half at 1". You can test two jars and share your findings with us. D
scarbelly Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Thanks Dagabu. Yeah, I was leaning towards 1" anyways... It looks like I'm doing it with a hacksaw, so that's fewer cuts, and less brass lost due to the kerf. I already have cut a few 3/4" so I'll just mix them all together.
Ventsi Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 I recommend cutting it an angle something like 20-30*, don't ask me why but I feel it works better. Alot of the ceramic I've seen is like that. As far as rust goes, the screen was just fine, no rust what so ever. Its a mystery to me.
Mumbles Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Thats because the ceramic you've seen is actually deburring media, and not grinding media. It works great for taking off burrs and smoothing metal surfaces, but works like shit as far as grinding stuff. It is far less efficient or effective. I now know why your media is so lopsided.
Bonny Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Thanks Dagabu. Yeah, I was leaning towards 1" anyways... It looks like I'm doing it with a hacksaw, so that's fewer cuts, and less brass lost due to the kerf. I already have cut a few 3/4" so I'll just mix them all together. You're going to cut 14 FEET of 3/4" brass into 1" pcs with a hacksaw That's crazy...or maybe dedication. I wouldn't worry too much about the loss from the cuts with 14' of stock. Anyway have fun, should be a great arm workout!
Ventsi Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Thats because the ceramic you've seen is actually deburring media, and not grinding media. It works great for taking off burrs and smoothing metal surfaces, but works like shit as far as grinding stuff. It is far less efficient or effective. I now know why your media is so lopsided. I actually had to cut it all by hand with a crappy hack saw, and didn't car too much for making perfect cuts. Now I know.
scarbelly Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Yeah I'm planning on doing it with a hacksaw. It's actually not too bad from what I've done so far. Honestly I'm starting to enjoy it . I've gotten decent at making straight cuts and using both hands to keep both arms from getting too tired. I DO have a little hand held jig saw that I could try out, but I don't have a metal blade for it. It's amazing how much metal is lost due to the kerf... I really should have bought an extra foot! And the thing about losing the metal is just that brass is expensive and I'm trying to fill a gallon jar. To fill that properly, I think 14' of actual media would be a little too few... I've been collecting all the extra brass, and from where I'm at (I've maybe done 1/4-1/3 of all the cuts I'll need to do) I've collected already nearly 100 grams of brass "sawdust". That's somewhere around 2 inches worth of 3/4" brass rod, and that's only what I've collected; plenty more has missed my little collecting paper as well.
optimus Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Just saw this on BoingBoing... had to share. Christmas tree + 32 model rocket motors: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/06/launc...a-christma.html
NightHawkInLight Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Now the question becomes, how can we outdo them...
optimus Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Now the question becomes, how can we outdo them... I'm thinking a little spin-stabilisation would be nice. Mabye even a header with red/green beraq in a star formation. That'd do the job
FrankRizzo Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Hahaha..that's awesome. The big limiting factor is the drag caused by the branches. If you left the tree bound-up like when you buy them, they would travel much more efficiently.
Mumbles Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Perhaps you could even feel it CuCl2 solution instead of water, and let it die out. That way it will burn pretty colors on the way up too.
teknix Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Yup, I'm still haunting the place. I don't really practice much any more, except on leave, so I kinda just hang around and be completely ineffective. Oh, I plan on bein' around for a few minutes yet don't get me wrong. (Yeah Mumbles.. Yer stuck with me 'til ya finally get sick of it all and ban me. (Then I will be back anyway.. It will just be under a different name and I will lurk more!)) So, what brings ya back this way Teknix? You finally getting some free time and making/smelling the smoke again? (In other words, are you finally getting old enough to putter/tinker yet?) When is trey double aught coming 'round anyway? No real reason just havn't been around here in a while. I haven't played much at home with anything anymore, I do enough smelling smoke at work now (working for the Navy EOD). I've been doing a lot of modding of paintball guns now in my free time and hang out around milsimempire forums now. I just go from one hobby to the next. I would like to get back into making some rockets maybe...still have my tooling down in the basement
Kweltan Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 As far as BS bans and laws go, i suppose fireworks is one of the worst and one that doesn't sit well with many of us on this forum. One to add to this list - as of the 6th of February the South Australian Government has banned the sale and manufacture of Novelty Lighters, why? Because its "an accident waiting to happen". Store owners caught selling these "toy lighters" face a fine of up to $10 000. News Article Link I know its not really that big of a deal, but it annoys me that the government has decided to ban them when there have been no reported incidents involving Novelty Lighters, any parent in their right mind wouldn't let their kids "play" with a novelty lighter, let alone have one. Instead of banning novelty lighters, would it have been just as easy to only make it legal for persons over 18 years old to purchase them? In most cases reputable store owners only sell novelty lighters and the like, to people over 18 and those that choose to sell them to younger children deserve to be fined, i guess for some sort of neglect? I own a few novelty lighters and i think they're great, but if i was a store owner, i wouldn't sell them to me, given im only 16 and there's a likelyhood that i'd use the lighter irresponsibly. And the few dollars of profit wouldn't be worth the potential thought on my conscience. Though, to some degree, these lighters may have been purposely manufactured to appeal to younger people, which is just asking for trouble; i mean, how many house fires are caused by kids playing with fire? exactly. What annoys me the most is that there was no warning, all of a sudden they were banned, it would've been nice to have had some notice. Anyway, those are my thoughts; feel free to post yours
scarbelly Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) Damn... It's nearly 2 AM and I have school in the morning.... It's better than many of my friends and i'm sure than what many of you have done as well... but still.... shit.... Is a novelty lighter just a lighter designed to look different than a conventional lighter? That's dumb that they'd illegalize those... They make fire just like any other lighter will...And yeah, I'm pretty sure here in CA (maybe the whole US I don't know), it's illegal to sell lighters to minors. It seems easy enough for them to just do that... and less liberty-infringing. sorry for all the ellipses... I'm trying to express my likely unwillingness to wake up in several hours.... On another separate thought, today we took a "test" in my government class to see where on the political spectrum we were. Most of the people in my area are pretty liberal, and I think I used to think I would be as well (because my mom is, and my dad doesn't try to impose his views on me). Ever since I've been into fireworks though, I think I've become more conservative. The test was out of 75 points, and the higher you were, the more "right" you are. The teacher said 41-51 was moderate, and basically all of my friends got the high 20s to the low 40s. I shot up at 51 and surprised everyone (I wasn't the highest in the class though, I've only been like this for a year or so haha) I kind of doubt anything I said makes sense, so I apologize for that as well. Edited January 8, 2010 by scarbelly
Kweltan Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 The ban was aimed more at novelty lighters that were in the shape of toys, for example Novelty Gun Lighters and Novelty Frog Lighters, especially the ones that make sounds when used. Basically any lighter that is made to not look like a lighter or is not easily recognizable as one; is now illegal to sell. Though its is not illegal to have one in your possession, only selling or manufacturing. Regards,Kweltan
optimus Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 On another separate thought, today we took a "test" in my government class to see where on the political spectrum we were. Most of the people in my area are pretty liberal, and I think I used to think I would be as well (because my mom is, and my dad doesn't try to impose his views on me). Ever since I've been into fireworks though, I think I've become more conservative. The test was out of 75 points, and the higher you were, the more "right" you are. The teacher said 41-51 was moderate, and basically all of my friends got the high 20s to the low 40s. I shot up at 51 and surprised everyone (I wasn't the highest in the class though, I've only been like this for a year or so haha) I kind of doubt anything I said makes sense, so I apologize for that as well. Interesting. If you are interested this article provides a different viewpoint on the left/right paradigm. Worth a read... http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/the-f...right-paradigm/
Swede Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Ventsi, I wouldn't worry about the staining of the brass. It's going to get funky-looking regardless, and if you clean it with kitty litter or similar, it'll just get stained again the next time you use it. I say ignore it. When you clean it, try a plastic colander. Hose the media down thoroughly, then put it somewhere warm (or with moving air) to dry. Or... put it to work milling prilled or crystalline KNO3 or similar. There's always some pyrotechnic chemical in need of milling. The pure chems will generally remove stains like those. Brass is going to stain and get a patina no matter what you do. I think it's best to ignore it.
NightHawkInLight Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) Interesting. If you are interested this article provides a different viewpoint on the left/right paradigm. Worth a read... http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/the-f...right-paradigm/While I agree that the left/right sides in the US are propagated by a powerful few, I don't believe that it is a global Illuminati in control - at least, not one made up of individuals intentionally attempting to gain full power over the world. Those who have influence on both sides of the liberal/conservative line do their best to hold that line together if they have any sense about them at all. As long as a party is together it is significantly easier to change the minds of those within the party to adopt new ideologies based on those held by the influential members. In addition to risking the loss of national influence, were the parties to fall apart most everyone who currently has great influence would lose their appeal as incumbents of each party. It would be a free for all in elections for a few years which is not what anyone currently with a nice government salary wants. In that way, yes, a select few are controlling many. Overall I believe the parties are damaging this country immeasurably in many ways. I think the first step toward repairing the damage is to lessen the comfort of government seats. Edited January 8, 2010 by NightHawkInLight
scarbelly Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Interesting. If you are interested this article provides a different viewpoint on the left/right paradigm. Worth a read... http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/the-f...right-paradigm/ That certainly was interesting to read. Sounds like some 1984 stuff! I'm not sure I can agree with it, but it was interesting. Another thing that may help (according to my gov teacher) is political elites who are more moderate, and less polar. He says they don't well represent the American people, because a majority of Americans are not far from center, while elected government officials tend to be much more partisan.
optimus Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 That certainly was interesting to read. Sounds like some 1984 stuff! I'm not sure I can agree with it, but it was interesting. It's always worth taking all viewpoints on things like this with a pinch of salt - always question, do your own research and make up your own mind. Debates get polarised and disinformation runs rife, especially with the advent of the internet. George Orwell may not have been too far off the mark though - commercial 'thought scanners' are not too far away from implementation, for 'security purposes' of course - doublethink anyone?
Ventsi Posted January 10, 2010 Posted January 10, 2010 Blah! I just got four more 5foot lengths of 3" mortar tubes and a two 5' 2" mortar tubes.All paper, man oh man I have too many tubes... I also grabbed some acrylic sheet[?] that the company was throwing out, what kind of plastic it is I don't know, and neither did they. Its got a kraft paper "coating" if you will. About 3/16"thick, any use for this stuff? I'll try to check if its polycarbonate but I doubt it. Also, for the heck of it, I decided to grow some Copper Sulfate crystals, any tips? And perhaps a tutorial/explanation? They really do look pretty from what I've seen..
scarbelly Posted January 10, 2010 Posted January 10, 2010 (edited) Copper Sulfate crystals? I did that for my AP chemistry class... Basically just saturate a solution with CuSO4 in boiling water. It will be incredibly difficult if you try to actually go to the full solubility of CuSO4. What we did for class was 100 grams CuSO4 in 60 mLs of water. You can obviously scale this up or down if needed. The actual solubility of CuSO4 in water is a little higher than this, but if you try to achieve this, you will find it nearly impossible. Cool the solution pretty slowly (don't stick it in an ice bath). If you cool it too quickly they'll grow very small crystals. Also, while it's cooling try not to agitate it. Also, would it be possible to just tilt my ball mill, replace the jar with a 5 gallon bucket, and use it as a star roller? Edited January 10, 2010 by scarbelly
Richtee Posted January 10, 2010 Posted January 10, 2010 I also grabbed some acrylic sheet[?] that the company was throwing out, what kind of plastic it is I don't know, and neither did they. Its got a kraft paper "coating" if you will. About 3/16"thick, any use for this stuff? I'll try to check if its polycarbonate but I doubt it.It's called "Plexiglass"- the paper is there to protect the surface. Typically used as a safer "windowpane" And I think it an acrylic compound. It will shatter, but not very easily.
Recommended Posts