wg48temp9 - 11-11-2020 at 07:16
I happened upon a DIY quadrupole trap for lycopodium spores. It operates at atmospheric pressure with simple electronics. I thought it may be
interesting to others too.
see: https://videos.cern.ch/record/2721768
Here is an image of the device working
Morgan - 11-11-2020 at 10:04
Might be interesting to toy with these spores to see how they coil suddenly with the slightest puff of your breath and then how they behave in the
electric field.
Towards the end of this first clip better shows the fast response time.
https://youtu.be/5EnnYX75Sgg
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2jiiWYdP_0Q
wg48temp9 - 12-11-2020 at 00:59
Here is a clip showing the spores walking and jumping:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvC4pOb7MhE
Morgan - 12-11-2020 at 08:31
On a quirky side note on the springy spores, maybe there could be a fun/easy way to make pseudo-spores that mimic that elater action using cellophane
or regenerated cellulose. Perhaps they could be cut out using a laser or some threaded out viscous method. The cellophane made spores might be curious
as a botany toy to illustrate the effect, maybe sell them next to the dunking birds or such in the science isles of stores.
A few years ago I bought a pack of these fortune fish in the video below for a passing interest. But unlike the hygroscopic fish which in the end of
this clip are said to expand on one side from humidity, the spores found in nature would be equally humidified on both sides of the elaters it seems.
Having cut a long sliver of a cellophane fortune fish with a razor just now it seems to be the case, humidity sneaks around the sides of the sliver
and no significant curling results.
So perhaps some spring loaded twist could be imparted to a viscous thread as it is extruded or maybe coat one side of the elaters to inhibit moisture?
After the intro, the following speculations are taxing but the end of the clip explanation is worthwhile. It brought to mind the bimetallic strip
effect.
https://youtu.be/bI0a8DEy6dY
Maybe children would like to play with small but visible elater replicas if workable that behave similarly in your hand with fast response times
outdoing the typical fortune fish, a kind of speedy little moisture-driven engine - if perfected.
wg48temp9 - 13-11-2020 at 01:12
I vaguely remember those fishes from my childhood. I thought it was the heat of my hand.
My nephews (children) seem to have totally got in to games on their tablets to the exclusion of everything else. I side effect of months in lock down
with no stimulation other than their tablets I assume. It will probably be difficult to get them interested in a curling up piece of cellophane. I
think they have gone over to the silicon side.