aga - 8-4-2015 at 14:30
Following the successful outcome of Blogfast25's thread on the use of a "Thumper" in distillation of Ethanol, it would seem sensible to try out other
claims, such as the 'bead size tells EtOH concetration when a bottle is shaken'.
Having given it all of 5 seconds' thought, all i can think of is a timer and a camera.
Shake bottle of concentration X as timer goes beep, after a set time, Camera takes photo.
All experiments done with same timings, same distance, same shaking.
Any suggestions as what else could be done to improve the experiment to make a more empirical comparison ?
Pasrules - 8-4-2015 at 14:36
Light spectroscopy?, it's doing the same thing your eyeball does, i'll have to give this a go at the uni which has a larger cuvette size.
Chemosynthesis - 8-4-2015 at 14:46
I've seen specialty coded microscopy code for cell membrane fluidity and shape that could probably be adopted to approximate alcohol concentration by
measuring viscosity. Unfortunately, not only do I not have the code with me, but I would probably be in a heap of trouble if I were to try and
disseminate it. Contaminants would obviously be a source of error.
Zombie - 8-4-2015 at 19:00
The time that the bubbles last is part of the "equation".
A snap shot of the size of the bubble is only 1/2.
High proof liquor makes large, short lived bubbles, and low proof makes smaller, longer lasting bubbles.
Short video clips of the bottle shaking, and then held still for perhaps 5 - 7 seconds should be sufficient.
It would be easy to blind proof the test by mixing in several of the same proof, and marking them accordingly.
An experienced "proofer" can usually tell 5% differences beginning around 60 proof.
Below 60 proof is considered water or not worth the effort to look at.