Sciencemadness Discussion Board

help with equipment id

movenosound - 15-6-2015 at 03:23

picked this up at a surplus sale for what might have been a great price depending on what it turns out to be
[img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Zn3UTsC1KTdFE1cDZjYzlPZFU/view?usp=sharing[/img]

IMG_0424.JPG - 2.9MB

j_sum1 - 16-6-2015 at 03:00

Looks seriously cool. I hope someone can id it.
It has to be some kind of reaction vessel. It looks like it is designed to be under some kind of vacuum although it is difficult to see the top. Some kind of electrolysis is taking place but I can't see exactly how the electrodes are arranged and what that device might be.

Hawkguy - 16-6-2015 at 07:00

Maybe some sort of gas generator? Like NOx or O3 or something? It looks like it could pass sparks through air...

Sulaiman - 16-6-2015 at 10:44

I do not know what it is, but I want one :D

it looks as though the wires at the top can be disconnected from the assembly below once the two screws are removed and the top carefuly moved.
An inspection of the electrode configuration may give more clues.
looks like stainless steel and ptfe construction,
the part at the very bottom could be a reaction vessel to generate SO2 (or NO2)
for silent discharge conversion to SO3 (or NO3) as in post above.

P.S. just did a google image search for "NO3 generator" and "SO3 generator"
... most useful looking photo's all point to SM !

Funkerman23 - 16-6-2015 at 13:04

Looks like uranium glass was used for the wire lead ins.. and I've only seen that on things like X-ray tubes, HV stuff.... if you got a Geiger counter ; now might be a good time to use it. By that I mean the lower portion( not the green bits), as if the green glass is indeed uranium, you'll get a reading on it regardless. DOn't put pwer to it without damn good lead shielding until you know what it is. EDIT: a good, but cautious inspection like the above poster said would be good.

[Edited on 16-6-2015 by Funkerman23]

IrC - 17-6-2015 at 14:11

While I have no clue what it is I do know there is no uranium glass in it, while not knowing the voltage it is clearly not designed for HV sparking to occur or it would wreck the insulator and the design could not survive the heat. Steady low current corona is possible but the assembly does not look correct for that either. Some kind of glow discharge or maybe electrochemical action? The more I look at it I think it is for electrically measuring some property of a liquid, less likely a gas but who knows. It does not appear studying the structure that it was intended to have even 2 KV applied, considerably lower I think. A weird PH cell? It does look like some liquid has been in the lower part. Assuming the leads were at the top in use, no idea what orientation other than what appears to be a dried liquid in what I think is the bottom.

A flux capacitor?

j_sum1 - 17-6-2015 at 14:59

Get a UV light to check for uranium glass.
The next obvious question is what could you use it for? Maybe its original function is unimportant. Maybe its value as a repurposed item is more interesting.

Funkerman23 - 17-6-2015 at 18:40

Listen to IrC. I stand corrected and an glad to have been told better. Pardonmy error.
Quote: Originally posted by Funkerman23  
Looks like uranium glass was used for the wire lead ins.. and I've only seen that on things like X-ray tubes, HV stuff.... if you got a Geiger counter ; now might be a good time to use it. By that I mean the lower portion( not the green bits), as if the green glass is indeed uranium, you'll get a reading on it regardless. DOn't put pwer to it without damn good lead shielding until you know what it is. EDIT: a good, but cautious inspection like the above poster said would be good.

[Edited on 16-6-2015 by Funkerman23]

IrC - 17-6-2015 at 19:24

Just remember I could also be wrong though I do not think so. The only way to be right is to know what it really is and I believe the jury (forum) is still out on that one. Whatever it is I still say it would be a great beginning for a flux capacitor, whatever that is.

smaerd - 17-6-2015 at 21:20

I have absolutely no idea what that is. My guesses are,

1) flux capacitor

2) specialized equipment to generate ozone. The reason I say that is because the plastic looks like machined teflon. There's sleeves to separate the anode/cathode also made out of teflon. The wires look like very high voltages have been passed across them. What I don't see is a glass dielectric layer. So yea, no clue.

The center rod is threaded with a steel ferrule. What the shit?

It's definitely custom. But yea, possibly radioactive flux capacitor.

Volanschemia - 17-6-2015 at 22:38

Quote:

It's definitely custom. But yea, possibly radioactive flux capacitor.


I wonder if it can put out one point twenty-one gigawatts of power? :P

IrC - 18-6-2015 at 00:40

I don't know but if the damn thing doesn't work I'll still be here. They could toss me in jail for 88 miles an hour.