Vortex rings big and bigger. / General Science and Electronics / Forums

Forums

4hv.org :: Forums :: General Science and Electronics

« Previous topic | Next topic »

Vortex rings big and bigger.

1 2 3 4 next last

Move Thread

LAN_403

Tesladownunder

Sat Jul 22 2006, 11:46AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

First the small one made out of a large can and a rubber glove and held over a smoke generator. Gives a surprisingly strong puff of wind. Used a 50% diameter hole cut in the base.

The big one is coming in after a few replies. (Wow, I don't take 200 pics in a day for no reason)

Peter

ragnar

Sat Jul 22 2006, 02:02PM

Registered Member #63 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:18AM
Location:
Posts: 1425

200 pics? This better be a bloody big vortex-cannon-doobiewopper. =D

Just curious also, what's your "smoke generator"? =P

Looks like some newspaper burning in a can of diesel to me, hehehe

Tesladownunder

Sat Jul 22 2006, 08:02PM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

blackplasma wrote ...

200 pics? This better be a bloody big vortex-cannon-doobiewopper. =D
Just curious also, what's your "smoke generator"? =P

Well it was larger. I used a compost tumbler 80 cm diameter by 90 cm deep that had been sitting as scrap in our backyard for years. Construction needed one day from start to finish with my 3 kids helping. An experience like herding cats really. Never the less finished and lots of pics taken. Fun was had by all for almost no cost.

Construction was simple and composed of blocking some holes and making others. The diaphragm was made of a rubberized picnic blanket (no I didn't put any holes in it). It is held on by several bicycle tubes. I knew I would find a use for them someday. Back tension is by an elastic luggage strap. Smoke is by commercial fog liquid (Dick Smith AUD$9.98), presumably glycol which is safe. We made a little heater from a spirit lamp from a chemistry set to heat it and it worked well, only occasionally catching fire. It was left in the barrel with a plastic cover over the aperture to let the smoke it build up.

Performance was great and it was able to make slow lazy rings or fast powerful one that fly across the yard some 15meters and rustle the trees. The sensation of this sudden whoosh of air in your face is most unusual particularly when you expect it but can't see it.
So the pics.. (just 196 to go)

Peter

1153598530 10 FT13391 Vortexbigmichaelflash

Marko

Sat Jul 22 2006, 08:45PM

Registered Member #89 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145

Now it would be time to hook up your cap bank to it ala disk-launcher for propulsion

just kidding..

I like the second pic, the trace it leaves looks neatly stright..

Tesladownunder

Sat Jul 22 2006, 08:57PM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

It is aimable after a fashion. Mostly just shoot from the hip though. Fast shots go surprisingly straight but will be disrupted by much in the way of wind.

I originally made this to investigate luminous events so I have yet to explore this with flammable materials. Once I have the knack of this then perhaps I'll add an alcohol spray and ignite it. Hopefully without making a fuel air bomb

Some more pics. I'll show the basketball ones next.

Peter

1153601829 10 FT13391 Vortexbigmichaelhereitcomes

1153601829 10 FT13391 Vortexbigchrishiding

Marko

Sat Jul 22 2006, 09:21PM

Registered Member #89 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:40PM
Location: Zadar, Croatia
Posts: 3145

Fireballs sound cool if they are doable (I never saw something like that before.)

Problem could be to sequence the firing with igniting, I doubt you could hand-power such a thing anymore.

Burning gasses of any kind do tend to explode in closed space, but I doubt that will actually happen since hole is big enough to release the pressure.

Maybe you won't even need the additional propulsion since pressure of burning vapour will do the job itself..

Tesladownunder

Sat Jul 22 2006, 09:34PM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

I am uncomfortable with igniting stuff in a vaporised condition even some distance away particularly as it could travel back down the track. I will have to think carefully about experiments in this area.

DC Cox has what he calls a KREW (Kinetic Resonance Energy Weapon) that I think is something like this powered by propane and can knock someone down at 100 feet if I recall.

I might even demonstrate my launcher when I do a Physics Dept Open day soon along with my other stuff.

Nevertheless, I still have 193 pics to go. Here are some basketball ones. A unique experience for a basketballer with a moving hoop and can't hold on to the hoop after a slam dunk

Peter

1153604044 10 FT13391 Vortexbigmichaelbasketball

1153604044 10 FT13391 Vortexcanjustinbasketballshot1

1153604044 10 FT13391 Vortexcanjustinbasketballshot

ragnar

Sun Jul 23 2006, 08:34AM

Registered Member #63 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:18AM
Location:
Posts: 1425

Is the KREW that big cannon that sets off car alarms? I've got a random video of it here, it's bloody brilliant!!!

***K-A-B-L-A-M***.... *echoes for another minute* *people cheer* *car alarm blares*

Nik

Sun Jul 23 2006, 07:37PM

Registered Member #53 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638

I also thought about ignighting a ring but all the smoke rings (with some kind of fuel in them) by shooting them at a torch. I don't think I will because all the smoke rings I make leave a pretty thick trail of smoke right back to the garbage can that I shot it from. The thought of it exploding is not a happy one.

Tesladownunder

Wed Jul 26 2006, 11:49AM

Registered Member #10 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 09:45AM
Location: Bunbury, Australia
Posts: 1424

This ghostly apparition in front of me is a slow travelling and thinning vortex. I reckon if I had put this in Mystery photos before I would have had a few people puzzled.

Once they travel far enough they become wider and thinner and in the second pic is about 6 feet in diameter. The camera was remote triggered since not enough hands on deck.

I now have a commercial smoke generator which is much more effective even on this windy night.

Peter

1 2 3 4 next last

Moderator(s): Chris Russell, Noelle, Alex, Tesladownunder, Dave Marshall, Dave Billington, Bjørn, Steve Conner, Wolfram, Kizmo, Mads Barnkob