Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sat Jun 03 2006, 12:37PM

My guess is a rotating drillbit and water. It looks quite mystical and I had to twist my brain to come up with that idea.

I see a doughnut shaped light source, is it a macro flash?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 03 2006, 12:58PM

No, sorry. It would have to be water with cornstarch like properties with velocity dependent viscosity any way for it to stick to the rotating bit like that.
The central "thing" is stationary and a little out of focus. Standard flash but there was no significant movement anyway.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dave Marshall, Sat Jun 03 2006, 01:17PM

I have two theories.

1) A drop of water being drawn up to a charged electrode off of a metal surface.

2) Something epoxied to a metal base

Dave

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Plasmaniac, Sat Jun 03 2006, 01:26PM

Does it have to do with high voltages? Maybe you have some kV on that stick. Is it normal water? Or de-ionized stuff?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sat Jun 03 2006, 01:28PM

The current post is here http://4hv.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?10694, I am not sure how that got mixed up but I don't really trust the forum software until I have clicked refresh a couple of times.

I have seen water do the stragest things, especially on small scales so I would not be too surprised. What is causing the doughnut reflections, a lamp?

My next guess qould be that it is a 2 mm diameter electrode and there is a current.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Wilson, Sat Jun 03 2006, 01:53PM

Its not just a drip of water falling down the rod into a metal tub, captured *just* after it hit the surface is it? Perhaps a liquid more viscous than water....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Michael W., Sat Jun 03 2006, 02:14PM

Pretty Sure its Peters Strange HV/water effects shown on his page...

"There is no sparking since pure deionised water is an insulator. The mutual attraction of opposite charges creates a spike rising up from the water to meet the electrode. Almost ferrofluid like. The yellow tip is a reflection of the yellow base which is my theme background colour in most of my photos. This spike is stable although there is a moderate water flow around it. Wire width is 0.09 inch (2.2mm). "

Edit: Never mind I just saw the other post about the strange water effects, I guess I was right anyway....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 03 2006, 02:15PM

You are getting the idea

This is from a different angle using deionised water which insulates and is attracted to the upper electrode.

Peter





Now the next photo.

Mystery Photo 2

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Sat Jun 03 2006, 03:09PM

Is it a uranium marble under UV light?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 03 2006, 04:38PM

Yeah, too easy.

Pic shows standard lighting of the UV marble and the bubble imperfections.

Next Mystery photo should be easy too. Estimate the altitude it was taken at as well.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
EN, Sat Jun 03 2006, 05:18PM

I would guess that photo was taken from about a meter over your swimming pool after pouring some LN2 into it :)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jun 04 2006, 12:46AM

I suspect the smart punters are looking at my web site (or have Google Earth and can see my pool).

Yes it is LN2 taken from the stated altitude.
Complete pic below.

I have actually put virtually all of my best photos on my site (640 of them) and/or on 4HV.


Next mystery photo.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Jun 04 2006, 02:00AM

Ha, I remember this one. The failed defibrillator cap, right?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bored Chemist, Sun Jun 04 2006, 08:45AM

"There is no sparking since pure deionised water is an insulator"
No, it's not.
It's a poor conductor but a conductor nevertheless. It would be a real pity if someone were to get electrocuted because they relied on water as an insulator.
Interesting set of pictures though. My guess at the first one would have been a wire electrode sealed through glass like the anode of a rectifier tube (and I'd have been hopelessly wrong).

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Shark, Sun Jun 04 2006, 10:17AM


Nope, thats what photographers call "bad bokeh" and comes from a point-shaped out-of-focus lightsource, that is imaged with overcorrected spherical aberration. The effect is especially pronounced with mirror lenses, but to a lesser extend with any other lens.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sun Jun 04 2006, 11:19AM

I have several lenses and none of them have a bokeh remotely similar to that.

It seems to me that the picture is taken with a normal AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm lens and I have never been able to get any doughnuts from it. Did you use that lens Peter?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jun 04 2006, 12:19PM

It has a higher breakdown than air in the current situation so effectively it is a pretty good insulator. I hope to do more experiments later.


Yes, I use the standard AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm lens. Hoped to get a new one but don't think my accountant would agree.
In fact I hadn't looked closely at the photo until now and didn't notice the circular light reflections which I have not seen before. I wondered if it might have been a reflection of the magnet just below the surface which is just out of view in front. I've not seen it before. The Nikon flash is a short linear lamp.


Correct. I thought people would forget. It is actually one of my better shots to capture sparks in a dynamic shot.

OK Next Mystery photo is one is not one of mine but is a remarkable photo.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
the_anomaly, Sun Jun 04 2006, 12:43PM

A giant mutant space ship com to get us! Was it taken on a microscopic level? Looks like some kind of virus cell.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sun Jun 04 2006, 12:46PM

My guess is a nuclear detonation, it seems to radiate light. It looks most peculiar.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Alessandro, Sun Jun 04 2006, 12:50PM

Ah, that's easy, an atomic explosion a few milliseconds after detonation. You can clearly see the spikes caused by the support wires on the tower.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Sun Jun 04 2006, 01:18PM

I was about to say it's looking down the back of a throat, or an artery, or something... but seriously, if you were looking down my throat, I've been known to 'explode' at various people spontaneously... hehe

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
c4r0, Sun Jun 04 2006, 01:18PM

Looks like an x-ray photo of sth ...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Jun 04 2006, 03:48PM

is it the first few whatever nanosecond of a nuclear explosion?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Shark, Sun Jun 04 2006, 03:57PM

Sorry, I didn't know you were into photography. Excuse my baby-talk tone. There is a kind of cross-eyed feel to the whole image, as if it was taken with a mirror lens. Since Peter was messing around with water, could it have been a water drop on the front element, that caused this "mirror-lens" effect?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Sun Jun 04 2006, 04:13PM

Nuclear explosion.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jun 04 2006, 08:13PM

The shots are from the first 1mS after a fission explosion with a 'shutter speed' of 10nS.
The Rapatronics camera used a Kerr cell which is an electro-optical device to rotate plane of polarisation a bit similar to the Pockels cell used for Q-switching lasers. The camera was 7 miles away. The wires vaporise and ionise under the intense radiation more readily than air at that stage and distance and form the classical 'rope tricks' (early version of string theory, I suppose).

"..messing around with water.."
No I didn't splash the lens. I regard it as a holey visitation.

Next Mystery photo is one of mine. A little more sedate this time.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Self Defenestrate, Sun Jun 04 2006, 10:47PM

The shot is reflected off a fragment of a CDROM (Mario teaches typing - see his eyes). This gives a central reflection and first order diffraction with the ultraviolet being closer and the red diode beam being farther from the central reflection .

Wouldn't happen to be a nitrogen laser with a red laser diode angled in, would it?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Alessandro, Sun Jun 04 2006, 11:01PM

Yep,

TDU, give us some new images, we already know the answers to all the others....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jun 04 2006, 11:43PM

New images. Hmmmm

All right then.
Mystery photo. What has this to do with HV? How many times has it happened in my life?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
McFluffin, Sun Jun 04 2006, 11:54PM

Appears to be a bar of soap mashed into some tile.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jun 05 2006, 01:51AM

The answers I wanted were
1: Nothing to do with HV
2: I have only ever dropped a sliver of soap while showering and have it land on it's edge and stay there, twice in my life. It's probably one of those Schrodinger's cat quantum improbability things...

Mystery Photo 11

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Mon Jun 05 2006, 02:08AM

I can read the lettering and it seems to make sence that you would have somthing from that company but I cant find any info on the object itself.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Mon Jun 05 2006, 02:09AM

Tritium? like those for watches or rifle scopes?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jun 05 2006, 03:22AM

It's a tritium containing keyring. Glows for 10 years. It is radioactive with a count something like twice background if I recall. I've had enough kids, so I can use it as a keyring and keep it in my pocket
Cost AUD$20 on eBay from the UK. Radioactive imports. Hmmmm..

Next is a very quick one. Which is the red laser?







Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Mon Jun 05 2006, 03:46AM

I would assume it is the one on the right since the radation is pointing to the left...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Mon Jun 05 2006, 05:27AM

I agree with ...
is that dry ice?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Mon Jun 05 2006, 05:58AM


Just to show that lightning strikes twice, even if it is on the opposite end of the world. I picked up some parts from my desk and this diode was left standing. I will never see anything like it happen again.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Mike, Mon Jun 05 2006, 06:56AM

I would say the right laser since the hole on it is red, while the outside of the case is green.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jun 05 2006, 07:52AM

..but I was naked. Were you

The lasers were obvious once you think about it but I almost labelled it wrongly. It is highlighting some aerogel but it wasn't up to scratch with clarity so wasn't used. Since everything was on my desk in front of me, I took a better shot.
The dirty hands are from taking apart a laser photocopier. After I finished and had discarded the junky bits, I thought "but where was the laser?"


Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Mon Jun 05 2006, 08:08AM

..but I was naked. Were you

No, I have a rule that I never solder in the nude. It is not based on experience but from extrapolating different events.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Mon Jun 05 2006, 08:26AM

Hope it's one of those newer "non-carcinogenic tonier" lasers... or you washed your hands soon after =)

Last time I dismantled a laser printer, I found there is an array of laser diodes (one long line of them) along each toner cartridge. SO many TINY gold contacts, SO many TINY bits of glass...

Absolutely tiny, and probably unusable. I had to strain to see the bits with my naked eye. =)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Jun 06 2006, 06:43PM

Next Mystery photo is not one of mine.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Tue Jun 06 2006, 06:59PM

A balloon that explodes, differences in density of the air causes refraction. In the lower left corner you see the microphone that triggered the photograph as the sound from the ballon reaches it.

By using a LED and a candle you can see the effect, I did it a couple of days ago.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Tue Jun 06 2006, 09:48PM

Do I get geek points for knowing that it's called a Schlieren photograph?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Tue Jun 06 2006, 09:54PM

Yes, at least 5 points. I forgot the name a decade ago and google returned nonsense.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Jun 07 2006, 12:51AM

Here is the full article which makes interesting reading with the new techniques of a reflective grid and colour filters which allows large areas and outdoor shots.

My favourite amateur Schlieren site and one of my all time favourite but little known sites is Rapp instruments. Site is only in German but he makes beautiful stuff. All my stuff looks like junk compared to his.

Photo is another from that site and shows the muzzle and bullet's shockwave at Mach 2.5
Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jun 16 2006, 05:08PM

Time for another Mystery Photo.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Jim, Fri Jun 16 2006, 06:30PM

maybe a water arc projected onto the wall

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 17 2006, 01:02AM

Well, 60 people have looked at this and only one reply. Keep guessing and I will keep giving photo hints. They were pics I took last night.
Here is another in the series. Don't be scared now

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sat Jun 17 2006, 01:46AM

The object at the bottom is an opened Coke can. The light source has ray like structures like it was a point source of some sort, like a laser or two.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Sat Jun 17 2006, 02:07AM

You beat me too it, I was going to say a laser going beign defracted (i think thats the right word). Like how they make holograms.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 17 2006, 02:38AM

The laser is my argon multi line one accounting for the green and blue mosaic of dots of light when the beam is diffracted with a bit of hazy polyethylene sheet and projected onto a 4 foot diameter polystyrene disc (packing cover for a table).

Here is a couple of photos including the effect of adding a 10mW HeNe red laser similarly set up which gives the irritating effect of those old 3D pictures to be viewed with blue and red cellophane glasses. Any one got one to see if there is a 3D effect?

I am staring into a 40mW laser here. Can you see the smoke coming off my retinas?

I chose last night as the air was smokey from some recent controlled burning so shows the beams well.







So what was the original mystery photo?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
benbradley, Mon Jun 19 2006, 03:54AM

I've got a mystery photo, and it IS on topic (I'll tell what it is in maybe a week or so). I took this photo myself, the two big things are ordinary standard-size pushpins for the old-fashioned cork style bulletin boards, available at any office supply store.
I'm just posting a link rather than including the pic in the page, as it's a big pic (it sort of has to be, for you to see it):

Two questions: What are they, and how many do I have? I have many times the quantity shown in this pic, and it's possible to answer both questions with info freely available on the Internet (well, at least it is for the second one, once you have the correct answer to the first).

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Desmogod, Mon Jun 19 2006, 04:08AM


Considering the topic is mystery photos from TDU, I highly doubt that.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Mon Jun 19 2006, 05:50AM

Was the original mystery photo a soap bubble?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bored Chemist, Mon Jun 19 2006, 06:08AM

ferrite core store beads?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Mon Jun 19 2006, 10:12AM

Yea, I'll vote for ferrite cores too, and it looks like you have about 4096

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Richy, Mon Jun 19 2006, 11:49AM

Hi TDU,
In your original pic at the top looks like a bass drum pedal so I'm guessing it was your laser difracted through a bass drum skin?
Richy.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Michael W., Mon Jun 19 2006, 02:09PM

Could those be the raw plastic pellets that the push pins are formed from?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jun 19 2006, 02:51PM

For anyones information, TDU is the popular abbreviation for Tesladownunder. First time I've used it though.

The Mystery photo with the blue green laser background showed a central area which seemed to be enlarged. It was in fact me holding a simple lens at just the area where the enlargement covered the shadow of the rim of the lens. The lens was supported by a plastic tie which I was holding between two fingers.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Billybobjoe, Fri Jun 23 2006, 04:52PM

My turn - what is this:

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Fri Jun 23 2006, 04:59PM


posthumous remains of flat cable?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Fri Jun 23 2006, 10:15PM

looks more like speaker cables
melted together, the whole spool, just fused together.
then you some how cut it in the middle and take the core out?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Billybobjoe, Fri Jun 23 2006, 11:43PM


Can't get much closer than that - its speaker cable I used to rewind a MOT sized transformer with and it shorted itself, melted together, than I cut it off the core. Its actually convienent now because I can pull off the wires that aren't burned (just heated a bit so they stick together) and use them as temporary low voltage leads.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
benbradley, Sun Jun 25 2006, 03:06AM

Considering the topic is mystery photos from TDU, I highly doubt that.

Maybe you got me, though I was thinking of the topic of the BOARD, that being General Science and Electronics. It could possibly be Computer Science, though certainly not for MODERN computers.

ferrite core store beads?

Yea, I'll vote for ferrite cores too, and it looks like you have about 4096

Okay, can't sneak much by you guys, but these are amazingly small and I thought that might fool you. I've never seen cores that are anywhere NEAR as small as these. These are approximately .030 inch outside diameter, much smaller than I expected when I ordered them. There's a date on the package of 1981, so these may be the last (and smallest) ferrites made for computer memory storage. I was hoping to wire up a few but I can hardly even SEE them. I guess I'll keep these, but I'll have to order some larger ones if I can find them.

Quite frankly, I didn't believe I would actually get the quantity the seller stated. I haven't counted them (!) but it looks in the ballpark. I suspect the quantity in my pic is likely in the 10,000 to 50,000 range (remember these are piled up around the pins), and that's no more than ten percent of the pack I poured it from. I have a total of 1.8 million (three packs of 600,000) from this eBay auction:



Could those be the raw plastic pellets that the push pins are formed from?

Nope.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Jun 25 2006, 04:05AM

kind of amazing... That whole bag of ferrite beads, the whole lot of them after being wired up into a module costing soo much, is like 5% of a floppy disk

and to try to sorta keep this thread somewhat on topic...

We need more pics TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Jun 25 2006, 07:07AM

i just gutted a SMPS, and I found some slightly larger ferrite beads (2mm OD) on the leads of some dual diode. see if i can get some pix later...
what are they for?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jun 25 2006, 08:19AM


Err.. TDU?

Having a rush job doing some stuff on the Uni can crusher but here is a quick one from a few moments ago.

Mystery Photo 21

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Jun 29 2006, 03:51PM

So no guesses for the last post (mystery photo 21)

So one more chance. While you think about that I have this one.

Mystery photo 22

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Thu Jun 29 2006, 07:56PM

the first one looks like a piece of sch80 pvc pipe with a film of blue pvc solvent weld glue across another piece inside it.

The second is a long exposure of a red HeNe and some blue LEDs... The HeHe is being relected off a speaker onto a moving screen. The leds were dragged throught the exposure.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jun 30 2006, 12:33AM

WRONG (it was schedule 40) Well OK you were sorta right...
Yes it was a 4 inch TC secondary. The end cap was a little oversized so extra lake of PVC solvent. The irregular outside rim was masking tape to hold the wire end.

Second photo is half right. It is a diode laser (not HeNe) on a long exposure. The blue lights are 4 LCD screens of a power supply. Any other suggestions as to how the pattern was made rather than a speaker?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Fri Jun 30 2006, 12:52AM

No fair adding tape arround the pipe to confuse me on the wall thickness

I thought the red seemed a little too dark to be your hene, you almost had me thinking the blue was your argon, but I decided that that was just too blue.

As to the pattern... It is much to regular to have been moved by hand... And the camera couldn't have been moving that much since the blue is pretty much strait... And I doubt that you found a way to move the background to make that pattern... Were you shining it off a spinning mirror at some weird angle?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
benbradley, Fri Jun 30 2006, 04:01AM


THe same seller now has an auction for 200 milllion cores (!!!), so now you CAN build that floppy disk emulator!


2mm appears to be over twice the diameter of mine, though earlier core memory may have used even larger cores.

But for a SMPS or most applications where a bead goes around a component lead, it's meant as a lossy inductor, to reduce the RF interference generated by the fast switching of the diode. I believe it's a somewhat different kind of material, still magnetic but with different properties than that used for core memory. If you google ferrite core and powdered-iron core you can find descriptions of materials used for various types of inductors and transformers.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jun 30 2006, 10:23AM


The beam from a 5mW red diode laser is reflected by a mirrror on an instrument recorder amplifier that I found while dumpster diving at the physics Dept. This would normally drive a pen on a moving roll of paper (like a seismograph). It is 1981 vintage and has offset, gain and calibration controls. Full scale deflection seems to be about 0.1V and frequency response seems to go up to about 70Hz. Sadly I didnt pick up the second one.

The unit is fed from my frequency generator at about 70Hz and the result is a horizontal stripe. The circular motion is simply me rotating the camera by hand with a 1 second exposure. This brings out the sine wave character and also shows some additional sine wave superimposed on it.

The next mystery photo is at the bottom.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jul 02 2006, 03:15AM

Next Mystery photo.

You should all recognise the trees in my back yard by now.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Jul 02 2006, 03:21AM

Eucalyptus

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jul 02 2006, 04:23AM

"Ahh.. you have much to learn little grasshopper"
(Mr. Miyagi to Daniel-san in Karate Kid )
Methinks you see not the wood from the trees... (me)

Yes they are eucalyptus and some peppermint. Is that all there is of interest?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Jul 02 2006, 04:58AM

Well there is that red thing in the trees... That is new Looks like a personal flotation device to me

The bark on that pic and on the one of you in front of the exploding cap bank looks just like the ones in my back yard... Maybe you got some of the American diseased ones?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jul 29 2006, 08:00AM

The mystery red object was a can being shot 15 feet out of my latest can crusher. It was positioned so that the base was level with the center of the work coil so it will fire the coil in the air. The can is shortened however as shown in the photo.

Next mystery photo is a bit easy but a full explanation is needed.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Sat Jul 29 2006, 03:09PM

It's 2 rings interacting and a third in the back ground. It looks like a wide thin ring (slow moving) being warped by a fast movign fat ring. Have you gotten them to wobble yet? If you do they will occilate pretty quickly untill they hit something or dissipate.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Aug 18 2006, 12:17AM

Here's another.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Fri Aug 18 2006, 01:42AM

im guessing an argon laser
looks like some kind of cave.
but i guess that the weird shadows are reflections off some trees.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Alessandro, Fri Aug 18 2006, 07:09AM

Laser "tunnel" effect with an agron laser. Looks like it was outdoors because the fog didn't fill the entire picture.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Aug 18 2006, 05:32PM

Correct and here are a couple of other shots.
This is one of my better displays. The effect is surreal with the swirling smoke patterns that form the tunnel. It takes up your complete field of vision and gives no external point of reference. It is particularly breathtaking when the tunnel slowly closes in on you and you disappear in a quantum singularity. Fortunately I reformed in a parallel universe shortly after.....

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Avalanche, Tue Aug 29 2006, 05:04PM

Here's a mystery photo from the avalanche if no one minds

shouldn't be too hard to get this one.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Tue Aug 29 2006, 06:26PM

Interwoving a bunch of litz wires together with a drill..?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Avalanche, Tue Aug 29 2006, 10:56PM

You got it

I was making the wire for the secondary of my inverter transformer. There was 13 meters there, attached at the other end to a hook right inside the house

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Sept 01 2006, 06:44PM

Another photo I took tonight.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Avalanche, Sat Sept 02 2006, 05:25PM

Driving past street lamps with a long exposure? I dunno

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Thomas, Sat Sept 02 2006, 05:40PM

Looks like the camera is on a tripod and a car with ford focus like lights is driving by.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Sept 02 2006, 06:05PM

Actually it is a road train with the orange body outline lights up high, red tail lights lower and headlights lower. What I found interesting is the slight sine wave pattern on the lights. May be went over a bump or maybe just bouncing along a bit.
I was trying to get some moon shots but I wasn't quick enough and there was traffic on the highway. Exposure was 15 seconds.

This pic is a car.

Peter



This is the next mystery photo. Not too hard. Is a gas involved and if so, what composition?

Peter

Mystery 25

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Avalanche, Sat Sept 02 2006, 07:25PM

A spark between 2 points, and I'll guess that the gas is roughly 78% nitrogen, and 20% oxygen...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Sept 10 2006, 06:23PM

Yep, it was just an out of focus end-on spark shot which gave it a hazy plasma ball look. I had to step down the aperture to get all 3 inches in better focus.

And this one?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sun Sept 10 2006, 06:44PM

high speed spark photo usng your rotary mirror

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Sept 10 2006, 07:19PM

I knew I should have posted this first before the other stuff.
So why is it green?
Why is it smeared and what is the significance ot the dark streak extending down from where the spark touches the top?

Then try this one. (harder)

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Mon Sept 11 2006, 06:01PM

The rotating mirror never captured any photon from the top of the arc. postitioning error?
the light from the arc was dragged downward by the mirror, hence the smear.

Green, humm...from auto white balance? or Fe ions in glass/lenses?


adn the pic with an orange line
im guessing its a car passing by.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Self Defenestrate, Mon Sept 11 2006, 06:11PM

Fiber optic cable with a blue/uv led?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Mon Sept 11 2006, 07:04PM

It looks like a small HF streamer but I can't tell whats its from.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Sept 11 2006, 08:30PM

The green colour is the result of autoexposure and I presume, auto white balance from a purple spark on a black background. I can do better manually but it takes longer and consistency is different between pics.

The missing gap in the smear of light where the spark is out of the picture suggests to me that the smear is an artifact from the brightness of the first spark rather than persistent ionisation along the spark path. Perhaps an edge of mirror effect or camera issue.

And the photo with the blue spark like light? Even though it is coming from a breakout point on the toroid, it is actually a blue LED that I taped on for focusing reasons on my spark setup. I already had one set up with a battery and just grabbed that for convenience.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Sept 23 2006, 08:27AM

Next one

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Penguin7471, Sat Sept 23 2006, 09:02AM

Its your rotating mirror and motor setup, and you've taken the shot with flash just when the mirror was facing the cam? Or maybe some kind of bright artificial light behind the cam.

I guess that would also explain the lens flare to the left of the mirror.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sat Sept 23 2006, 11:22AM

It shows the CCD blooming problem of the Nikon D70 that causes vertical streaks. You usually need the sun or a flash to make it visible like that.

A great way to avoid that is to get an external flash and figure out how to use the wireless control. It the improvement from the internal flash is quite spectacular.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Sept 25 2006, 07:41PM

A typical Australian road about 5 minutes from home. Something is not right but you have to enlarge the pic to see. It changes the whole interpretation.

Peter

Mystery 31

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Self Defenestrate, Mon Sept 25 2006, 08:25PM

Electrostatic dust storm. You can see a whole bunch of tiny discharges inside the cloud.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Mon Sept 25 2006, 08:57PM

It is one of them roads where cars roll uphill...

There is only one beer can in the whole picture...

No, really it is night because there are star streaks in the sky. It looks interesting, a bit like luminous raindrops.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
AndrewM, Mon Sept 25 2006, 10:21PM

I was going to say that there seems to be mains service to a clump of trees on the left...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Sept 25 2006, 11:57PM

This photo shows same time, same place but with the car headlights on. Just not a 5 minute exposure.

See, I told you I was going to give you a lot of streaky star photos. It just happened to be (almost) full cloud cover last night.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Oct 02 2006, 05:07AM

Mystery Photo 35
The wonders of eBay.
Guess the power of my DPSS green laser.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Alex, Mon Oct 02 2006, 06:28AM

I'm guessing it's 5 or 10mW, and you used a long exposure at night, hence the flat lighting and sky, and very thick and defined laser trace.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Oct 04 2006, 01:00PM

Correct (5mw). This pic makes it clear. Even with moonlight, there is something not right about long night exposures. Maybe its the moon rocks spectral absorption.....
You can see the star streaks on the bigger photo which I have cropped to exclude on the smaller one. I used my laser scanner to do that and left it on for about 2 of the 6 minutes of exposure.
The other clue was the shadow of the tripod from the kitchen window light seen near the base of the tree.

Next photo was taken by my camera phone on night mode taken when cycling home from from a fortnightly clinic in a nearby (45km) town. It would have been more dramatic with my good camera and a decent lens. What is going on?

Mystery 36

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Wed Oct 04 2006, 01:28PM

Err, that's the tree with mains service to it that Andrew mentioned, and it shorted out and caught fire?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Oct 04 2006, 06:10PM

It is indeed a burning tree. Burning branches and leaves were falling off with big showers of sparks. Why is it burning? Electrical service along the road is visible in the photo but no branches to the tree (pun intended).

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Wed Oct 04 2006, 08:29PM

Huge A55ed CO2 tube?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Oct 07 2006, 05:17AM

When I first read that I thought "I haven't heard of an A55 tube"

The picture is simply a burning tree. Some one was burning off and the flames lit the tree but the original fire died down quickly. Was quite stiking at night.
Full pic shows the context.

Next is a piece of equipment. I didn't know what it was until I read the manual. One component has been removed.

So is it:
1 A Dalek
2 Recently declassified beam weapon
3 Other and if so, what.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Sat Oct 07 2006, 03:08PM

Some pretty heavy-looking transformers in it, so I'll guess its a X-ray machine.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sat Oct 07 2006, 03:13PM

It's an OMG deadly plasma light cannon. ^ ^


I fugure bunch of transformers and selenium rectifiers on bottom but have no clue for the thing on it. Plasma torch, welder , some medical thingie..?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sat Oct 07 2006, 06:32PM

a dalek with the organic matters vaporized!

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Oct 07 2006, 06:43PM

I was told it was an "ultraviolet coagulator" retired from a local hospital in the ? 80's before being sent to the Physics Dept to see if they could use it. It lay there gathering dust for years before a recent clean out and it passed to me.

It is actually a short arc Xenon source for eye lesion coagulation. A precursor to my YAG ophthalmic laser as it were. Unfortunately, the Xenon lamp was removed. It is interesting because the output (the black tube) is on a finely balanced gimbal and can be moved 6 inches in all directions to allow it to be brought up to the eye. The whole xenon assembly moves as well.
3 phase power is required. The power meters give an idea of the power draw. Optics are by Carl Zeiss and lots of interesting stuff in there.

Next Mystery photo No 38 is one of those "wow" demos that you call the family out to see.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Oct 08 2006, 07:11AM

end on spark view, with fog machine, also a red light sorce, leds/laser

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 08 2006, 02:22PM

No fog.
A clue

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sun Oct 08 2006, 02:30PM

Looks like sparks are behind some piese of red plastic, don't know for illumination.

Another electrode seems to be outer circumference, water, or no electrode at all..?
Or is it a high-pressure ''plasma globe''?
Can be a lot of things...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
G^3, Sun Oct 08 2006, 04:10PM

It kinda looks like a retina, but with sparks instead of blood vessels. Is it a balloon in front of some spark source?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sun Oct 08 2006, 04:30PM

looks too round for a ballon...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Oct 11 2006, 01:53AM

The photo was natural colour of sparks from the filament of a 10 inch incandescent globe to the front where I placed a small wire loop. Sparks were from my MO-SIDAC-IC setup which normally makes 4 inch sparks.
It had a reddish colour which came up well on a time exposure. The bright sparks in the middle are direct to filament but many of the other circular ones had surface tracking.

Next one
Mystery Photo 39

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Wed Oct 11 2006, 02:42AM

holy crap you son looks like me

And where did you get the huge bulb?

No idea what the last spark picture is... From a distance it looks almost like a glowing liquid pouring out of something...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Oct 11 2006, 03:58AM

Most unruly youth look the same from this side of 50

Bulb was from a junk yard like many of my prized possessions. No metal value in a scrap yard so cheap.

Who said it was a spark picture It certainly looks VERY much like my high speed Tesla spark shots of a streamer though with the multiple ring up sparks. But is it ?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Coyote Wilde, Wed Oct 11 2006, 03:27PM

If not, my guess would be something like insence/cigarrette smoke in a blacklight

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Oct 14 2006, 01:10AM

Mystery photo 39 which looked like a spark photo was just spider web on my tee shirt. I accidentally took a handheld exposure shot and there was some lens shake to account for the parallel images.
Photo shows the picture in context.

Next is Mystery photo 40.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sat Oct 14 2006, 01:45AM

Piece of solder under high mag? I jsut say that becuase I have spent ~10 hours over the last 2 days staring into a u-scope while soldering laser chips down For the first half of the day I could see crystal clear images of the chips whenever I closed my eyes

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sat Oct 14 2006, 02:51AM

some sort of high speed milk pouring?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 15 2006, 03:07AM

Cornflour pours but in a funny way. Because it doesn't tolerate sudden change it breaks rather than strings out in droplets.
Full pic makes it clearer.
More cornstarch pics here.

Mystery photo 41 follows below.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Oct 15 2006, 04:08AM

plasma+ferro fluid?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
CT2, Sun Oct 15 2006, 10:16PM

flyback arc into a toroid magnet, possibly submerged in water?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Oct 18 2006, 12:10PM

Yep. Photo rotated upside down to make it harder but I forgot that you people are looking at things upside down anyway

Photo makes it clearer. Supply is my MOT multiplier that delivers 10kV DC.

Last photo is Mystery photo 42. Natural colour, just cropped.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Wed Oct 18 2006, 12:17PM

Is it the sun seen through mist?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Oct 18 2006, 12:39PM

Thought you might have thought it was too round to be a balloon It is actually taken through smoke from some preventative bushfire burns. It really accentuates the red colour unlike mist. I can't see any sunspots, presumably blurred out by the smoke.

Pic shows the context.

Next is a UFO caught blasting off. Or perhaps a high voltage clothes iron or you guess. Mystery photo 43.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Thu Oct 19 2006, 09:53PM

That one is also upside down, I think it is an arc to water.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Fri Oct 20 2006, 03:34AM

Arc to water of opposite polarity? ^^

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Oct 20 2006, 03:17PM

Yep. This was just a funny shaped version of some pretty photos.

Context is first pic below.

Mystery photo 44 follows.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Coyote Wilde, Fri Oct 20 2006, 08:07PM

cloud-to-cloud lightening?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sun Oct 22 2006, 12:40AM

I already saw his lightning pics - the second one on his site is maybe a bit blurred but looks great. I used way shorter exposures - 8 secs for my pics, surely lots of clicks go wasted!

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 22 2006, 03:50AM

It is lightning and the context is shown below.
I haven't taken lightning photos before and these stikes were so far away that no thunder could be heard perhaps 10-20km so detail is poor. At least it wasn't raining.
The sea shot were taken on the same night from a similar distance.

The best lightning show I have ever seen was from the 49th floor of a hotel in Melbourne. It was quite captivating as it moved across the city with very frequent strikes and the view was very clear.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Oct 28 2006, 08:15AM

Mystery photo 45

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tetrafluoroethane, Sat Oct 28 2006, 01:27PM

Looks like a closeup of the rebound after something (probably water) was dropped in a pool of water.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
muciek man, Sun Oct 29 2006, 12:35AM

looks like a ball of mercury photographed rollin across a surface

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 29 2006, 01:54AM

It is a water droplet travelling down in the picture. It was taken as one of about 300 shots I took while doning the Water drops walk uphill thread.

The drop is distorted as it has only just broken from the dropper tube. The streaky lights below it are the shutter which at 1/60 sec is still open long after the flash has taken the main shot.

Photo shows the context.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Nov 01 2006, 11:02AM

I've scribbled over this in a paint program - right?

Mystery Photo 46

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Chris, Wed Nov 01 2006, 12:11PM

I'd say you scribbled over it with a powerful red laser, in real life. Probably a long exposure shot at night.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Alex, Wed Nov 01 2006, 01:14PM

Looks like a night shot of someone waving around an LED.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Wed Nov 01 2006, 02:12PM

I think it is a long exposure night shot and one of those clip on LED flashers you put on bikes and kids.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Nov 05 2006, 04:07PM

Yep, it's a bike flasher at night with a several minute exposure. I was hoping to get some nice spirals coming in from a distance at the end of the road but obviously had too much to drink....
I want to try to flash just my face to give a ghostly disconnected look sometime.

Next one is not too hard.

Mystery photo 47

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Michael W., Sun Nov 05 2006, 04:27PM

A bee

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bored Chemist, Sun Nov 05 2006, 05:04PM

I'm not an expert, but I thought that end of a bee usually had a pointed sting.
(I'm guessing the yellow thing is compositae of some sort)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sun Nov 05 2006, 05:18PM

Bee's sting is subtracted most of time.

The pic seems to be a honeybee deducing by color pattern.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Nov 06 2006, 12:29AM

Bee is correct. Pic shows the full shot with a bit of wing visible.

Next is Mystery photo 48

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Michael W., Mon Nov 06 2006, 12:47AM

An oddly shaped broach or some metal slag?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Mon Nov 06 2006, 01:44AM

A type of mineral, the pic is upside down.

Not sure what the stuff us called, I think it is made of some type of copper (but it could have been iron or something completely different)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bored Chemist, Mon Nov 06 2006, 06:44AM

Bismuth?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Michael W., Mon Nov 06 2006, 03:07PM

Its Definatly Bismuth...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Nov 06 2006, 06:24PM

It's Bismuth. That's how it crystallises with a pink/green sheen. It was not taken upside down, just lit from an angle that showed the colours the best.

Mystery photo 50

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Mon Nov 06 2006, 07:25PM

project for 2nd year civil engineering?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Nov 07 2006, 12:23AM

This was a school project (year 8) for my 13 year old. They each had to construct a "bridge" to span 80cm to support a weight using 100 kebab skewers, wood glue and cotton.
Picture shows it supporting 2 bricks (10kg) In the competition it supported 17kg with more distributed weights but the record was 23kg for the class.

Mystery photo 52 follows. The correct answer may need to give some figures for physical properties and some calcuations.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Tue Nov 07 2006, 01:27AM

Wee, bridges. A while ago when I was in year11 doing engineering studies, for a class assessment we had to construct a bridge and model a truss analysis. Mine was made from quarter-inch cross-section balsa wood, and weighed 24 grams. It spanned 40cm and, when tested to destruction (add weights, wait 1 minute, add more, etc) held 39kg. = ~1600x its own weight.

Yay for K-trusses and more cheap thrills. =)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Tue Nov 07 2006, 01:49AM

The photo is of a tuneign fork that should resonate at 256hz but you dipped it in liquid nitrogen making it resonate at 260.6 hz. Also the coil it is vibrating over looks like it came from a small motor (posibly a microwave turn table).

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Nov 07 2006, 02:21AM

Correct, but can anyone work out how much stainless steel shortens with temperature and how much the bendy-ness (there is a better term for this) changes with temperatue to get an estimate of current temperature from the increase of resonant frequency?

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Tue Nov 07 2006, 03:14PM

i think it highly depends on what kind of steel you have, although it is likely to be tempered high carbon steel.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bored Chemist, Tue Nov 07 2006, 06:07PM

Well, if anyone who really likes maths is interested, this site

gives the physics for a single cantilever. A tuning fork is just 2 stuck together and then you need to convert the expression for the static load into the expression for the motion and get the resonance (I bet it's density dependent too) then see what effect the temperature has on the length, density, and Young's modulus of the steel.


(Of course all that requires you to register with the site's operators (It's free), so I bet nobody bothers to get the explicit equation for the frequency of a tuning fork.)
Alternatively, you could just say "forget it- even dropping the temperature bu 200 degrees barely affects the resonant frequency".
If anyone is still reading at this point they might want to google "quartz crystal microbalances".

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Nov 07 2006, 06:26PM

Looks like I'll have to work it out myself.....

Simple coefficient of expansion of steel would account for shortening of 0.000012/K for steel. Given room temp 24C and LN2 of -196C this gives a 220K range. Hence thermal expansion is .00264. This would on its own change frequency from 256 Hz to 256.67Hz. Clearly not the full explanation. Perhaps not even any explanation as shortening will be acompanied by increased density which may compensate ? fully.

So looking at the bendy-ness of steel. I guess this is Young's modulus and I suspect that this is the parameter that determines the vibration for a given force. The exact value is not important but the change with temperature is. This site gives the modulus for low carbon steel as being 29.5 at 70F increasing to 31.4 at -325F (=-198K). This is a change of 6.4% which would give a frequency rise to 272.4Hz.

Since the observed frequency rise is only to 260.6 from 256.2 (1.7%) and interpolating, this suggests that the temperature of the fork at the time has risen to -34C.

There are many assumptions, particularly about the steel type. Perhaps my logic is way off.
Nevertheless the results are plausible. Using Google to look up tuning fork and liquid nitrogen reveals many poorly documented brief physics demonstrations. The only one that gave figures was my own site!

Comments welcome from real engineers or people who know stuff.
(Edit looks like Bored Chemist just beat me to post about this)

Next Mystery photo - also an easy one.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Wolfram, Tue Nov 07 2006, 09:29PM

Mercury switch frozen with (presumably) liquid nitrogen.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Nov 08 2006, 12:30AM

Correct.
Pic shows the context.

Next is Mystery photo 54. This is harder and I may need to give a clue.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Nov 18 2006, 10:59PM

Seems like you need a clue.
If you could spectroscopically analyse that light you should see lines characteristic of sodium and mercury.

Here is a wider view.

More hints. Where else do you see red and green lights? I can't post again until someone else has a go.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
atomicthumbs, Fri Nov 24 2006, 03:45AM

I'm guessing a long-exposure shot of two neon tubes, mercury vapor lamps, and sodium lamps. Maybe they're on a carnival ride of some sort, or somehow moving, or maybe you're shaking he camera.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Fri Nov 24 2006, 12:22PM

It's street lights and traffic lights at night. A time exposure from a moving car, or more likely a bike, knowing TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jan 26 2007, 03:43PM

This thread is a sleeper that is about to rise like a Phoenix from the ....whatever.

Yep the last one was traffic lights and sodium street lights from a camera on the dashboard. Well I was bored...

Photo shows the full shot. Kinda interesting.

Next photo Mystery 56. What do you expect, I am a true blue Aussie. (hint)

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Chris, Fri Jan 26 2007, 10:24PM

Next photo looks like a grinding wheel showing sparks of metal whizzing by. Very brief exposure. If the color is anything like that in real life it's probably titanium.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jan 26 2007, 11:32PM

Not grinding sparks.

Type in Aussie and the date of the post into Google. (a hint about the hint)

Photo shows Tungsten grinding sparks.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Chris, Sat Jan 27 2007, 01:18AM

It must be some kind of fireworks then, but the background looks like it's going by real fast.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sat Jan 27 2007, 03:10AM

this is fireworks.




Very close, but I dont think thats it.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jan 27 2007, 03:57AM

It was fire works for Australia day.

Photo 1 shows detail of a similar firework.
Photo 2 shows the full pic. The horizontal displacement is due to camera shake. I did a few manual shutter shots rather than my usual IR remote trigger. It was only 1/30 sec and the displacement is down not across.
Photo 3 Shows the wind effect.

Photo 4 Mystery photo 57

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Sat Jan 27 2007, 04:18AM

Hehe, #4 would be a comet on a stick

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jan 27 2007, 06:28AM

You wouldn't have guessed that last year
But I suppose I wouldn't have had the picture then. It is in fact a street light that was missing the light.

Here is a street light with the light. Taking a very dim object next to a bright one came out better than expected.

Peter

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Mar 04 2007, 10:23PM

This one had me fooled for a minute or two.

Mystery photo 59

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Andrew L., Sun Mar 04 2007, 11:31PM

In the back I can see the "Eye of Sauron" rig. I assume it is a long exposure picture due to the fact that there is a faded figure of a man or something like that in the bottom left corner.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Mar 04 2007, 11:55PM

a projection of yourself?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
GreySoul, Mon Mar 05 2007, 12:19AM

heh.... I missed the boat

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Mar 05 2007, 02:02AM

Closer. This is the much larger "Expanding Eye of Sauron" setup with an 11 foot rotating rod. (I don't put these pics on 4HV any more but they are on my site). It is indeed a long exposure shot for 30 seconds. And yes it is me in the bottom left
wearing yellow cycling gear (had to dash home for 2-3hours to take this shot and there was no-one else home).
How high in the air would I be?
What are the corona like spots?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Mon Mar 05 2007, 01:53PM

Maybe particals that went thru time and ionized the air? Or maybe they are nothing and were photoshoped in? Otherwise donno.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Tue Mar 06 2007, 12:05AM

Since your coil isnt running I'm going to guess that it is your candybox HV sparker being waved around in a long exposure.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Tue Mar 06 2007, 08:56AM

The greenish thing in front is a wraith just arraived from hell trough a portal, and purple dots are remants of it (tesla coil must have been used to open the portal).

Truly, I have no idea how he created the 'ghost' effect. For purple dots, I guess he waved a blinking UV LED around.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Tue Mar 06 2007, 10:07PM

static discharge from brushing your hair, lol

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Mar 07 2007, 11:05AM

I think the answers should be there. It's just an effect I hadn't seen before, or realised what it was.
Think what I am doing and how.

Thats a cruel taunt to someone who is losing his hair

Actually I get the best and most reliable static show from taking off that very same yellow cycling shirt at night regardless of the weather. That combined with my tritium glow keyring in the pocket makes it quite a show if I take it off in the dark.


TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Wed Mar 07 2007, 12:13PM

I am sorry TDU, please accept my apology.
That "lol" was not the sarcastic kind, it was short for "f* if I know".

As for a second guess, since you are not holding the camera, you have to be using timer/a remote.
Could it be from your IR remote?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Mar 07 2007, 02:21PM

I was only joking about being sensitive - my wig seems to hide it well....

But you are right about the IR remote. I had to climb up the ladder to get close enough to trigger it by waving it in front of the camera. What you see is the camera picking up the infrared which it does quite well. See the results with an IR filter on a normal shot here.

Being a digital device you see the datastream as on an off dots when it is moved.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Mar 18 2007, 03:27AM

How did I do this?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Mar 18 2007, 04:11AM

Glue . The can could be whighted so the center of gravity would be in between the bottom rim and the ridge.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Sam, Sun Mar 18 2007, 04:51AM

almost empty the can, and balance it on the rim. Do it all the time at school.


[edit] I dont read to good at 1 in the morning, yeah, a bit slow...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Mar 18 2007, 05:10AM

yup, just drink most of the sugar free contents, then balance it on the convenient lip at the bottom of the can.

If you are asking how you managed to drink the 5% lemon, 45% splenda (or 2% aspartame?), 50% water solution held within the can, well I am stumped. Unless you were stranded out in the bush and didn't realise that the soda you brought wasn't real soda :p

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Mar 18 2007, 06:19AM

I must admit I normally only drink from cans if I am running out for my can crusher. I figured that out of billions of cans consumed around the world that this would be common knowledge.
Actually, I posted the wrong photo.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Mar 18 2007, 06:45AM

hmm, this is a little more interesting :p

I am torn 50/50 between a piece of steel in the can, and a thin magnet on top of the wood (since the camera angle hides the wood above the can) or a big AC coil under the can that is providing a bit of lift. Although if it is the latter I am quite impressed at how far up you managed to get it to levitate

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Sun Mar 18 2007, 11:43AM

Is it glued this time? Perhaps your magnetic levitator is levitating the can, with a piece of magnetic metal or ferrofluid inside to keep it on edge?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
AndrewM, Sun Mar 18 2007, 01:01PM

obviously a HALBACH ARRAY in the can....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Mar 18 2007, 03:00PM

It dosn't look like it is glued but you could have put a magnet in it like ... said.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Mar 18 2007, 04:38PM

ferrofluid inside the can?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Mar 18 2007, 05:22PM

Just a simple magnet on top of the yellow sheet just out of view and a large ball bearing inside the can.
I was just wondering whether I could do something with a full can?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Mar 30 2007, 02:44PM

Here's another one.

Mystery 62

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Fri Mar 30 2007, 07:51PM

TC behind a piece of cloth

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Mar 31 2007, 01:11AM

That would explain the wavy background but not the apparent magnification in parts. And why don't the sparks connect? Try again.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sat Mar 31 2007, 01:21AM

It is a reflection in water.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Mar 31 2007, 01:27AM

Yep, just me havin' a swim.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Sat Mar 31 2007, 05:12AM

Take care, Peter.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Mar 31 2007, 06:15AM

Care was taken but as expected the salt water pool will have an extremely low E field in it and is just like a big ground. The chain mail glove also has a separate copper braid extending down towards my feet just in case I brought my hand out too far. There was no sensation at all at any time.
People do have negative connotations about electricity and water some of which was taught to us by our mother's. So we have this uneasiness about the two together.
Nevertheless the circuit paths are clear and dont involve me.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tom540, Sat Mar 31 2007, 05:18PM

You didn't put salt in your swimming pool did you?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Hazmatt_(The Underdog), Sat Mar 31 2007, 08:11PM

Woah! That is a pretty fat arc!

I hope some kid with mots doesn't try to duplicate what you're doing here.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Apr 01 2007, 12:29AM

I have a 4 MOT supply running this under oil but it was not pushed at all. No, kiddies, don't do this at home (like much of the stuff on 4HV). No-one seems to have been interested in replicating any of this stuff anyway.

And the salt in the pool? Salt water is used for two reasons. It is closer to isotonic with human extracellular tissue fluid (not sure how close) so it doesn't sting your eyes. Sea water is about 5 times isotonic if I recall. Chlorination is achieved by simple electrolysis with a titanium cell.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Sun Apr 01 2007, 04:15AM

I realize this is TDU's mystery thread but I couldn't pass up the oppertunity when it happened.

HVAC's mystery photo 1:

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Apr 01 2007, 04:26AM

A light bulb used as a plasma globe? an AC flyback, ignition coil, or a plasma globe driver.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Sun Apr 01 2007, 04:43AM

Correct on the subject of the picture, as for the power...It was my very weak SSTC running at 12v.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Apr 05 2007, 11:25AM

For those who celebrate Easter and those that don't...

What happens next to this chocolate Easter bunny (a highly commercialised Australian custom).

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Thu Apr 05 2007, 11:41AM

Ohhhhh, I'd never guess. Near instantaneous destruction by pulsed discharge followed by combustion of aluminium foil and steel wool? Or maybe it will get Z-pinched and form a chocolate black hole. Can I have an ear if I can find one intact?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Apr 05 2007, 12:07PM

Here's the business end. So what happens to the Rabbit? To Zee or not to Zee (pinch).

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Thu Apr 05 2007, 12:50PM

The bunny is completely obliterated and few blobs of aluminium and iron (and chocolate) oxides are all that is left.

I think this explosion looks especially beautiful, I guess that is because of combination of aluminium and steel wool...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Thu Apr 05 2007, 12:55PM

The aluminum foil is vaporized, leaving the chocolate bunny nearly intact.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Thu Apr 05 2007, 01:42PM

it went through a worm hole and appeared on your roof? it vaporized?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Thu Apr 05 2007, 02:24PM

I would say that the Al wrapper vaporised, leaving the bunny inside more or less unharmed, however with however with that much energy going in I have a feeling it melted just a little.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ronnie, Thu Apr 05 2007, 11:00PM

All the metal is vaporised, the chocolate cracks, and is singed.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Thu Apr 05 2007, 11:59PM

Minimal Damage....Bunny becomes big blob of chocolate, Most likely scenario....the metal or metals become nothing more a bright flash and some metalic vapor, as for bugs...mostlikely the same fate nothingness.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Apr 06 2007, 01:40AM

It was just blown in at the ends but the mid section of the foil and the chocolate was intact. The really interesting thing was that the paint on the foil was almost all blown or burnt off leaving silver foil with only traces of the red.

Voltage was 5800 volts, power was 3500 joules and current (based on other experiments) was about 50,000 A in about 30 microseconds with a subsequent ringdown. The steel wool was added for the sparkler effect since aluminium will only give a big flash. Only had one shot at this (only one suitable size bunny on hand). Video will come later this weekend.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Apr 15 2007, 12:59PM

What is this?
Hint. I am working on my 18 inch TC and I am doing something to show off but it was really dumb and something had to be fixed later.

Mystery photo 62 (Numbering is pretty random)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Apr 15 2007, 01:44PM

inner tube

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Sun Apr 15 2007, 02:40PM

Using the ring launcher you have and attempting to shoot a ring of smoke at the coil hoping that it would make a ring arcs in the air, but instead it arced to the secondary windings?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Apr 15 2007, 10:31PM

Inner tube was right. Well done. My new double toroid covered with chicken wire seemed indestructible, at least from a fall at toroid height. Unfortunately when it hit the ground the central disc pinched the tube giving 2 cuts in it over an inch long. My repair job didn't hold as I only had small patches.
Shouldn't be too hard to repair though with a new tube and the mesh holds its shape if deflated. The mesh covers both toroids at once. The electrical connection is solid and it should take a high power. All it took was an aluminium disc cut from a square (old one from child crossing sign), a free car tube and a $15 1000x20 truck tube. I will post details in a separate thread.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jul 06 2007, 02:50PM

No, I haven't forgotten this thread

Mystery photo is taken with natural colour, cropped and resized only.

If no corrrect guesses, I will show a progression that eventually makes things clear.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
thedatastream, Fri Jul 06 2007, 03:12PM

A heater inside a valve but viewed from the top so that it distorts. Perhaps something like an 833?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
GreySoul, Fri Jul 06 2007, 03:34PM

edit Ok on secondary review.... it also looks a bit like ferro fluid in weird lighting. Or maybe just oil dripping.... in weird light.

Is it from the inside of you fog machines reservoir?

first guess pre-edit before really looking at it....
It's the eye of a reptile of some fancy pieces. Probably a frog - could be a newt, salamander, or maybe a gecko.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Jul 06 2007, 04:10PM

Damn, I am making these too easy.

It is a single ferrofluid spike under Neon tube lighting.

The rest of the series are here. I am making a Ferrofluid public display and have been trying lighting ideas. Probably will use a back neon to get the direct reflection like here plus two side fluoros to pick up the spikes only.

I originally wanted to have grid lighting but it was a bit difficult and I have to have it ready next week.

I have taken video aas well but not yet edited. Will probably put that on YouTube when I get it done.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Fri Jul 06 2007, 06:33PM

One mistery pic from me?

What is this:

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Fri Jul 06 2007, 08:37PM

A very poorly desinged firewire cable?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
kv, Fri Jul 06 2007, 11:41PM

not to take over the thread, but i just got this pic. what is it??

oh, and for firkragg's pic, i'd say a fibre optic cable?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sat Jul 07 2007, 12:15AM

Both of you.. nope.

kv: laser beam going trough a bottle of flourescent...stuff?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
kv, Sat Jul 07 2007, 12:37AM

yes sort of, it's one of those goo timer things. is the end of the cable melted into a blob?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sat Jul 07 2007, 01:36AM

Is it a thermal switch/fuse?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Sat Jul 07 2007, 03:33AM

I'll lean towards a thermal couple.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sat Jul 07 2007, 02:53PM

1: the end is soldered; 2:no, 3: no...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dalus, Sat Jul 07 2007, 03:17PM

A speaker cable?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
EEYORE, Sat Jul 07 2007, 05:56PM

Some sorta computer cable?Like a firewire or whatever its called?
Matt

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Sat Jul 07 2007, 06:27PM

Some sorta computer cable?Like a firewire or whatever its called?

No, it has nothing with computers.

And I thought it should be easy guess for some of you guys..

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Sat Jul 07 2007, 10:54PM

Firkragg's pic does honestly look like some tinned braid soldered to an inline fuse... (actually, not sure about the fuse), maybe used as a ground connection for stuff?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sat Jul 07 2007, 11:25PM

some shielded cable or coaxial cable with the outer plastic removed?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
CT2, Sun Jul 08 2007, 06:39PM

To Firkraggs picture, I forget what its called but it has to do with heat transfer I think? maybe... maybe not

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Mon Jul 09 2007, 09:00AM

Is it some kind of antenna? :P

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Mon Jul 09 2007, 11:39PM

It looks like the thermocouple from the multimeters at work.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Billybobjoe, Tue Jul 10 2007, 12:37AM

Some sort of o'scope probe/cable?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Jul 11 2007, 04:38PM

14 unsuccessful replies saying much the same thing does not make an interesting thread. Time for the answer. Don't forget the title of the thread.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dalus, Wed Jul 11 2007, 05:31PM

I'll give it one more trie is it somekind of high pressure tubing?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Wed Jul 11 2007, 05:35PM

Sure, just post your pic TDU, any time you like it...

It was a electric guitar piezo pickup, shielded with braid at the end of coax cable.
I picked this up for repair from guy at school.

It is made of flexible polymer instead crystal, and produces faint low-frequency output when flexed. I's output is very low in amplitude compared to 'normal' piezo speakers but it does work nicely with included preamplifier.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
kv, Wed Jul 11 2007, 10:12PM

piezo in a string?????i never would have guessed that. any more mystery photo's?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Wed Jul 11 2007, 11:21PM

Haha, that's ironic. I've installed one of those piezo guitar pickups before, and I didn't recognise it. :S

Anyway better let TDU have his thread back

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Aug 12 2007, 02:37AM

Happened to be doing stuff today (or tonight) and saw this.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bjørn, Sun Aug 12 2007, 04:00AM

You hiding inside a rusty metal drum while 2 kg of steel wool combusts around you after being ignited by a 16kJ capacitor.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Aug 12 2007, 04:41AM

Stars with beams of visible light coming out of them and they all happen to be pointing out way. There was a undiscovered nebula passing by that scattered the light so we could see the beams. The rusty bin look is actually noise.

I'm thinking a old barn with a metal roof.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Aug 12 2007, 05:06AM

Rusty metal drum yes. Otherwise no. Any ideas about the context? What about the green?
A nearby copper rich nova is a thought but not really close.

Bjorn,
I have just started taking RAW pics on my D70S as I can manipulate them on my ACDSee software. I will be taking some big Tesla effects pics soon and will need to maximise the clarity and colour depth on my new wide angle lens.
(I know you told me to do this over a year ago..)
For the non-photographers, a RAW file compresses the original 48bit colour depth 6 Mega pixel file that is 50MB down to 5 MB. JPEG will bring it down to 300K in "fine" resolution. Or something like that.
This pic started life as a RAW file (Nikon NEF). Of course, no advantage here and mainly of use if going to be printed in magazines or books.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Aug 12 2007, 05:06AM

Looks to be a large drainage pipe that has a few leaks on a sunny day... Although the stuff at the end almost seems to green to plants...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Aug 12 2007, 06:27AM

the inside of the vortex ring shooter?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Aug 12 2007, 07:55AM

The smoke was a give away since I only use this for lasers, and the Vortex generator. Ohh, and to simulate a burning car thief

The drum has been in our yard quietly rusting for years. As there is a 2 foot hole in the front, a few pin holes are of no consequence, but look interesting from the right angle in sunlight. The green is my new fibre backed green cloth of the diaphragm.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Aug 26 2007, 03:06PM

Triple 7 sparks. How did this happen?

Mystery 71

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Sun Aug 26 2007, 10:02PM

Err, you managed to summon Satan but he had gone up by 16.7% due to inflation?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Mon Aug 27 2007, 02:28AM

Hmmm, perhaps the spinning electrode has a nonconductive section in the middle that arcs over?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Firnagzen, Mon Aug 27 2007, 05:49AM

Long exposure, spinning breakout point, pointy metal bits on the floor?

I see some corona in mid air, and a strange orange spark.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Aug 27 2007, 06:33AM

Long exposure? Yes - sort of. About 0.5 - 1 second. I will look it up when I get home.
Spinning breakout point? Yes
Floor is a stone composite tiled in a Penrose pattern but pointy bits? No
Corona in mid air? Yes - coming from other parts of the spinning breakout point.
Strange yellow spark? Easy enough if you have seen my other recent stuff.

Still no-one has the answer. I wouldn't have predicted it either but I think I understand it now.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Firnagzen, Mon Aug 27 2007, 09:09AM

The orange spark is burning iron or something from the breakout, I guess.

Eh. The arc struck on the metal reinforcement grid under the floor?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Aug 27 2007, 11:37AM

Smooth orange arc is indeed a sparkle from burning steel wool.
There is no metal reinforcement grid. The tiles are perhaps 2 inches thick, laid on concrete. Perhaps that is reinforced but not with a grid pattern that is 2 feet apart.

Time for a clue. This is a power arc not some feeble streamer. Where does it start?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Spedy, Mon Aug 27 2007, 02:49PM

I see a little tine "blue" corona-ish looking arc in the backgroud near the TC. hmmm.. Why the arcs are making 7's I don;t have a clue.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Mon Aug 27 2007, 03:07PM

They start out arcing directly to the ground but since the rod moves it gets drawn out and when it gets too far then it extinguishes and another starts.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Aug 27 2007, 06:40PM

Correct. The arc goes directly to ground in a heavy power arc. But the spinning electrode is moving horizontally at 7 ft/sec. The ground arc is well formed it pulls an arc out from the top until it is nearly the same length again before it extinguishes and starts the process again. The power arcs are only 2-3 feet but the TC is running at 5-6 feet power.
So why is the angle of the 7 so sharp? There are three competing forces. The main one is to stay in the hot ionized channel. Second is for the magnetic field effect to enlarge the angle outwards (think rail gun forces to push the arc out). This is counteracted by the electric fields encouraging the spark to take the shortest path.
It really is quite dramatic in action zap-stretch, zap-stretch.
Here is a full rotation which takes place in 7 seconds, perhaps 12 foot radius. It gives a whole march of about 40 "sevens"

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Firnagzen, Tue Aug 28 2007, 05:43AM

Whoo! If I didn't know that that took place over time, I'd duplicate the system and sell it as the ultimate anti-intruder system! (I mean seriously. What would your sectetary think? [i])

Any videos?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Aug 28 2007, 09:54AM

Yep, videos and lots of photos of things like the "Eye of Sauron" and "Tesla car thief protection". About 1/2 million have seen these on the net. Check out my site if you are interested.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Firnagzen, Wed Aug 29 2007, 05:15AM

No, I meant a video specifically of this. Is it up yet? (Looking now)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Aug 29 2007, 12:49PM

Sadly, no video of this effect. There were two video crew with pro gear, one for me and the other for the Discovery Channel but they had to finish just before I did this. Sadly my home vid was left on and was flat. As my other son had to go, it was just me and my wife.
I get a bit nervous in that situation as no phone contact out there if there were problems.
I will put up a separate thread about the night.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Aug 30 2007, 02:53PM

Well what about this one? Taken of 4 inch sparks from my ignition coil setup. I have a string of ceramic caps across it to brighten the sparks.
No Photoshopping of course.
What gases are involved?

Tdu

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Spedy, Thu Aug 30 2007, 02:59PM

Would the red be neon? I'm not shure, but I've alwaus seen real neon tube glow red..

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dalus, Thu Aug 30 2007, 03:01PM

Helium, Neon, Argon and Krypton I think.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Aug 30 2007, 04:04PM

Alright, how about this one?
Are you running out of gases?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dalus, Thu Aug 30 2007, 07:26PM

I think you used Xenon for the white, Radon for yellow, which gas you used for the green I don't know. Maybe some kind of mixture or a solid chemical on the electrodes.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Marko, Thu Aug 30 2007, 08:07PM

I would really hate to use radon for these things.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Thu Aug 30 2007, 09:42PM

that looks too even to be done with gas.
you didn't use filters, did you?
anyways, sick pictures.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Aug 30 2007, 11:09PM

Yep, I used filters.
The gases were Nitrogen 74%, Oxygen 21%, Argon 1% etc In other words - air.
So how did I use them and what effect am I trying to recreate from fiction?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Bored Chemist, Fri Aug 31 2007, 05:52AM

74+21+1=?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Aug 31 2007, 11:59PM

Perhaps it is 78% + 21% + 0.9% + etc, where you are but "downunder" the air has a certain extra percentage of freshness. (Or perhaps I am generating too much ozone).

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
OZZY, Sat Sept 01 2007, 10:18AM

The pictures were taken through a rotating colour filter from a disco light. As to what you are trying to re-produce, I have no idea.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Sept 01 2007, 08:30PM

I just held up two different filters in front of the camera at different times. I did not have a color wheel then, but I have made one up since and have used it on Tesla sparks.
Jump to the thread here in Tesla coils.
http://4hv.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?30760.last

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Coronafix, Sun Sept 02 2007, 04:01AM

Yeh, but what effect are you trying to recreate from fiction?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Sept 02 2007, 04:29AM

At this stage I am jealously guarding that secret.
It will take some weeks to get the effects and props arranged. It should be one of the most popular things I have done. I hope to do some further work towards it tonight.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Sept 05 2007, 12:43PM

How about this?

Mystery 75

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Thu Sept 06 2007, 06:54AM

Looks like an arc discharge from from your X ray xformer, as for the arc I think its arcing to a spinning ground perhaps.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Sept 06 2007, 01:24PM

The HV setup is my twin ignition coil one (driven by a MOT and Sidacs at several kV). One side is used to get 2 inch sparks.

A rotating ground is a reasonable idea but not correct.

Does this help?

Mystery 76

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Munkey, Thu Sept 06 2007, 04:47PM

Umm... I'm gonna have a go at this. Is it moving a sparking HV (red) wire with the camera with a long exposure?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Sept 06 2007, 05:33PM

The red wire is in the background and is unrelated. But you are essentially right, the series of sparks are due to a wire being fed off the spool from the HV source. The wire has a 2 inch gap made from nylon fishing line which feeds out about 2 feet to an earthed wire. All this happens within a long exposure (10 seconds here).

Now imagine everything scaled up 20 times with a much more rapid spark rate. See where I am going?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Munkey, Thu Sept 06 2007, 07:57PM

Hmm, I see the spool of fishing wire on top of the wooden blocks with some vacuum tube poking their heads out of the driver I would assume. My only guess left is that you are retracting the fishing line whilst it is sparking? But thats awfully close to my other guess...
Ill have a long look and try to figure out more.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
OZZY, Fri Sept 07 2007, 07:44AM

The heat ray from War of the worlds?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Sept 07 2007, 08:54AM

You were right before essentially. I feed out the magnet wire from the spool and it has a 2 inch gap in it joined by nylon line.

Can you see the potential for one with dimensions 20 times as big?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Munkey, Fri Sept 07 2007, 04:39PM

Unfortunately no, I have no imagination...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 28 2007, 11:28AM

Here's a new one.
Is it moving or stationary?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Sun Oct 28 2007, 12:10PM

MY guess is its mercury ontop a dense gas or mercury under a contact lens, or both.....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Sun Oct 28 2007, 03:11PM

Hmm, a spinning dish with steam, or cold CO2 or N2 fuming out an orifice?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 28 2007, 05:18PM

Closer.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dalus, Sun Oct 28 2007, 05:39PM

A drop of water on a peltier cooler

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Oct 28 2007, 10:17PM

A hint.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Zee, Mon Oct 29 2007, 12:44AM

Neodymium floating on N2

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Oct 29 2007, 03:05AM

Yes that is a NIB (Neodymium-iron-boron) magnet which is probably about 5mm diam. No it wasn't LN2 (and it wouldn't float anyway).
Getting closer though.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Mon Oct 29 2007, 03:22AM

Paramagnetic LOX?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Mon Oct 29 2007, 03:32AM

It looks like its stitting on top of a frozen pillar of ???. Maybe dry ice or just regular ice.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Mon Oct 29 2007, 06:45AM

Is there a superconductor in liquid nitrogen? If there is then the magnet is floating in air and the white fog is small water droplets suspended in air.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Oct 29 2007, 11:18AM

Correct, We have a winner.

I made about 50ml of liquid oxygen by passing medical grade O2 through a condensor in a dewar of LN2. I made it out of copper tubing which then dripped and sputtered into the container with a flow rate of about 1-3 l/min. The LOX container is kept in the bath of LN2 to stop it bubbling away.
I have been able to confirm that LOX is blue tinged and will adhere to a magnet due to the paramagnetic properties. The close up photo shows a small NIB magnet with a crown of LOX over the top giving the muffin like appearance to the NIB. There is a blanket of cold air above it from the boiling LOX which in still air was very clearly defined. The setup was on an upside down styrofoam cup as a very shallow insulating dish.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Spedy, Mon Oct 29 2007, 03:09PM

Wow, liquid O2. That's pretty cool. Do you have any pictures of the blue-ish o2? Anyway, very cool.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Oct 29 2007, 03:15PM

The third picture up shows the blueish tint against white paper.

Now on my site too under Liquid Oxygen.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ConKbot of Doom, Mon Oct 29 2007, 10:38PM

We had a professor give a demonstration with LN2, and he condesned O2 from a cylinder in a test tube. He then put it in a beaker, got a piece of steel wool smoldering with a lighter, and dropped it in the O2...

It cracked off/burned though the bottom of the beaker and scorched the table top.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Nov 10 2007, 12:13PM

Mystery Photo 81

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Sat Nov 10 2007, 01:38PM

Some more cool long exposure laser light photos?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
ragnar, Sat Nov 10 2007, 02:35PM


Burning flying insect, spiralling after ignition by tesla coil?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Dark Current, Sat Nov 10 2007, 02:40PM

yes it looks like a fly (or flies) illuminated by yellow light flying against a black background (night sky?.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Nov 10 2007, 03:32PM

Correct.
It's spring and the bugs are out. Earlier in the day I took a pic of flying ants on a background of a bloodred sun from bush fires (but it didn't show the ants).
The small flying things are small flies, and the larger ones are moths, and flying beetles including water beetles.

Other pics show the details.


Last pic with the Green stuff is the next mystery object.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Simon, Sat Nov 10 2007, 10:50PM

Closeup of something like a banksia.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Nov 10 2007, 11:11PM

Correct.

I suppose being from Oz helps.

Just I snap I took of a Banksia while bushwalking about 50 m from our house .

Pic shows the original.

I'll have to get something harder - like only showing one pixel

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Andrew L., Sat Nov 10 2007, 11:15PM

A closeup shot of a sunflower that hasn't bloomed yet or some other flower.

[edit]: I was a little bit too late

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Sun Dec 16 2007, 03:09AM

Mystery photo (shouldn't be too hard).

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Dec 16 2007, 03:23AM

cornstarch/water in a big subwoofer

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Sun Dec 16 2007, 04:09AM

Close enough, its not a big woofer but you got it.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jan 13 2008, 05:41AM

This one is not too hard but does demonstrate something I was not aware of.

Mystery 82

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Mates, Sun Jan 13 2008, 08:36AM


I think, it is a plastic foil (most likely PP transparency for printers) placed between two HV electrode (small Marx or stun gun)... In fact we could call it a Lichtenberg figure.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Jan 13 2008, 09:43AM

Your MOT in a MO surface tracking around a sheet of plastic. I don't know what type of plastic it is though.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jan 13 2008, 11:32AM

Its an x-ray film - CT scan with an unused blank area. It is my MOT multiplier driving ignition coils via SIDACs capable of an easy 4 inch spark. The electrodes are 1 inch apart with the film in the middle and the spark extends out about 2 1/2 inches to go around the plastic.

The interesting thing was that the spark tracked back so accurately along the same path. Due to electric field effects I guess. They blur out closer to the electrodes as they are off the surface.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Mates, Sun Jan 13 2008, 12:23PM


I think the sparks took the same track because the path was burned into it after the first spark occured. So it menas that the heat (and maybe the UV) made a tiny carbonized area which became to be better conductor than the rest of the sheet. You can check the tracks if put the sheet into the fridge for a while and than you breath on it...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jan 13 2008, 05:03PM

You didn't understand what I meant. The spark travels on one side of the film then on the opposite side of the film, it very closely follows the path, so you have two nearly overlapping sparks seen through the film.
Subsequent sparks follow diffferent paths and are not burnt in to the film.
The developed vs non developed side doesn't seem to make much difference although the silver layer would be expected to be potentially more conductive.
You can see this on one with a single spark here.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Sulaiman, Sun Jan 13 2008, 06:07PM

I'd guess that the arcs grew on both sides simultaneously until they reach the edge of the film and 'join-up'

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Mates, Sun Jan 13 2008, 10:41PM

Ok, any idea what it is and how it was done?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jan 13 2008, 11:15PM

I have a different take.
At time 0 prior to spark formation, there is a sort of uniform electric field that exists around the film.
A spark leader begins to form guided in part by cosmic ray ionisation trails. (look at a cloud chamber to see these - they are everywhere)
As it does so, any localised current flow will distort that field locally. A flow of charge will result in an opposite charge on the other side of the dielectric film just like a capacitor.
So if there is a flow of electrons with negative charge, then there will be a localised track of positive charge on the other side which will attract the flow of electrons when they get around there.

Kirlian photography. Corona on a photographic film. Nice. I've not seen anyone do that here if that is what it is.

TDU
ps Bear in mind the title of the thread.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Mates, Sun Jan 13 2008, 11:29PM


Sorry TDU I know it is your thread; I could not help myself because those pictures are so close to what you’ve just posted. It is also an X-ray film which was placed between two high voltage electrodes (200KV) and single discharge was performed through it. Than the film was developed and shined through with a very strong light source (otherwise is completely black). Thus I would rather call it Lichtenberg figure than a Kirlian...
BTW: No more intruding pictures - I promise

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Feb 29 2008, 03:48PM

Time to wake this thread again.

Mystery 83

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
CT2, Fri Feb 29 2008, 05:32PM

LED's at night, look like the ones u can attach to your waist/arm for safety when biking?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Fri Feb 29 2008, 05:41PM

I agree with CT2, also with I'm gonna say an 4sec exposure time, maybe less.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Feb 29 2008, 11:21PM

A good thought but no. LED's are usually of constant brightness and the tails in this 2 second exposure should be of the same colour and brightness.
But here the bright white lights are of a different colour than the tails which also seem to vary in colour. In addition the bright white lights are more widely spaced than the tails, so again don't fit.
It's a bit of a mystery, isn't it. And no there aren't any clues from my site yet.

Here is another related photo. I will give progressive clues with more guesses.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Mar 06 2008, 04:33PM

Hmmmm... Too hard
My son gave me a bubble generator for Xmas.
The unusual reflections are due to a combinaton of the oblique lighting, long exposure and flash as well.
The last pic is a nice little scene in a bubble of me and my son with some trees in a bubble. Note the loss of reflection at the top as the film thins (to ?less then 1 wavelength of light thick)

A few pics.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
rp181, Thu Mar 06 2008, 10:32PM

Very cool.
Why cant you see camera reflection?
i bet you could sell some of your photos..

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Mar 25 2008, 04:12PM

The camera in the bottom photo did not have light behind it to form a silhouette.
I did try sending some of my best photos off to ShutterStock. All 10 were rejected. Mostly they look for a pretty girl in a lab coat looking at a flask of blue liquid to represent science. Hundreds of these. Go figure. Even Scientific American had one of those cheesy shots.

Here's another Mystery photo, fairly easy.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Tue Mar 25 2008, 05:17PM

Long exposure of a scorpion in your hand being lased with your blu-ray laser pen!

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Mar 25 2008, 11:48PM

Yes it was too easy. I should have only showed one pixel. It shows the fluorescence of scorpions to violet/ultraviolet in a 3 second exposure with the Blu-ray pointer. I found this one in our kitchen.

Not easy to take though. Consider. One hand is perfectly still holding a live scorpion and the other triggers the camera AND moves the laser - in complete darkness.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Wed Mar 26 2008, 06:52AM

So then is that one of those worlds most dangerous scorpions or just your average rush to the hospital antivenom scorpion?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Mar 26 2008, 08:01AM

Just one of those "I'll take it straight back to its mother" type scorpions.
Actually that is the only size we see here so I guess full grown or maybe that's as big as will fit under the door. ...is that someone knocking?....

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Wed Apr 02 2008, 05:45PM

Heres a mystery photo for you.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Dark Current, Wed Apr 02 2008, 06:07PM

Is it a fulgurite created with (MOT) arcs?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Wed Apr 02 2008, 09:30PM

Yes it is. :s too easy.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
nrhoades, Wed Apr 02 2008, 11:06PM

Here's two.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ken M., Wed Apr 02 2008, 11:59PM

A) Fresh lava

B) Long exposure with a green laser

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Apr 03 2008, 12:52AM

Just a friendly reminder about the topic of the thread...

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Thu Apr 03 2008, 01:10AM

I thought I'd fill in while you were off being a TV star for discovery

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Apr 03 2008, 01:55AM

LOL . I must admit, I have been a bit light on for mystery pics lately. Sometime I do mysterious things and sometimes just ordinary stuff.
Sadly for HV, I have been spent about 50 hours playing Dungeon Seige 2 recently into the wee hours, when I should have been "working" hard at playing

I think the US Discovery stuff has fallen through. I've had 3 print media requests in the last week though.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Arcstarter, Thu Apr 03 2008, 03:32AM

That is a darned shame...You,Steve Ward and Steve Connor are my favorite tesla coilers....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
nrhoades, Thu Apr 03 2008, 02:09PM

I under-estimated the power of picture-guessing. I stand corrected. I have some tougher ones...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
uzzors2k, Thu Apr 03 2008, 03:05PM


How do you make those, just arc through wet sand? Are they very stable or do they just crumble?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Thu Apr 03 2008, 06:56PM

The sand is damp and lets the arc start. The thin ones are very brittle but the longer I let it arc the thicker they get. The thickest one I have is about 1cm thick and a lot stronger.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Apr 15 2008, 12:28PM

Now this is really beautiful. Shame I couldn't keep my hands off it. I call it the "virtual toroid".

Any guesses as to how it is done?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Nik, Wed Apr 16 2008, 02:16AM

The motion behind it seems fairly simple, an LED spinning around a point and that point is spinning around some other point. But I can't imagine how you achieved that motion with a simple rig.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Apr 16 2008, 10:42AM

Close. Does this help?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Wed Apr 16 2008, 09:37PM

A spinning disk/ring with LEDs placed on the edge that are equally spaced away from each other?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Thu Apr 17 2008, 12:20AM

Correct. My wife had a battery operated LED light that she got to provide a light over the BBQ. It has 24 LED's in a circle.
I simply suspended it with a bit of fishing line from the rafters (not really a complicated rig!). Give it a spin then set it rotating in a circle or ellipse and take a time exposure. The exposure needs to be set for just over one period of swing and I used 2 seconds. It's very bright so the f stop was set back as far as possible (f/22).
It all took about 10 mins from conception to get the first shot .

In the photo below I have covered one of the lights with blue cellophane and you can see the course of the individual LED. Add a bit of tilt causing gyroscopic precession and the pattern becomes complex.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Apr 19 2008, 06:59AM

6 hours ago I would have had no idea what this was.
This is my second attempt and I will do a proper post on it once I get it all tidy.
The output spark is 5mm.

What do you think this is?

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Mates, Sat Apr 19 2008, 07:44AM

Very tightly coupled air transformer…?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sat Apr 19 2008, 07:45AM

Cool thing like a tesla coil?
I don't know why the arc is between a wire and a a trip of copper though.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sat Apr 19 2008, 07:46AM

2 in 1, rolled-up cap and tesla coil.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
c4r0, Sat Apr 19 2008, 08:16AM

Looks like a spiral line voltage pulse generator. I don't know much about it, but it is (or was) used in pulsed x-ray machines.


(it is two from ten scans i got, i can post it all if you want)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Apr 19 2008, 09:48AM

Well done, that is exactly the picture on my computer at the moment.
It is a spiral line impulse generator. Just two copper strips like a rolled capacitor and it raises 2kV to 5kV.

I have started an article here in the HV section or check it out on my site.

TDU

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Shark, Sat Apr 19 2008, 02:49PM

Whatever it is, it looks pretty awesome! I wonder why it is sparking at two different places at once?

I am with Electroholic, in fact it could be constructed like a "violet wand" (and early electrotherapy device), which is also a Tesla coil with the capacitor wound around the coil.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Mar 09 2009, 11:44AM

Thought I would rejuvenate this thread. For those of you that haven't seen it before it might be interesting to go through it from the beginning. It has about 80 photos that represent some aspect of my stuff but aren't immediately obvious.

Here is one that struck me from yesterday. It forms the basis of an advertising logo I am working on. I call it the "HV spider".
The actual spider is a Huntsman spider, common in homes around here. Yes that is my hand.
Any idea how it is done?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tom540, Mon Mar 09 2009, 05:11PM

that's a pretty big spider. I'm assuming its pretty harmless.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Coronafix, Mon Mar 09 2009, 09:44PM

Yeah, they're harmless. They don't make webs so it's ok to let them roam around the house. Most people have a pet huntsman in their toilet in Australia.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
hotcrazyfruit, Mon Mar 09 2009, 11:04PM

i think, it is a stick or rod, and it is just touching the water, causing the surface tension to grab up the sides of it and make a little bit of a curve,then frozen. and the shot is very close up by my guess, perhaps with a macro setting, thus causing it look look bigger and more mysterious. looks very cool though. xD

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Mar 09 2009, 11:44PM

This one was a geriatric and pretty slow. They have pretty big fangs but I've never been bitten.

That was the number one mystery photo on page one and was of deionised water being attracted to a HV electrode. All the answers follow on and this is now page 17.

So anyone work out how that spark picture was made?
Next pic shows another couple of views.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
El_Roberto, Tue Mar 10 2009, 12:34AM

Is it an aluminium plate that has somehow been insulated and where the legs and body are, are where the insulation has been taken off?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Mar 28 2009, 12:48AM

Here is a similar setup but better controlled and high res. Pic is 1.7M. I kinda like it for its uniformity.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Tue Mar 31 2009, 07:43PM

This is the sliding spark gap that I take on long exposure to give the previous photo.





Now, what about the next one. It looks to me like I caught a lightning bolt. How is it done?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
rp181, Tue Mar 31 2009, 11:06PM

Is it some kind of film, and someone shone a light on it, with a long exposure? What leads me to believe this is that the light is in front of you at the bottom, and then goes behind. I can't explain your arm though....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
hotcrazyfruit, Tue Mar 31 2009, 11:22PM





[/quote1238541710]
its a nuke isnt it? lol

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Hon1nbo, Tue Mar 31 2009, 11:29PM

appears that there is some kind of fog at the bottom... did you use some kind of smoking source and channel that through a plastic guide, like a thin film (as per the suggestion of rp181)?
obviously, the exposure was relatively long, OR it was a double exposure, as after zooming in on the leg there appears to be a small ghost, indicated that either A) this is a merging, but I doubt that as that would ruin the fun, or B) you switched the light source on and off and back on, or said light source is Pulsing...
then again, after closer review, your ENTIRE body is ghosted, bending over which leads me to believe that you physically held the light source and moved it, but since it is a long exposure, you can make your other arm not show up until you stop it where you want it, and put enough light on it (in this case, a shadow)...
so my final thought is that you had some kind of smoking light source, possible magnesium but I don't know for sure, that from bending over, you rose up keeping your left hand out of the way until you were upright, then placing your hand into position (which would explain why you had noticable lesser exposure below your hand than above, as to keep ghosting of the hand minimized, then the little smoke that comes off of magnesium was illuminated after stopping it near the top of the image

again, this is just what I can deduce at first glance...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Apr 01 2009, 12:19AM

Not magnesium and not a Nuke.

No, it's not some kind of film. I always have trouble explaining my arms too.....

Answer is a LED torch with a fibreoptic spray used to light paint an area in a long exposure. I could have done it without me moving if someone else was doing the painting. You can get some really surreal effects with the diffuse light source. I put my arm and leg in front to make it clear that it is not simply an effect added on.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
rp181, Wed Apr 01 2009, 12:42AM

You should try putting the camera perpendicular to the light, and spiral it while walking, to give a 3D sideways cone effect.

How did you reach so high in the above picture?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Wed Apr 01 2009, 03:15AM

There are lots of possibilities with painting with light. Mostly just child like fun. I did try a cone by suspending it from a basketball hoop and pulling it up but there were some problems and I was in a hurry to get back to work so I did the other stuff.

And reaching so high? I can't explain my arm as you know....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Apr 03 2009, 12:12AM

Now this is tricky. Any guesses. ( I have altered the exposure and contrast to an extreme amount)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
rp181, Fri Apr 03 2009, 01:54AM

I will go ahead and take the obvious guess:
Blue LED's behind a keypad.
That picture looks like it could be done in paint.

From the last picture, It seems really high, compared to the basketball hoop.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Fri Apr 03 2009, 02:57AM

Looks to me like a bootprint on a piece of plexiglass

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Apr 03 2009, 03:10AM

does this help?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Steve Conner, Fri Apr 03 2009, 07:36AM

Is it your uber LED array focused by a lens?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Apr 03 2009, 12:16PM

Yep. It's the LED shining through a 180mm camera lens which projects a very clear image onto the corrugated shed wall. You can see great detail with the 30 times magnification including the bonding wires and chip details. It so happens that the chip light is in a "3" shape brought out with contrast adjustment. One of the individual LEDs is marginally brighter or in better focus and stands out unusually.
More details on the "Mother of all LED's" thread.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 13 2009, 02:01PM

How about this?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
lhl_henrylui, Sat Jun 13 2009, 02:16PM

The sky in the night taken by long exposure?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Proud Mary, Sat Jun 13 2009, 02:53PM

Raindrops or dew on a window-screen?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Dark Current, Sat Jun 13 2009, 04:51PM

To me it looks like raindrops in the night, illuminated by something bright from behind the camera...

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sat Jun 13 2009, 06:39PM

Reasons for: I've done it before with a big lens.
Reasons against: it just doesn't look like Hubble Deep Field. This amount of exposure would leave star trails unless I have a proper tracking mount.

Reasons for: they are spots against a background.
Reasons against: dew forms uniformly on a screen as a mist obscuring vision then coalesces and with rain it seems too non uniform (perhaps).

No screen is involved.

Anyone else?

Edit: Oops this post crossed Dr Kilovolts

Correct. That bright light is called a camera flash.....
It is only our persistence of vision and our understanding of the trajectory that makes us "see" rain as streaks. Freeze it with a flash and you just get to see dots.
More interesting info and the original photo when I get home.
Yes that is a tree silhouette on the left side.


Edit again.
The original photo of my back yard with the city lights giving a glow in the sky. Interestingly, not all or the raindrops are white. Some are red yellow orange green or blue and on one occasion I got a tiny full spectrum. I presume that these are due to prismatic effects due to distorted or colliding drops. The blobs are just out of focus drops.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Renesis, Sat Jun 13 2009, 07:44PM

It is only our persistence of vision and our understanding of the trajectory that makes us "see" rain as streaks. Freeze it with a flash and you just get to see dots.

Have you ever seen night rain lit by a powerful strobe lamp? It looks awesome, like the rain has stopped.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dr. Dark Current, Sun Jun 14 2009, 01:37PM


Was that a 100% crop? The colors might be because of the CCD, if it sees a single pixel it cannot know which color it is as CCD pixels are only either red, green or blue.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Nov 01 2009, 03:35AM

What happens next?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Arcstarter, Sun Nov 01 2009, 03:47AM

I cannot quite tell what that is. Is it a balloon or a hot dog :P

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
rp181, Sun Nov 01 2009, 03:57AM

Absolutely nothing O.O

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
klugesmith, Sun Nov 01 2009, 04:15AM

Looks like time for an exploding wire, er, wiener.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Killa-X, Sun Nov 01 2009, 04:31AM

"What happens next" Well, if it's a hot dog, and it gets cooked on HV / high current, then "what happens next" is you enjoy a tasty meal as long as you don't overcook it :)

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Nov 01 2009, 05:40AM

Hot dog. Its hard to get a wire through a balloon.

Not like me really...

Even if the thin wire was red hot it would not cook impressively.

Now thats more like it. What sort of energy and what sort of result?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Sun Nov 01 2009, 06:06AM

well, with high enough energy, i would expect the wiener to just vaporize. and you probably want some sort of result. So, i would say <1kj, multiple firings, and a cooked wiener at the end.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Nov 01 2009, 06:33AM

At 1kj (=3kV on my cap bank) the wire explodes to the edge of the hot dog and it drops to the ground unharmed.
At 2.6kJ (=5kV) this is the result. The hot dog just disappeared. It was just gone. I thought it must have just fallen out of sight but on a closer look this is what I found.

There were tiny pieces up to 30 feet away sprayed over my shed and driveway. Largest bit was thin and 3cm.


OK now for the prize. What happens if you put the hot dog directly on the electrodes and blast it with the same energy?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Dalus, Sun Nov 01 2009, 10:31AM

My vote, it will shoot away like a railgun projectile

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Sun Nov 01 2009, 05:17PM

I suspect not much, the 2kj would be let loose over a long time (I suspect low ms), ad 2kj of energy isn't a whole lot of heat when absorbed by a whole hotdog...

But I would love to be proved wrong

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Nov 01 2009, 05:25PM

I think nothing because it will act as a large resistor. Maybe the hot dog exploded because when the wire broke, it created an arc that ate away at the hot dog?

Didn't you already put a hot dog on the rails of the cap bank before and it did nothing?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Nov 01 2009, 06:08PM


Correct both times. It jumps up a bit but is otherwise unscathed. No char marks or anything. But explode a wire inside and it ends up in many pieces. The resistance of a hotdog is about 2 Mohms or more so the discharge rate is slow. The exploding wire occurs along the whole of the wire which vaporises.
A previous experiment on this is here.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
klugesmith, Sun Nov 01 2009, 06:11PM

Like ... and Myke said: if the connections are good, the hot dog will just be slightly warmed in a fraction of a second. Not unlike the result when I discharge my HV cap into this copper sulfate resistor.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
wicked alex, Thu Nov 05 2009, 10:26PM

Wath is this?
My new toy:-p

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Fri Nov 06 2009, 12:48AM

I suspect it is an infrared camera with IR light source or laser.

But don't forget the title of this thread .....

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Z28Fistergod, Fri Nov 06 2009, 02:37AM


Something really cool!


All hail wicked alex!

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Fri Nov 06 2009, 06:41AM

is that a fused deposition cap on the right?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
wicked alex, Fri Nov 06 2009, 03:52PM

Sorry did not see the TDU. :/
No, its not a camera, it has no laser or led.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Scott Fusare, Fri Nov 06 2009, 05:01PM

Looks like a 1st generation IR viewer. The cylinder on the left containing the battery for the HV supply?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Electroholic, Fri Nov 06 2009, 05:38PM

some sort of prototype image intensifier, I.E. night vision gogs?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
wicked alex, Fri Nov 06 2009, 06:45PM

YES!! 1+
It is a home made Gen 3 Omni V Night Vision Monocular.
I payd 3000€ for it :P
Video:

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Z28Fistergod, Fri Nov 06 2009, 07:35PM

Cool, get another and you'll have depth perception.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Sun Jan 02 2011, 07:29PM

Ha! Old threads never die, they just hibernate for a year.
I doubt anyone will get this although it will be plain with the explanation. I have never seen this common object viewed this way and was quite surprised how it turned out. Look at the colours in the enlargement - they have a name that we all recognise from a young age.
Any guesses?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
william L, Sun Jan 02 2011, 08:27PM

some kind of tinsel?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Sun Jan 02 2011, 10:12PM

A hair diffracting sunlight? A bubble formed between two closely spaced wires?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jan 03 2011, 01:25AM

Nup.
This pic may help.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Wolfram, Mon Jan 03 2011, 01:56AM

Stars?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Myke, Mon Jan 03 2011, 03:29AM

Strands of nylon?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jan 03 2011, 03:44AM

Correct but you need to explain the first photo and the word we learnt when we were young that explains it.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Ash Small, Mon Jan 03 2011, 04:53AM

Well, it's some kind of refraction creating a rainbow like effect. Can't be ice on the lens because it's summer where you are.

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jan 03 2011, 05:08AM

Correct. But what causes refraction in a star image if it's not the lens?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
..., Mon Jan 03 2011, 06:01AM

Is it just the normal 'twinkling' of the star?

I don't normally notice color variations in twinkling stars, but some old satellites have a very distinct color twinkling which I believe is due to diffraction in the solar cells (just like an oil slick).

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Coronafix, Mon Jan 03 2011, 06:12AM

Orion?

Re: Mystery Photos from TDU
Tesladownunder, Mon Jan 03 2011, 08:29AM

Correct. You win.
From the nursery rhyme "twinkle, twinkle little star..."
It is simple twinkling of Alpha Centari, the 3rd brightest star. So what is "twinkling"?
This photo suggests it is colour and intensity changes on a tens of millisecond scale. The Star was fairly low in the sky hence presumably greater atmospheric effect.

It was taken with a 180mm lens and the camera was moved manually in an arc on the tripod during a 5 second exposure. What you see here is perhaps 1-2 seconds of transit. So perhaps 1 pixel per millisecond on this 1000 pixel wide reduced image.

I took it with a view to seeing what the International Space Station might see for a light on earth as bright as a bright star with a camera swept across rather than tracked.
This is for my project hoping to get the ISS to receive a morse code message from my world's brightest flashlight. My web site discussion and pics on it are here .
Best to have further discussion on the "seen from space" topic here World's brightest flashlight thread though.
Has anyone else taken a pic of this effect? If so start a new thread and leave a link to it here.