Science Post - Leyden Jar

Time for a (boring?) science post. I've been siting on this one for a while.

Pieter van Musschenbroek was born in 1692 and is credited with building the first capacitor. (time for me to educate you) A capacitor is a device that stores electricity to be used later. His device was called a Leyden jar, named after the city he invented it in. Leiden in the Netherlands. Similar to a battery but it's not creating electricity through a chemical reaction it is only storing it. This Leyden jar helped in the creation of Guillermo Marconi's device that replaced the telegraph system and paved the way for AM Radio.

This was the only video that didn't have an incredibly nerdy guy talk (one had him getting shocked which was awesome) The rod they push in 'charges' up the device to the right. The 'bouncing' metal pieces are there for your own personal benefit to show that it has electricity running through it. The tank wrapped in foil filled with water to the right is 'storing' the electricity. Hence the metal flakes are still bouncing after the rod is removed. The device is discharged when the electricity finds a shorter path to ground, in this case through the person who touched it. Kinda neat and you can build it yourself if you wanted.

Just wrapped up a presentation in my Power Electronics class so this stuff was on my mind. I promise to find more 'everyone friendly' material soon.

Comments

Ohhh the red, white, and blue

If you were given the job of creating a flag to represent your country, how would you design it? Myself, I would probably think of some symbols of your country then hand over the design portion to an artist, with the plan of choosing colors that aptly represent where you live. What have most countries of the world done? Three bars filled in with color. Lets talk about the Netherlands flag. This "orange" country has a drab flag, but not only is it drab it's deceiving. So many countries use red, white, and blue that it is confusing. + A little sun bleaching, Luxembourg +Sea sickness France + Dyslexia , Russia ...

Holland is just a step away

When life gives you lemons make green tea lemonade. So, when one lives in the midwest why not make the best of it and explore the sites in this area? You don't need a lot of money or even a passport. That brings us to Holland, Michigan a Dutch settlement in America. Obviously the city is very proud of its Dutch heritage, as shown in the klompen picture at the top. Klompen is the name of the Dutch wooden clog dance. There are many dutch settlements in Michigan but what makes Holland so distinctly Dutch are its two festivals: the tulip time festival in the spring and the winter festival. The tulip festival is held in mid-May and lasts for 8 days. The festival includes tours at the local windmills, tulip farms, local dutch houses, as well as dances, concerts, street scrubing, and a dutch marketplace. One interesting thing about the Dutch costumes that are presented during the festival is that they are from the 8 out of 12 different provinces of the Netherlands. Here is...

"My Knitted Boyfriend"

Yes. You read that correctly. And no, I am not buying one. I used to have my dog sleep on my bed when I was little but that was when I was 7. Noortje de Keijzer (her website) a Dutch designer and illustrator has designed a life-sized, yes life size, knitted pillow in the shape of a man. Or a boyfriend. Whichever you prefer. Keijzer's " My Knitted Boyfriend " (click this link. It shows the different accessories and the book that accompies your 'man') project consists of two different oversized cushions, "Artur" (white guy with brown hair) and "Steve (darker guy with black hair)." The pillows come with a number of accessories, including knitted moustaches, glasses, watches, bow-ties, and even tattoos. There's also an illustrated book to show you what you can do with your knitted companion. Keijzer had her mother and grandmother hand-knit the body pillow. (Slave labor?, I'm still wondering why she couldn'...

All Things Holland

Search This Blog