The Noots

Congratulations! If you're one of the lucky few reading this message, then you deserve a pat on the back. Alas, you made it this far, but tis a hapless circumstance that back pattings do not transfer very well over the internet. Thus, I will have to give you The Noots.
Download: The Noots
Made entirely in FL Studio 10, using programmed sounds from my Roland JP 8000. Enjoy!
Grant

Ferrofluid for the neophytes.

If there's one thing that gets on my pet peeves, it's the one curious friend who touches your stuff and doesn't put it back where it belongs. Farewell $13.99 flashlight; wherever you may be.

He'll have to do the job for the time being.

Fortunately, I had a Shamwow to clean up the tears. (I'm still an advocate for Zorbeez, but who sells that anymore?) Unfortunately, there's one thing that the Shamwow doesn't clean up.

In fact, nothing can clean this up.

That's the magnetic liquid we all know and love. Especially my physics professor, who didn't realize how ferromagnetic the fluid actually is until he held a magnet next to the open bottle. I'll let you imagine the rest.

Time to answer the million dollar question: Where do you buy ferrofluid from? I purchased mine from United Nuclear, but I personally believe that all ferrofluid is the same. So go ahead and buy it on Ebay, and who knows, it might have bits of love in the packaging.

Now you're getting anxious. What is there to do with this stuff? Did I really just waste my money on it? Sadly, there's no turning back now. It usually goes something like this:

1. Put a magnet next to the bottle. 
2. Make a prodigious mess. 
3. Attempt to launder it with more magnets. 
4. Spend hours fruitlessly trying everything to clean it up. 
5. ??? 
6. No, no profit this time.

Thankfully, we have jars.

Oh Dickinson's preserves, how you make life so easy.

A nice jar o' jelly does the trick, but it doesn't capture the full fluidic essence of ferrofluid. Thus the testing began. I tried putting the ferrofluid in several disparate liquids in order to achieve a floating effect. The only liquid that worked was fog juice.

I'm convinced.

Fog juice is typically a combination of glycerin and water, so perhaps if someone wants to test out combinations of such fluids then you are free to report your findings. However, since there is water in the fog fluid, the ferrofluid will rust over time. This doesn't affect the consistency of the fluid, but the rust makes it a nice bronze color.

Magnets; How do they work?

Electrons.
Grant

3D Shades: A fun and easy project!

Gentlemen! I've come to the realization that this blog needs some more pizzazz. This first project is perhaps one of the most simple and elegant for the sapient physicist, partly because of the fact that even I can hardly explain what is going on. If you're like me and you have a spare collection of 3D glasses from all the times you went to see Avatar, then this project will be jolly simple.

I love the guy with the pizza.

That's because all you need for this project is:

• Two pairs of 3D glasses
• Glue

As Porky Pig was once known for saying, "That's all folks!" Unfortunately though, there's never a happy ending. If you've never glued something together, then this project could easily turn into a mess. Or, if you cherish your collection of esoteric spectacles and need to keep your only two pairs of 3D glasses, then that's completely understandable. Or, perchance, the only glue in your household is the small jar of Elmer's that you enjoyed dipping your carrots into as a child. If one or more of these applies to you, then you have my permission to temporize doing this project until you have the necessary supplies. If none of these apply, then let's get on to the nitty-gritty, shall we?

The first step is to conglomerate your 3D glasses. Mine are of the "Real D 3D" variety, thus I cannot guarantee that this set of instructions will work with any other kind. In order to check, put the glasses together lens-to-lens and keep an eye out for any opalescence. They should look like this:

Or they may look like this:

Once you have your two 3D glasses, you must break one of them, preferably the sweaty pair your friend used while watching the diaphoretic movie. The best way to do this is to bend the arms of the glasses back until they pop off. Once one arm comes off, do the same to the other arm. Your glasses will then look like this:

At this point, your polarizing filters are easily retrievable and ready to go. This is a good time to clean them off. Personally, I recommend a quick wipe with 91% isopropyl alcohol. You can also curtail the little notches on the filters, I find that nosehair trimmers work exceptionally well at doing this.

Put the filters over their respective spot on the pristine pair of 3D glasses. This may require a fair amount of fidgeting to get right.

I have no clue why the next photo is sideways.

Now get out your adhesives and glue those suckers on! Elmer's actually works, but it tends to peel off over time. For the pair in this post I used Locktite Plastic Epoxy, but that's only because I had it on hand.

I have no clue why the previous photo is sideways.

In order to keep the frames flat I used helping hands, but holding a pair of glasses for five minutes while waiting for glue to dry isn't exactly onerous. Since you're now done, put your shades on and make faces at yourself in the mirror!

Problem?

The most interesting thing about these glasses is the fact that they change colors depending on the angle you look at them. This photo, taken with a sheet of glass under the glasses, clearly demonstrates that effect.

It's science.

Why does it do this? I'm not exactly sure, but I believe it has to do with the different colors being polarized at different angles. Both lenses are a dark purple from the front, which verifies that the lenses would be the same color at the same angle. However, if someone has a more logical explanation, or if I'm missing something obvious here, then feel free to edify me.

Until next time,

Grant

This is the first blog post.

I present you a warm welcome to my blog. It may not be cozy right now, but the welcome mat is in place for everyone to visit. Just take a seat and enjoy the stay.

As summer nears the end of its track, school begins for many tomorrow. Whether I care or not is debatable, but one thing I know for sure is that my free time is going to plummet into the gloomy wells of schoolwork. Don't hold your breath though. More projects, experiments, ideas, and possibly degringolades are guaranteed to be done, and if they aren't, then I give you permission to scold me for bringing your hopes up. Or a formal complaint, whichever you prefer. Just try not to embarrass me.

Second of all, I will do my best to archive the preponderance of projects I've worked on within the past few years. Such projects vary from mellifluous techno compositions to byzantine electrical disasters, but for the most part they're enjoyable.

Ah yes! What a delight!

Too bad he'll never fit in an E26 socket.

Stay tuned for more,

Grant