What is Digg?29 Comments
- theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Even better. Place the 1/2 grape in the center of a blank cd, and stab a burning toothpick into the center of it. Press start. Run. Don't sue me, I havent tried this, and theres a possibility it could lead to your timely demise.
- newzooreview, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Plasma is routinely made with argon gas injected into a radio frequency field tuned to excite the argon atoms, strip off electrons, and create a plasma (ionized gaseous state). This inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source is used in a variety of analytical instruments, such as mass spectrometers (ICP-MS) for analyzing elemental concentrations and isotopic ratios. The sample is injected as a liquid into the plasma and the atoms in the sample are ionized and then pulled down a tube by electrical attraction on the ions (the ones made from your sample: the tube is under a vacuum as in a television). Your sample ions pass through a magnet on the way down the tube and as they turn the corner they seperate by mass (heavier ones taking a wider turn than lighter ones). And then you detect them at the end, positioning your detector(s) to look at the mass you are trying to measure (say mass 208 if you're looking for one of the natural isotopes of lead).
So, the microwave oven is emitting microwaves that provide sufficient additional energy to the carbon in the burning match to strip off electrons and create a plasma. This TV program tries to sensationalize this by suggesting that it isn't understood by physics. *****. They would have served the audience better by providing a real explanation of the demonstration as a crude method of generating a plasma. This is not ball lightning. Ball lightning is a specific type of plasma that persists for a sustained period at standard temperature and pressure (e.g. room air) and moves around across the floor or sometimes hovers in the air. There's a lot of interesting physics to explore with this peculiar plasma, but it's not the same as ephemeral plasma bursting off of a toothpick in a microwave oven. - RMuffin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4$20 says most of the people on Digg do try it
- antoni, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yes it is, and the clip is from the show 'Braniac' ^.^
- fanboydcs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3heh, if you search for grape plasma and microwave on google you will find where a grape becomes plasma, its much cooler than this.
- teh_toaster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think the most important part to mention is not the toothpick, but the flame.
I can just imagine a bunch of folks who didn't RTFA err.. watch the vid..."Why ain't this toothpick doin' anything?!" - ACalcutt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4i thought the video above was better
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4729476702860700549&q=grape+plasma - Strangers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Ditto. The thermite on the car is the best one by far.
Dugg - norbiu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I love Braniac !
- jonshoberg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3yeah right ... like I'm NOT going to try that !!!
- SubFuze, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2More Brainiac Microwave fun (this time with gunpowder):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6327498406924971512&q=Brainiac
and another with Pure Oxygen and Tin Foil
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7584380791265071244 - R4wBon3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This just in - Microwave sales up; garbage collectors report a huge influx of curbside microwaves.
- dupswapdrop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I always liked the raw egg in the microwave at school trick.
- thejadedmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Someone do it at home and let us know what happens please!
- UGM2099, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want to try this at home.
- phunlee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2So you're saying let's find the guy in the video and kick his ass? "*****." It's a TV show, they'll sensationalize what they want.
- ACalcutt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1thermite is awsome ;-)
- neofactor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Should read: Plasma Fireball in Microwave
- CaptainCalculus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah this is from series 2... they are making series 4 now...
Although I must say that that toothpick must be doused in some kind of flamable liquid since after the plasma comes off the flame, the flame doesn't go out. - TomP, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I really want to try this out just need an old microwave and do it outside... what could possibly go wrong?
- Tom | http://www.tomwrote.info - jaggyg, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3thats the dude from Top Gear
- nonchallant0819, on 03/31/2008, -0/+0This is a great story... found this one through http://www.google.com
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http://www.TopNotchCarpentry.com - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I tried it and it didnt work... Its all dupe
http://xtaur.us - djmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0thats awesome, so yeah anyone else gonna try this at home ;)
- TKDWILSON, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Maybe, but hopefullly they are smart enough not to kill themselves of radiation poisioning with this.
Eric Wilson - deepsub, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Big whoop... it's a magnetron tube arcing through water vapor produced when the match burns... stupid. Anyone who tries this should know that the microwave will be crippled by this. It's a friggin short circuit, nothing more.
- ralejs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Brainiac is nothing compared to MythBusters.
And now the flamewar begins between Brainac fans and Mythbusters fans..... - DiscusRapidus, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1Pretty cool... but a bit old.
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