Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #07278
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: Bruce Robinson [mailto:Bruce_Robinson@bc.sympatico.ca]
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 11:18:36 +0100
Subject: Re: aquabot
JVernonM@aol.com wrote:
>
> ... If your bot can take the heat, a
> container filled with boiling water,
> sealed and cooled would be completely
> sterile and last for years and years.
Or, failing that, sterilize everything that will take the heat with
boiling water; immerse everything else (e.g. the 'bot) in methyl
alcohol; then fill your container with boiling distilled water, let it
cool, add about 10% alcohol, place your aquabot inside and seal.
The alcohol will sterilize whatever won't take the heat, and the small
amount in the water will most likely take care of whatever survives
boiling and handling. TAKE NOTE: the alcohol will also affect the
bouyancy of the aquabot, so experiment first.
Methyl alcohol is far more deadly to more organisms (including people)
than the other types of alcohol commonly sold as "rubbing alcohol".
Regards,
Bruce
7279 Tue, 2 Nov 1999 11:25:23 +0100 Re: aquabots - 'sealed' motor beam@sgiblab.sgi.com Senior [mailto:kyled@cruzers.com]
Well the problem with light bulbs are that there's a vacuum inside, so
I don't think yell be getting much bouynacy out of them but I could be
wrong!
Jacob Booth wrote:
>
> I have a filter pump for my aquarium which has the coils in a sealed
> plastic ring or tub. The armature is a multi-poled magnet also sealed in
> plastic which 'floats' inside the plastic ring. I guess it works more like
> a stepper motor (would need circuitry to do the job of the commutator) but
> is perfectly watertight (well, close enough :). Another bonus is NO wear
as
> it uses no bearings. The combination of magnetic field and moving water
> enables the armature (should this be just called a rotor?) to 'float'
> inside the ring and rotate. It is designed to be fully submerged. I am
> thinking of doing something like this as a proof of theory for a
waterproof
> motor for myself. I doubt anything home made would be very efficient at
all
> though. Does efficient matter when we have other things like water
friction
> to worry about? :)
>
> warning: bad ascii image below:
>
> -- || -- A: multi-poled rotor
> || ---- || B: sealed coil assembly
> || | A| || x: water filled void
> || |__| ||
> ||___x__||
> |____B___|
>
> picture a film canister sized water filled void, and the rotor as the roll
> of film size. I want to make a small one!
>
> Oh, and another thought... what about using a small light bulb for a
> buoyancy device? would it make any difference on its own when turned on
(eg
> heat up the low pressure gas inside the bulb) compared to off? A bit power
> hungry, but a different idea! Maybe if the gas space in the bulb is too
> small it could be used to heat up a larger container of air for example.
> Would it be better to expose the bulb outside the bot, or have it inside
> the sealed airspace inside the bot? Anyone thought about this before or
> tried it? let me know!
>
> Cheers
> Jacob
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> Jacob Booth BIS, MCP Web http://www.its.mary.acu.edu.au/
> IT Services Email j.booth@mary.acu.edu.au
> Phone (02) 97392235 Fax (02) 97392924
7280 Tue, 2 Nov 1999 11:42:38 +0100 Re: aquabots - 'sealed' motor Senior Jacob Booth [mailto:j.booth@mary.acu.edu.au]
At 03:02 PM 11/2/99 +1000, you wrote:
>
>
>Well the problem with light bulbs are that there's a vacuum inside, so
>I don't think yell be getting much bouynacy out of them but I could be
>wrong!
>
I was under the idea that a vacuum was to hard to 'create' in most bulbs,
so instead they had inert gas in them (I think argon is popular). I am now
better informed about the light bulb idea as my thinking was incomplete...
Heat does change density, but only when the gas can expand. I'm not going
to get much expansion out of a glass bulb :). Now where did I put those PET
plastic light bulbs :)
PS I think that aquabots are replacing my dream of 'aerobots' (or whatever
you want to call them) as they still move in 3 dimensions, but things
happen at a more leisurely pace, and the ground isn't so hard. Plus... they
are much easier to keep 'up' above the ground, as you aren't usually
wasting energy to do so. Hmmm maybe that is why life originated in water!
Not that other theory based on availability of nutrients and organic
material, just that mother nature is intrinsically lazy!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacob Booth BIS, MCP Web http://www.its.mary.acu.edu.au/
IT Services Email j.booth@mary.acu.edu.au
Phone (02) 97392235 Fax (02) 97392924
7281 Tue, 2 Nov 1999 03:50:05 -0800 (PST) [alt-beam] Re: Stray thought... beam@sgiblab.sgi.com Evan Dudzik um, you know those little robot toys that have two
legs with V-shaped feet that move their feet in little
circles, lifting one and moving it around... okay
stupid description... maybe you can understand...
use two of them, with rubberized feet so it could just
hang upside down and use the other side of its feet,
kind of like a sloth hanging from a vine...
--- "Phillip A. Ryals" wrote:
> I've been thinking about it for a while, and thought
> I'd post this to the
> list. If anyone has any ideas, I'd be really happy
> to hear them.
>
> I've been thinking about a bot that would move by
> hanging from a string or
> wire strung between two points. I know the obvious
> lack of mobility would
> keep it from being terribly useful, but I'm still
> trying to work it out.
> Maybe an exercise in mechanics?
>
> Anyway, I'm just lost on how to drive the legs. I
> thought about some kind
> of rotary motion, like a wheel on top on the string,
> or legs attached to
> motors that just spin.... but I think that'd just be
> boring.
>
> So I'm looking for some way to make it "walk" along
> the string. Just like
> you'd do with your hands if you're hanging like
> that.
>
>
> Anyone?
>
> par
>
>
=====
+------------------------+
|http://surf.to/photovore|
|Photovores online! |
|Evandude Dudzik |
+------------------------+
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
7282 Tue, 2 Nov 1999 08:23:05 -0600 Re: Stray thought... beam@sgiblab.sgi.com owner-beam@sgiblab.sgi.com [mailto:owner-beam@sgiblab.sgi.com]On
um, you know those little robot toys that have two
legs with V-shaped feet that move their feet in little
circles, lifting one and moving it around... okay
stupid description... maybe you can understand...
use two of them, with rubberized feet so it could just
hang upside down and use the other side of its feet,
kind of like a sloth hanging from a vine...
--- "Phillip A. Ryals" wrote:
> I've been thinking about it for a while, and thought
> I'd post this to the
> list. If anyone has any ideas, I'd be really happy
> to hear them.
>
> I've been thinking about a bot that would move by
> hanging from a string or
> wire strung between two points. I know the obvious
> lack of mobility would
> keep it from being terribly useful, but I'm still
> trying to work it out.
> Maybe an exercise in mechanics?
>
> Anyway, I'm just lost on how to drive the legs. I
> thought about some kind
> of rotary motion, like a wheel on top on the string,
> or legs attached to
> motors that just spin.... but I think that'd just be
> boring.
>
> So I'm looking for some way to make it "walk" along
> the string. Just like
> you'd do with your hands if you're hanging like
> that.
>
>
> Anyone?
>
> par
>
>
=====
+------------------------+
|http://surf.to/photovore|
|Photovores online! |
|Evandude Dudzik |
+------------------------+
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
Home