Faraday replications via NIB-mercury
Meat Truck ( (no email) )
Tue, 8 Sep 1998 21:49:59 -0500
Once upon a time Faraday made a correspondence that reached into our time
frame via public television circa 1988. This seemed important to my friend
who had taped the episode. We later set about to duplicate his experiment
using the Neodium-Iron-Boron alloy magnets available in 1988. In the
original two different effects are shown; one is shown through a suspended
rod into contact with a pool of mercury in a dish. The magnet is introduced
into the pool of mercury upon which it floats due the density of mercury.
When the rod and pool of mercury is subjected to the polarity difference
of a battery the rod will rotate around the suspended magnet. This is an
easily reproducible effect. But in the public television special they also
showed the opposite effect whereby Faraday showed that if the rod made a
straight connection into the mercury the magnet will rotate around the rod.
In the film it shows that as the magnet rotates it does an unusual twisting
manuever. Almost like during every revolution it was attempting to untwist
itself. This we tried to duplicate with little success. What would happen
is that the magnet would tend to hug the current carrying rod, and not
rotate around it. As discoveries go it was soon noticed that if the rod
was raised the neodymium disc readily offered its center to the conduction
point when the disc itself began to spin in the pool of mercury. I didnt
like these experiments because I could see that ten amps of current
sparking on mercury creating wisps of deadly smoke was not the place to be.
But the remarkable thing consists of the fact that the NIB magnet could
readily pass 10 amps of current without damaging it. Or then again maybe i
need to review other peoples opinion in this matter. Sincerly H.Norris
mnorris@akron.infi.net