Finally, one of the most important questions plaguing the scientific community has been answered, will Jovian gravity defeat a lava lamp?
Did you know that Jupiter’s gravity is slightly more than double that of the Earth, and more importantly, do you know what effect that added gravity would have on a lava lamp? Neil Fraser’s Jovian lava lamp experiment isn’t quite in the same league as the Large Hadron Collider, but it’s a fun little experiment with a funny video.
Fraser built a centrifuge out of Erector kits – also known as Meccano outside the US – and calibrated it to simulate the gravity found on Jupiter. According to Fraser the centrifuge is “a genuinely terrifying device” and the experiment was conducted “from the relative safety of the next room while peeking through a crack in the door.”
Fraser used his Droid phone to measure the g-force the lava lamp sustained, and despite the Droid’s accelarometers not being quite calibrated right, the experiemtn was still a success, and Fraser was able to answer his question. What that answer was however, I’m not saying. Either watch the video, or visit Fraser’s homepage and read all about the experiment for yourself.
Source: Crunch Gear
