The Laser Tornado Lamp!

[Deleted member 13229]

Here's a vid of a lamp I built by basically shining a 5mW 405nm "time tunnel" through fluorescent liquid:



Hack A Day Article!: http://hackaday.com/2012/05/25/tornado-lamp-made-with-lasers/

Thanks to whoever put the fluorescein in the swap box!

 

[AnthoT]

:O wow that's sick :beer:

 

[cheech226]

too cool drake

 

[lowell389]

That is cool.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

Another fine build Drake. :beer:

Been thinking about doing something like this for a long time, but couldnt think of a good way to spin the water. Yours is a much better solution. Nice job.

 

[Things]

You can do something similar with a small pump and 2 large soda bottles:

You drill a hole in the cap until just enough water flows through. However it won't work if you make it too small. Feed the water into the top bottle at an angle to get the spin going.

Dan

 

[Elektrotechniker]

very simple but creative project. gotta build something similar.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

*taking notes*

 

[Things]

Hehe, or just go for broke and build a machine that makes a real tornado!

Built that a couple years back, won me many science awards in school. Also worked well at humidifying your house - which was the last thing I needed in the tropics

Oops, sorry for hijacking your thread styro

 

[Tech_Junkie]

That's freakin cool. Might be a little above my skill level though.

 

[Things]

There's really only 2 things you need to make a tornado like that: An updraft and some rotation.

The updraft in that machine is created by a simple exhaust fan, like you'd find in a bathroom:

Then for rotation, each of those 4 pipes running down the corners have small blower fans at the top. They force air out of the holes down the entire length of the tube, on all 4 corners to create a nice rotation. You can get away with only 1 of these if you seal the machine, but I liked the idea of having an open font so you can interact with it.

Pump some fog in from the bottom and you have a tornado

You can get some really cool effects, like double eyewalls. Double eyewalls are quite rare in tornados, and they are rarely ever seen in real life:

 

[jcranmer]

Well now I know what to use all these mirrors and fans for.

 

[Tech_Junkie]

I think I could pull that off. Wonder if it still work in a smaller version.

 

[Things]

Yep! Can use even computer fans if you want. Smallest machine I've built was about 30cm tall.

You can even do away with the rotation fan if you build it into a clear tube. You can cut little slots in the side, and bend the plastic inward so it sort of directs the air flowing in.

 

[Deleted member 13229]

That fog tornado machine looks sweet, I may have to give that a try someday.

 

[Meatball]

Use "line generator" lenses to view real time cross sections of the tornado.. from any direction.