WAVES

They really are beautiful things.
Although, I must say, I never appreciated them as much as I do now.

Why, you ask?
Because they've given me an opportunity to watch movies and play with toys in lab class.
That's why.

I mean, seriously, you can't say this Bell Labs Wave machine doesn't look like a ton of fun.

Even so it's not half so much fun as watching one ofthese thingys.

It's called a Wilburforce Pendulum. You start the process by pulling on the big weight and of course, being on a spring, it bobs up and down. After a short while the little weights (the little clear disks attached to the metal rods) start spinning round and round. As these little weights start spinning faster and faster the big weight bobs less and less, then it stops altogether for a moment while the little weights spin like mad. Then the big weight starts bobbing again (without further human intervention), and the weights spin less and less until it's back to all bobbing and no spinning. The it does it all over again for quite some time. More or less, it's like a really weird coupled pendulum. I haven't been able to figure out if it's generated by a wave or not, though - if it is, I don't know what kind of wave it would be.

So anyway, just thought I'd let everyone know that . . .

I'm having more fun than you are!
HA!

Lots of love,
Em