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Hi All,

As the one here, who was inspired at the Exploratorium,  the  
inspiration came from several sources––we serendipitously got a water  
chiller that used a water-based heat exchanger, and refrigeration  
system;  no one could figure out what the heck to do with it; (The  
unit came from government surplus. as a military unit, and put out  
both warm and cold water. ) Frank Oppenheimer mentioned the exhibit  
he'd seen in Ontario that used a grating of closely space and  
individually cooled and warmed metal bars; and  I referenced the  
physiological effect  in Animal Functions: Principles and Adaptations  
by Gordon, and eventually figured that a coil of paired copper tubing  
wound around a piece of wood placed in the metal lathe and slowly  
rotated might provide the proper spacing, sometime after attempting a  
warm and cool manifold that involved lots of soldering and joint, in  
which the spacing didn't work so well.  The  paired alternating warm  
and cool coils, wound on the lathe worked like a charm.  Using a  
secondary heat exchanger, it was possible to warm the cool coil water,  
and cool the warm coil water, and dump just enough heat out of the  
apparatus via a car water heater radiator to keep it running  
continuously chilling and heating itself simultaneously.  All in all,  
a hilarious device held together by  inspiration, wooden dowels, and  
lots of luck.  Much later, in its fourth incarnation, the coils were  
supplied by separately warmed and cool water supplies, and a much more  
rational system, but it lost some of its quaint Rube Goldberg  
aspects.  I'm sure subsequent developers, more likely that not  
scratched their heads over the design considerations.

It's a great illusion.
C
On Jul 13, 2010, at 11:02 AM, Earl Stirling wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> The developer who made ours here says "Ours (Hot and Cold Coils) was
> originally inspired by one at the Ontario Science Center."
>
> ----
> Earl Stirling
> Now with extra SCIENCE!
> e x p l  O  r a t o r i u m
> 3601 Lyon St
> San Francisco CA 94123
> +1.415.353.0401
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 8:16 AM, James Sannino <[log in to unmask]>  
> wrote:
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
>> institutions.
>> *****************************************************************************
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> My name is James Sannino.  I'm helping develop prototypes for an  
>> upcoming brain exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
>> We're looking to get a device that shows the "thermal grill  
>> illusion."
>>
>> I've only been able to find evidence for such a device at the  
>> Exploratorium, but I hear word there are more strewn about.
>> We're looking to figure out what the best interface would be from a  
>> visitor's point of view.
>> If you're facility has one, I'd love to hear about it!
>> How your machine is designed, what you like about it, how you might  
>> have improved it, that sort of thing...
>>
>>
>> Thanks!
>> James
>> The Franklin Institute
>> [log in to unmask]
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>> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers  
>> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>>
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> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers  
> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org 
> .
>
> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L- 
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Charles Carlson
Senior Scientist
exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
[log in to unmask]
Tel:   415-561-0319
Fax:  415-561-0370








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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

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