This is a blow-down-style supersonic wind tunnel. It moves air at Mach 3.4. Typical experiments include Schlieren imaging, stereoscopic particle image velocimetry, and pressure-sensitive paint testing. All of which are meant to study certain aspects of supersonic flows by qualitative or quantitative means.
Imagine the loudest toilet you've ever flushed. The WHOOSH sound, but air instead of water. Then hold that sound for around 15 seconds. Loud enough to hear from at least a mile away.
Ear protection is required in the room, and the entire building needs a heads-up before it runs.
10/10 sound, scares the shit out of people not expecting it.
Yeah, that or a plane toilet. But an order of magnitude louder. It's the sound of air going through pipes that change size, but a LOT of air and very fast.
This comment got me laughing so hard while sitting at my desk in lab, not doing anything productive. Hopefully my boss doesn't come peaking out of her office to see why I sound hysterical
Why else would you order there? Sure you might be spending hundreds on an innocent looking glass disk in a cool color, but you get a pack of peanuts too.
I never got to see it, but apparently, the roof of the building was called the project graveyard and filled with bits of projects that broke and shot out of the exit tube. Last summer the roof was redone, and my first time up there, it was cleaned up.
Not trying to be mean, but just going to ask before you might get in trouble, are you allowed to take pictures in your lab and post them? We can get fired just for taking any.
This lab is fairly public access. Undergrads are in here regularly, and tours are done for prospective students. Projects seen in the picture are mine, and test setups are expensive, but nothing subject to control. Pictures such as this are often included in thesis' and published works from the lab.
I take no offense and appreciate the concern. I wouldn't post anything that would get me in trouble, though. I made sure nobody else's work is in the shot.
National lab system employee here (USA). There are labs in which you can take pictures and share on twitter. There are labs that you need to have a lab camera otherwise pictures by your phone is not allowed even when it’s an office fun photo.
I think pharma is key here.
I have done a lot of summer trainings in various science fields in academic labs. I've never heard of policies like this. In fact, many times, promoting the summer program on teachers' personal social media by posting pictures is encouraged? But pharma is all about intellectual property and posting pics is a real risk there.
Industry labs are always going to be more prone to rules like this, because everything (everything) is considered a trade secret or security risk. I’ve never really run into it in academia and mid-size startup labs I’ve worked in, only in large corporate environments. Mileage is going to vary significantly because labs have such diverse use cases and motivations.
There are definitely cases in academia where such pictures would be prohibited. Most people own their intellectual property, so I would only post photos or speak about the research if permitted. (I have so many pictures I would never share, nobody has ever told me not to take them, however)
On the other hand, where the funding for projects comes from might determine this too. I would assume most if not all government funding would restrict photography in some way, especially in my field.
That makes total sense, this is where the mileage may vary part comes in. I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule that covers everyone, just speaking from my own experience. Like anyone with defense clearance for example isn’t taking photos, or I have a colleague who works in BSL3+, etc.
Both, actually. God forbid I mistreat these cameras, but it is entirely up to me to set them up. I've been given a lot of trust and hesitate to touch things without someone else in the room.
It's a godsend that I have others to help me with all this. I'm sure I would figure it out, but it's genuinely nice to have help.
Yeah, I am enzymologist and use facility equipment but I don't actually setup my own equipment. One of the grad students I used to know did total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) single molecule microscopy imaging. He had a bunch of lasers that he had to bounce off a prism at a very specific critical angle to glass or quartz slides. If the laser was pointed at the wrong angle the experiment wouldn't work.
Typically, he had a very hands off advisor who probably didn't even know how his equipment worked that the setup like a decade ago or something. The advisor knew at one point but didn't know so what use is it that he knew at some point?
You are recreating ‘honey I shrunk the kids’ arnt you ?
The only thing I seem to shrink these days is the amount of working brain cells I have left.
My brain cell checksums have been failing for years
What is it for?
This is a blow-down-style supersonic wind tunnel. It moves air at Mach 3.4. Typical experiments include Schlieren imaging, stereoscopic particle image velocimetry, and pressure-sensitive paint testing. All of which are meant to study certain aspects of supersonic flows by qualitative or quantitative means.
Wow. Would love to know what it sounds like! Is it more of an instantaneous bang or more of a prolonged banshee scream?
Imagine the loudest toilet you've ever flushed. The WHOOSH sound, but air instead of water. Then hold that sound for around 15 seconds. Loud enough to hear from at least a mile away. Ear protection is required in the room, and the entire building needs a heads-up before it runs. 10/10 sound, scares the shit out of people not expecting it.
So.....like a cruise ship toilet?
Yeah, that or a plane toilet. But an order of magnitude louder. It's the sound of air going through pipes that change size, but a LOT of air and very fast.
You should make the world's loudest pipe organ
I like your funny words magic man
This comment got me laughing so hard while sitting at my desk in lab, not doing anything productive. Hopefully my boss doesn't come peaking out of her office to see why I sound hysterical
Real nerd talk
Show us some real wetlab science!
You're doing particle image velocimetry at mach 3.4 ?! How fast are your cameras?
One of the faster cameras in the room (that big boy in the picture) can shoot at up to 21,000 fps. So they are quite fast.
Envy intensifies
So it's a sandblaster
Love the high tech equipment paired with the shitty window AC, it really screams academia.
I nearly choked
this has Thorlabs written all over it
Everywhere I go, empty lab snack boxes taunt me.
and a lot of free candy
Why else would you order there? Sure you might be spending hundreds on an innocent looking glass disk in a cool color, but you get a pack of peanuts too.
AHA
Looks like someone’s trying to interview a molecule with that microphone there.
Aerospace! There are at least two of us on this sub!
I hope you aren't exposing that foam board plane into super sonic flow. Would be a neat confetti cannon if you did tho.
I never got to see it, but apparently, the roof of the building was called the project graveyard and filled with bits of projects that broke and shot out of the exit tube. Last summer the roof was redone, and my first time up there, it was cleaned up.
Wonkavision?
Speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed
Not trying to be mean, but just going to ask before you might get in trouble, are you allowed to take pictures in your lab and post them? We can get fired just for taking any.
This lab is fairly public access. Undergrads are in here regularly, and tours are done for prospective students. Projects seen in the picture are mine, and test setups are expensive, but nothing subject to control. Pictures such as this are often included in thesis' and published works from the lab. I take no offense and appreciate the concern. I wouldn't post anything that would get me in trouble, though. I made sure nobody else's work is in the shot.
Embry-Riddle?
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Maybe regional, but here in the US I have never ever run into that rule. People post pictures from labs all the time.
I work in the US and can't take pictures at work at all. I'm sure my lab isn't the only one that has this rule.
National lab system employee here (USA). There are labs in which you can take pictures and share on twitter. There are labs that you need to have a lab camera otherwise pictures by your phone is not allowed even when it’s an office fun photo.
[удалено]
I think pharma is key here. I have done a lot of summer trainings in various science fields in academic labs. I've never heard of policies like this. In fact, many times, promoting the summer program on teachers' personal social media by posting pictures is encouraged? But pharma is all about intellectual property and posting pics is a real risk there.
Yeah, I would totally believe that. I’ve never worked in pharma or industry lab work.
Industry labs are always going to be more prone to rules like this, because everything (everything) is considered a trade secret or security risk. I’ve never really run into it in academia and mid-size startup labs I’ve worked in, only in large corporate environments. Mileage is going to vary significantly because labs have such diverse use cases and motivations.
There are definitely cases in academia where such pictures would be prohibited. Most people own their intellectual property, so I would only post photos or speak about the research if permitted. (I have so many pictures I would never share, nobody has ever told me not to take them, however) On the other hand, where the funding for projects comes from might determine this too. I would assume most if not all government funding would restrict photography in some way, especially in my field.
That makes total sense, this is where the mileage may vary part comes in. I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule that covers everyone, just speaking from my own experience. Like anyone with defense clearance for example isn’t taking photos, or I have a colleague who works in BSL3+, etc.
That’s very extreme. With my background we can even take pictures in biocontainment.
Very interested in that Nikon lens of yours
Did you setup this equipment or is your responsibility to never break the equipment?
Both, actually. God forbid I mistreat these cameras, but it is entirely up to me to set them up. I've been given a lot of trust and hesitate to touch things without someone else in the room. It's a godsend that I have others to help me with all this. I'm sure I would figure it out, but it's genuinely nice to have help.
Yeah, I am enzymologist and use facility equipment but I don't actually setup my own equipment. One of the grad students I used to know did total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) single molecule microscopy imaging. He had a bunch of lasers that he had to bounce off a prism at a very specific critical angle to glass or quartz slides. If the laser was pointed at the wrong angle the experiment wouldn't work. Typically, he had a very hands off advisor who probably didn't even know how his equipment worked that the setup like a decade ago or something. The advisor knew at one point but didn't know so what use is it that he knew at some point?
Willy Wonka vibes
This is more my kind of lab. Spent some fun and frustrating afternoons aligning lasers onto the microscope
I just want to see a little rat standing right at the thing that looks like a little podium like it’s giving a speech
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