Product Overview
This hand-drive rotator is designed for use with governor, centrifuge, spin dryer, Savart's wheel, Seebeck's siren, color disk, and other accessories which need to be rotated. It may be used with the shaft in either horizontal or vertical position and operates conveniently without being clamped to the table. Rubber feet and suction cups prevent the apparatus from sliding or moving while in use.
The large wheel is 240 mm in diameter grooved for a round belt made of neoprene to give non-slip action under all loads. The ratio between the large and small wheels is 6 to 1. The shaft carries a standard chuck with set screw to hold rods up to 10 mm diameter provided on most rotator accessories. A threaded steel rod attaches to the frame parallel to the shaft may be utilized to hold stationary parts of certain accessories.
The following accessories are included in the set: governor, centrifuge, spin dryer and Savart's wheel.
Governor is used with rotators to show the principle of speed control used in commercial steam and gasoline engines. Two metal balls are mounted on each side of a support rod and attached at the bottom to a slotted collar on the rod. When the device is placed in rotation the outward motion of the ball raises the collar, thus operating other devices. Included with governor is a model Watt's regulator to show how the steam supply to an engine is cut off when increasing centrifugal force operates the governor.
Centrifuge is used to demonstrate the practical application of centrifugal force in precipitating particles out of solution, separating cream from milk, or removing blood cells from blood plasma. Particles in suspension are quickly separated when spun in this centrifuge. Spindle is designed to fit the rotator. Complete with four plastic centrifuge tube shields and four glass centrifuge tubes. For demonstration, one can use cornstarch, chalk powder or other similar fine, insoluble substance suspended in water.
Spin dryer consists of a plastic drum the walls of which are perforated with holes, mounted on a support rod, and a disc of absorbent sponge that fits snugly inside the drum. When rotated, water droplets are propelled straight out of the holes, unlike the sponge which is trapped by the centripetal force exerted by the walls of the drum. Water collects in the outer stationary container in which the drum is spinning, and it may be drained to a beaker after experiment as shown in photo (beaker not included). The sponge also can be weighed before and after to show the water loss.
Savart's wheel is used to demonstrate the relationship between the sound frequency and pitch. Three toothed wheels each of 6 cm diameter are mounted on a shaft with projecting spindle with slight taper at its end. Each wheel has a different number of teeth. If the wheels are rotated along their central axis, and a card is held against the teeth, a musical note is emitted.
