(image of mechanism #77 from Henry T. Brown’s Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements, via 507movements.com) The leading systematic uncertainty in our group’s test of the equivalence principle is variations in the local gravity gradient. The gravity gradient is the spatial derivative of the gravitational field—the amount of change in the strength and … Continue … Continue reading Wirelessly powered non-magnetic rotary actuator
When we first got the laser I promised my three-year-old that I’d cut him out a bed with it. It took about a year for me to finally get it designed in Solidworks and cut out. It all fit on a single 5’x5′ sheet of 1/2″ Baltic birch, even after cutting down … Continue Reading … Continue reading Laser-cut toddler bed
As an offshoot of our torsion-balance experiments, our group was involved in technology development for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a proposed three-spacecraft space mission to detect gravity waves. These spacecraft were to stay in a perfect free-fall orbit by tracking a free-floating “test mass” contained within each spacecraft. We were investigating the … Continue … Continue reading Low-energy electron gun
I designed and made two titanium pens for Christmas gifts in 2008. The bodies consist of three components I manually turned from titanium rod: the lower tube, upper tube, and finial. The finial screws into the upper tube to hold the clip, and the lower tube screws into the upper tube to hold the cartridge. … Continue reading Titanium pens
