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Wobble wobble (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 37 points 1 year ago (10 children)

The centrifuge would not run like that, it noticed the vibrations and turns off. They had that "feature" for decades now.

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    That's awesome... And also funny that it had to be added. Thanks for the info!

    I still want to know what happens on an old one without vibration detection or if it was "broken". I assume something like an unbalanced washing machine but on a smaller scale? It just going out for a stroll :)

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

    Science is a whole lot of adjusting after someone died. Like, it’s mostly been that.

    e: want nightmares? Here’s the Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award. All the precautions and yet… not enough.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    https://ehrs.upenn.edu/health-safety/lab-safety/safety-alerts/ultracentrifuge-explosion-damages-laboratory

    This is a famous example from when they didn't have alarms. The don't just happily wobble across the room.

    The safety shielding in the unit did not contain all the metal fragments. The half-inch thick sliding steel door on top of the unit buckled allowing fragments, including the steel rotor top, to escape (Image 3). Fragments ruined a nearby refrigerator and an ultra-cold freezer in addition to making holes in the walls and ceiling. The unit itself was propelled sideways and damaged cabinets and shelving that contained over a hundred containers of chemicals.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    IMO, you missed the best bit off:

    A shock wave from the accident shattered all four windows in the room. The shock wave also destroyed the control system for an incubator and shook an interior wall causing shelving on the wall to collapse.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    I forget that there are large centrifuges (somebody posted about Stuxnet further down).

    Or, more accurately, I'm more familiar with the small ones (ThermoFisher calls them "Mini" and "Micro" centrifuges) for ~0.5mL samples and I had a hard time thinking that those would blow out a room. But the same link (ThermFisher) that I looked at to find the names also specifies 17,000g and 21,000g models which is just... fucking insane. I knew they spun fast, I didn't know they spun 21,000g's fast. Learn something new every day.

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