Pretty sure @Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world was kidding :)

It may be less about what the centrifuge can do and more about the culture surrounding centrifuges. It's my impression that people who are in a position to be using a centrifuge balance them out of habit. Even if they don't need to.

Not balancing them (in the event that it is a self balancing one) may be similar to computer science debates about tabs vs spaces. A difference that's more cultural than important.

I could be wrong, biology isn't my field. This is just my impression from having watched this debate play out several times.

That one was not a self-balancing centrifuge.

Maybe. It was a lot more than that though. It had the shell and everything else. I suspect it'd be cheaper and easier to just buy or borrow a real one, even if it's not usable as lab equipment anymore. It's not like they're super uncommon.

Also, that still needs to be balanced to some degree if it's spinning reasonably quickly. It doesn't just suddenly not impart a lot of force because it's a "fake" centrifuge.