Re: - Help Pls - Ripple Tank

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 06:00:46 -0600, jsdmnd wrote:

> Could anyone please give me an idea on how to build a motor that can
> generate water waves for a ripple tank apparatus?
>
> I would like to know what parts would I need and power rating to drive
> the motor.
>
> Pls make it as simple as possible as I am a true beginner to this kind
> of stuff, so any helpful info you people can provide for me is truly
> appreciated.
>

What do you know about ripple tanks so far? Whenever you come up with
a mechanical way of making the waves, you could even use something like
a windshield wiper motor, with an adjustable crank for how far you
want the thing to slosh. That's just off the top of my head, but to
get extra credit on this project, figure out how many joules per
second it takes to move the amount of water you want to move the
distance you want to move it, and translate joules per second to
watts, and 746 watts ~= 1 horsepower. (is approximately equal to).

Multiply that by some factor, typically from about 1.2x to 2.5x,
depending on what kind of losses you need to account for, how much
reserve you want, and that sort of thing.

But off the top of my head, if your tank is significantly bigger
than a pie tin, it's going to take a fairly substantial motor, which
is why windshield wiper motor sprang to mind - it already has the
back-and-forth action you'd probably want, and it runs off 12VDC,
so you have one less safety hazard to contend with.

And you can probably get one for a buck or two at the auto salvage
yard. ;-)

Good Luck, and Report Back! :-)
Rich

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: - Help Pls - Ripple Tank
    ... >> Could anyone please give me an idea on how to build a motor that can ... >> generate water waves for a ripple tank apparatus? ... > a mechanical way of making the waves, ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • Re: - Help Pls - Ripple Tank
    ... >>> Could anyone please give me an idea on how to build a motor that can ... >>> generate water waves for a ripple tank apparatus? ... >> But off the top of my head, if your tank is significantly bigger ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
  • - Help Pls - Ripple Tank
    ... Could anyone please give me an idea on how to build a motor that can ... generate water waves for a ripple tank apparatus? ... Prev by Date: ...
    (sci.electronics.basics)
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