Post by Leon Grad on Feb 22, 2024 17:23:28 GMT
This marshmallow-like jiggly blob I'm holding is the latest invention of the Federation of Pangaea: the UPOC.
Did you know that table sugar, like quartz, is piezoelectric? This means that (like quartz) if you press on it, it'll make a small electric charge. This is huge because sugar is super easy to obtain, even in a primitive survival situation, and it can be used to build all sorts of cool tech including microphones, earphones speakers, clocks, electromagnetic oscillators, etc.
For a while now the Ministry of Advancement had been trying to grow sugar crystals to use as piezo crystals, but in vain. Plus, at the end, sugar crystals crumble into bits the minute you try to press down on it, it's super brittle.
This limits the pressure you can apply on it, but it also means that if you accidentally drop the crystal it can shatter easily. So if you were to use it to build a device, you'd have to spend a great deal of effort to make the device shock resistant.
Fortunately we came up with a super simple solution and we invented a jiggly piezo crystal that is not only super easy to make, but also incredibly resistant to shocks.
We mixed gelatin and water with the sugar, to created an Unbreakable Piezoelectric Organic Crystal basically looks (and feels) a lot like a translucent marshmallow. We tried a whole bunch of ratio and preparation methods and the good news are:
- No need to freeze or to cook the crystal, so no oven and no fridge, just equipment you could have even in a primitive survival situation
- You can make your own gelatin if you cook chicken
- Sugar can be sourced from natural sources such as cane sugar or maple syrup
- Don't need a whole lot of sugar, higher sugar ratio were actually less efficient
So in our case we miked 1 table spoon of commercial powdered gelatin with about 30 ml of boiling water a thick gelatinous. We added sugar gradually until it resembled a marshmallow. There must be no sugar crusts or any crumbling texture. The result is a blob that was then poured into little handmade aluminum molds.
After 24 hours, the result was a translucent jiggly crystal that can sustain considerable mechanically compression, after which it'd just spring back to its original shape.
We tested it by placing it on an aluminum foil (Figure 1). We topped it with an aluminum plate (figure 2). We placed the whole thing on wood so to insulate it from the table. When there were no mechanical pressure on the crystal (figure 3), there were no voltage. When some force was applied (we used a stick of wood to apply the force), there was a definite Voltage peak (figure 4) that would last a good few seconds before settling back to zero. If you release the pressure, the crystal will take back its original shape, and the voltage will fall to zero. The longer you leave it undisturbed, the more voltage you'll get next time to press on it. At one point we exceeded 0.2 Volt.
This UPOC would be durable in shock-prone areas. The only drawback is the fact that sugar is vulnerable to humidity, so the crystal itself must be sealed if you want it to serve for a longer time.
We plan to try a variation of the recipe, called UPOC II, where we'll be using heated sugar water or maple syrup and mix it directly to the powdered gelatin so to obtain a completely homogeneous crystal (no tiny bits of sugar crystals), and measure if the performance is improved or decreased.
Another point that still needs testing: piezo crystals generate an electric charge when physically compressed, but should also change shape ("grow" longer) if, on the contrary, we give it an electric charge.
Did you know that table sugar, like quartz, is piezoelectric? This means that (like quartz) if you press on it, it'll make a small electric charge. This is huge because sugar is super easy to obtain, even in a primitive survival situation, and it can be used to build all sorts of cool tech including microphones, earphones speakers, clocks, electromagnetic oscillators, etc.
For a while now the Ministry of Advancement had been trying to grow sugar crystals to use as piezo crystals, but in vain. Plus, at the end, sugar crystals crumble into bits the minute you try to press down on it, it's super brittle.
This limits the pressure you can apply on it, but it also means that if you accidentally drop the crystal it can shatter easily. So if you were to use it to build a device, you'd have to spend a great deal of effort to make the device shock resistant.
Fortunately we came up with a super simple solution and we invented a jiggly piezo crystal that is not only super easy to make, but also incredibly resistant to shocks.
We mixed gelatin and water with the sugar, to created an Unbreakable Piezoelectric Organic Crystal basically looks (and feels) a lot like a translucent marshmallow. We tried a whole bunch of ratio and preparation methods and the good news are:
- No need to freeze or to cook the crystal, so no oven and no fridge, just equipment you could have even in a primitive survival situation
- You can make your own gelatin if you cook chicken
- Sugar can be sourced from natural sources such as cane sugar or maple syrup
- Don't need a whole lot of sugar, higher sugar ratio were actually less efficient
So in our case we miked 1 table spoon of commercial powdered gelatin with about 30 ml of boiling water a thick gelatinous. We added sugar gradually until it resembled a marshmallow. There must be no sugar crusts or any crumbling texture. The result is a blob that was then poured into little handmade aluminum molds.
After 24 hours, the result was a translucent jiggly crystal that can sustain considerable mechanically compression, after which it'd just spring back to its original shape.
We tested it by placing it on an aluminum foil (Figure 1). We topped it with an aluminum plate (figure 2). We placed the whole thing on wood so to insulate it from the table. When there were no mechanical pressure on the crystal (figure 3), there were no voltage. When some force was applied (we used a stick of wood to apply the force), there was a definite Voltage peak (figure 4) that would last a good few seconds before settling back to zero. If you release the pressure, the crystal will take back its original shape, and the voltage will fall to zero. The longer you leave it undisturbed, the more voltage you'll get next time to press on it. At one point we exceeded 0.2 Volt.
This UPOC would be durable in shock-prone areas. The only drawback is the fact that sugar is vulnerable to humidity, so the crystal itself must be sealed if you want it to serve for a longer time.
We plan to try a variation of the recipe, called UPOC II, where we'll be using heated sugar water or maple syrup and mix it directly to the powdered gelatin so to obtain a completely homogeneous crystal (no tiny bits of sugar crystals), and measure if the performance is improved or decreased.
Another point that still needs testing: piezo crystals generate an electric charge when physically compressed, but should also change shape ("grow" longer) if, on the contrary, we give it an electric charge.
