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[-] gilindoeslemmy@lemmy.world 55 points 2 months ago

I don’t get it. Can someone explain?

[-] clif@lemmy.world 97 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

First frame is a centrifuge that spins samples at high speed to separate the components in them (I think that's the purpose, not a scientist). But, the samples are on one side making it unbalanced.

Second frame is turning the centrifuge on.

Third frame is a funeral.

I hear that if it's unbalanced, bad things happen, because you're spinning an unbalanced rotor at high speeds.

I honestly was coming to check the comments to see if anyone had experience with it so I could ask how bad it is.

The comic is insinuating that if you do this, you die.

EDIT: an unbalanced weight on a motor is how the vibration function in your phone works... Along with other things that need to vibrate (yes, those things). At least, that's how they used to work.

[-] usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca 23 points 2 months ago

The funeral depicted is a viral video where the pallbearers are dancing/swaying so it's like you'll die and even your casket will be moving afterwards.

[-] FairycorePhoebe 23 points 2 months ago

I work in a lab. I've seen centrifuges try to walk off the counter before.

[-] Triumph@fedia.io 11 points 2 months ago

I thought it was a birth control pill box.

[-] SolarMonkey@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 months ago

I got weird rotary phone, GameCube, then that funeral video. I sort of thought this was some millennial meme I’m too out of the loop to understand. Lemmy is full of those.

[-] TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz 11 points 2 months ago

to separate the conponents

Scientist here. That's what it's for. A centrifuge makes the tubes experience very high accelerations, like 100 times the force of gravity, to separate liquids and solids by density. For example you could put blood in there and get a layer of red blood cells and a layer of plasma stacked on top of each other.

[-] k48r@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

More like 16,000 x g for a normal desktop centrifuge and 80,000 x g+ for an ultracentrifuge

[-] SoleInvictus 4 points 2 months ago

It depends on the speed and size of the centrifuge, the mass of the load, and the magnitude of the imbalance. Someone else mentioned an ultracentrifuge, typically a large, washing-machine-like device that can spin larger loads at high velocity. The amount of energy released if they become significantly unbalanced is pretty huge: they have a containment layer, but some could kill you if the load got through and hit you.

On the flip side, I may have intentionally ran unbalanced microcentrifuges a few (many, it was many) times as a grad student because I was too tired and lazy to make a counterweight. I just held it down with fairly firm pressure and it was fine. That's not very good for its bearings, though. Sorry lab manager!

[-] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

I’m not sure about the more classic devices but a lot of game controllers and phones these days use linear motors or similar piezoelectric devices for vibration. For instance Apple's “Taptic Engine”.

[-] ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago
  1. Remove the counterweight from your washing machine.
  2. Throw said counterweight inside the washing machine.
  3. Activate the spin cycle of your washing machine.
  4. Find out.

:)

[-] 413j0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Unbalanced centrifuge, IRL a small tabletop one like the image will just be a really expensive mistake, but the worst case scenario can indeed be lethal. Here is a larger one exploding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8IOL5iLwG8

[-] crank0271@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

Crazy video... can you remove the timestamp? 40s shows the aftermath.

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

https://youtu.be/i8IOL5iLwG8

Whoa. That young kid just disappeared. :(

e: trigger warning. Nothing is visible in this video but a massive explosion, but there’s a kid in close proximity before it happens.

this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2025
484 points (100.0% liked)

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