• Bassman1805@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Tbf, even the “right” way to balance 7 tubes in 24 slots is a bit cursed of you don’t look at it as a superposition.

    But you’ve got 3 tubes in an equilateral triangle and 2 pairs mirrored across the center, so we’re all good here.

    • pftbest@sh.itjust.works
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      8 months ago

      Centrifuge spins really fast so you need to balance where you put the samples, or else it will vibrate. The trick is to put them on the opposite side or equally spaced apart from each other.

    • steventhedev@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Centrifuges spin really fast, so you need to balance out the things they’re spinning, otherwise it can fall catastrophically.

      Stick everything on one side and it will effectively explode.

    • fossilesqueOPM
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      8 months ago

      Think of it like a tilt-a-whirl. When you don’t distribute the load as best as possible and it starts spinning at an angle, someone (a test tube) will puke.

      • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        Or in case of a faster centrifuge, it will shatter into jagged metal shards and imbed itself in the next few walls

    • Patapon Enjoyer@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      That thing spins really really fast.

      If you put too many of those things in it in a not balanced way (like all at one side), it’s dangerous.

      The picture is balanced, but it doesn’t look like it is at first glance.

  • Pyro@programming.dev
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    8 months ago

    How do they know if it’s balanced or not? Would they need do the math manually?

    • Player2@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      It’s just one equilateral triangle and then two pairs. The specific slots the opposing pairs are in don’t matter. You can see that each sample of the triangle has a gap of 7 slots between each other.

      • Zoop@beehaw.org
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        8 months ago

        How neat! Thanks for explaining in a simple and easy to understand way for those of us who aren’t in the know. I appreciate it!

      • Pyro@programming.dev
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        8 months ago

        Thanks, that’s a great explanation! I can see the geometry clearly once you mentioned the equilateral triangle :)

    • Cuberoot@lemmynsfw.com
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      8 months ago

      There isn’t much math to do really. Take as axioms that the obvious way to balance 2 or 3 tubes is in fact balanced, and that if you add a balanced arrangement of tubes to an already balanced arrangement, the result is still balanced.