Author: Brian Garthwaite

Artificial Omnipresence

Posted on by Brian Garthwaite
Chalkboard text. Quoted in text body below.
Dear student: please do your own, honest work. Thanks!

“CAUTION: AI does not know how to write a proper lab report. Do not risk losing easy points by trusting something that has never attended labs.”

Entirely reasonable position from instructors: do your own work, and please don’t cheat.

Of course, we also get this message in the same week:

Keyboard with an AI shortcut key.
Appears to be a Microsoft Copilot key.

‘Twas update-the-computers season in the department, and the new Windows laptops have eliminated the right-side Control key in favor of one for Microsoft’s AI. Ditched a very useful key for one that’s utterly pointless.

For example: with only a single Control key on the left, it is no longer possible to log into this laptop with a single hand, even if you’ve got hands like Andre the Giant.

Sigh.

Upgrade

Posted on by Brian Garthwaite
Milling machine loaded onto a pallet jack for moving.
Heavier than it looks.

There it goes, our old 1968 Bridgeport. Cast iron and steel, in need of a little refurbishment, and off to a new home across campus. The replacement’s on its way.

That we got the old one out the door is a small miracle by itself. Installing the new milling machine? There’s a budget to pay someone else to do that.

So that’s the original floor color!

All it’s missing is the chalk outline and little tents with numbers.

Iceland Spar

Posted on by Brian Garthwaite
Yeah, it’s calcite, but iceland spar just sounds better.

With the right crystal structure, as with calcite (a form of good, old calcium carbonate), you get some neat effects. With a refractive index that varies depending on the polarization of the light passing through, a chunk of iceland spar is birefringent and causes a visual doubling effect of the objects seen beyond. How cool is that?

Foot Candle Meter

Posted on by Brian Garthwaite
Foot candle meter, circa 1964
Yes, a footcandle is an actual unit of measurement.

Sometimes you stumble across little gems, squirreled away in the back closets, like these illuminance meters, acquired in March of 1964. Sadly, no cost etched into the side. Eventually, these were replaced with more modern versions, before being phased out of labs entirely.

We can guess how they were used – being next to a box of slide frames with a rainbow of color filters – and assume they’re not making a comeback. But check out all of that tiny, mid-century text crammed on there!

  • “Below normal for good visibility”
  • “Satisfactory for book print and general work”
  • “Suitable for ordinary reading such as newsprint”
  • “Prolonged eye effort, requiring excellent visibility”

Especially intrigued at the specific note about newsprint requiring twice the incident light of other reading, writing, and general tasks.

Optics Table

Posted on by Brian Garthwaite
Heavier than it looks.

When a table is wider than the doorway it’s meant to fit through, it’s time to get creative.

When that table top is for an optics setup, and weighs about 400 kg, creativity involves some sturdy equipment.

In place, ideally never moving again.

Step two: make certain it’s exactly where it wants to stay for the next decade or two.