DDWFTTW - Tests.

[CNY_Dave]

Great to see, ynot!


Dave

 

[ynot]

I’ve been very surprised (almost disappointed) that there hasn’t been any sceptical critsism of the circular wind tunnel. Not that I want to provide a bone to chew on but one of the concerns I had before testing was that the design of the vanes with a circular hole for the cart to pass through might have had some sort of venturi effect that would speed the cart up. The tests disproved this concern but just to confirm I’ve made a video using an impeller instead of the vanes. It’s very hard to get enough overall wind flow using the impeller but you should be able to see that the cart beats the wind even if only by a small amount. The immediate wind coming off the impeller would also be creating a faster wind in the top of the tunnel than the bottom. I may create vanes with just oblong surfaces at the very top and bottom. Would also make the flap and cart easier to see as they travel around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTV3DcxKins

Slow motion version of windtunnel3 (thanks to Jeff Reid)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOINjCtkL0Y

 

[sol invictus]

I’ve been very surprised (almost disappointed) that there hasn’t been any sceptical critsism of the circular wind tunnel.

The trouble is, the treadmill proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that these carts work (not to mention the trivial physics analysis that shows it's possible). That makes it kind of hard to be skeptical of this.

 

[ynot]

The trouble is, the treadmill proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that these carts work (not to mention the trivial physics analysis that shows it's possible). That makes it kind of hard to be skeptical of this.

Thing is many people (including myself) were sceptical of the road and treadmill tests. Others were also sceptical of the turntable tests. So far tere hasn't been one person (that I'm aware of) that has been sceptical of the circular wind tunnel tests. Have all the sceptics given up or do they all now accept DDFWTTW is possible? Perhaps they just need time to formulate new arguments against a new test.

 

[ThinAirDesigns]

Ynot, some will never get it and will just wander off when your experiments work them in the corner. Others will claim "fraud" and just hang around and make fools of themselves -- a couple of those just laughed at your videos when we posted them yesterday. Some folks will not be convinced by anything.

I do have to say the absolute most amusing comment came from the Make magazine forum where a critic says about your video:

Do it in the open air - [no wind tunnel, no treadmill] and you might have something to crow about.

-
ROFLAO! -- it matters not what you do ... someone always wants something different. Do it on the street and they want the tunnel, do it on the treadmill and they want the street. Do it in the tunnel and they want it on the moon.

JB

 

[sol invictus]

Thing is many people (including myself) were sceptical of the road and treadmill tests.

"Many"? I recall two besides you - humber and Christoff. Not very good company.

But my point was that there is very little room for skepticism here. The treadmill test proves that the cart can go DDWFTTW. You may not believe or understand that, but it is a fact that follows from the most fundamental laws of physics. And it's clear that nothing prevents it from working - there is no law of physics violated by it, one can come very close to it with iceboats tacking into their apparent headwind, one can constuct simple mechanical analogues that work just the same way, etc.

So the only issue initially was whether spork and JB's specific design works - but unless you're a conspiracy theorist unwilling to test anything for himself (which you're obviously not), that would be hard to believe given the evidence.

Others were also sceptical of the turntable tests. So far tere hasn't been one person (that I'm aware of) that has been sceptical of the circular wind tunnel tests. Have all the sceptics given up or do they all now accept DDFWTTW is possible? Perhaps they just need time to formulate new arguments against a new test.

I can essentially guarantee that humber will not accept the results. I very much doubt Christoff will say he does either, if only because if he realizes he was wrong all along he'll simply run away rather than admitting it.

 

[CNY_Dave]

"Many"? I recall two besides you - humber and Christoff. Not very good company.

But my point was that there is very little room for skepticism here. The treadmill test proves that the cart can go DDWFTTW. You may not believe or understand that, but it is a fact that follows from the most fundamental laws of physics. And it's clear that nothing prevents it from working - there is no law of physics violated by it, one can come very close to it with iceboats tacking into their apparent headwind, one can constuct simple mechanical analogues that work just the same way, etc.

So the only issue initially was whether spork and JB's specific design works - but unless you're a conspiracy theorist unwilling to test anything for himself (which you're obviously not), that would be hard to believe given the evidence.



I can essentially guarantee that humber will not accept the results. I very much doubt Christoff will say he does either, if only because if he realizes he was wrong all along he'll simply run away rather than admitting it.

The scientifically literate part of my brain has no problem with the treadmill, the reptilian part still wants to cry 'foul'. "It's just different", it insists, but I smack it and tell it to go back to snacking on that poor fisherman...

If someone is not able to trust conclusions based on what they've learned vs. what 'seems right' to some dark corner of their brain, they're never going to make any leaps over their innate prejudices.


Dave