[Tfug] Re: Foiled Again; Spare Ribs

[Charles Kiss]

I don't think it really matters if it's even a parabola, I just thought it 
looked cool, I'm sure a lot of stuff (particles? waves? :) cancels out, I 
bet a flat sheet would have worked just as well; I did no experimentation, I 
just liked the material.

What you could try is calculating out a parabola for a total arc length of 
4ft or so, and cut out a couple of ribs from plywood (I did this to make 
some powerful lights) and put you're wire (reciever) at the focal point 
(instead of light bulbs/transmitters). I didn't really go that far, I don't 
even know what the frequency of these signals are; I guess you can get 
pretty elaborate, I'm not a quantum physicist.

What might be cool is doing a parabola, like a sheet, I think the proper 
term is parabolic cylinder (well, that's how I made these lights, it wasn't 
a paraboloid, I still have like eight or so ribs at home), and then run a 
heavy wire, or a pipe, or a light spring, down the entire length of the 
focal line.

One important economy I remembered about the lights (not the bowed piece of 
styrofoam) is the parabola's trajectory got very linear after a couple feet 
on either side of the origin; so with 4ft ribs, I was able to fasten TWO 
four by eight sheets across (and have two feet of material extend beyond the 
ribs on either side) instead of ONE 4 by 8 sheet down the center.. thereby 
leaving me with extra ribs, amounting to a multiple Adam situation.

I think having a moderately diffuse surface (rough) might also help; unless 
you can manage to make everything perfect...

I never really thought of using these spare ribs towards the construction of 
a reciever (mmm-mmm good);  I was just going to make more lights...






>>HI you guys!
>>
>>Just thought I'd let you know that I bought a 4 by 8 sheet of foil
>>backed  foam insulation from Home Despot; bowed it into a parabolic
>>shape with some  string,
>>connected a wire to it with some tape, and aimed it downtown from my
>>job at  Sabino Canyon... seemed to work pretty good :)
>
>Care to share some pix and more details?
>--

>>>  Did you just bend it into any old parabola or did you actually 
>>>calculate
>>>it out so as to focus the beam to downtown?


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