Love this. I bought a 3" mostly-tungsten cube a few months ago.
Almost without fail, every time I walk by it I pick it up.
And without fail, every time is satisfying.
(The 3" cube weighs ~18 pounds.)
My Tungsten Cube (2019)
321–330 of 336 posts
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#322Earlier quoted context omitted.
The ones I saw from a quick search were nice looking but pretty pricey. Basic Gold rings were going for the same price as some of the fancier designs so I think that would be more of a design / aesthetic choice. Titanium / Tungsten / Silver are for people who want an inexpensive ring.
Funny because titanium is actually a very cheap material. I got a 1" cube of it for about $30. I assume almost all of the price is labor for working with it rather than the cost of the metal itself.
I mean the Tantalum rings, those are the ones going for about the same price (75-90+%) as gold rings.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#323Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not that I've heard of; it's possible that someone tried it and it doesn't work for some reason that isn't obvious to me, and then they didn't publish their negative result. I published the idea in 02019 in https://dercuano.github.io/notes/mechano-optical-vector-disp... , but I haven't actually tried it, and not many people read Dercuano, in part because most of it is ideas I thought up but haven't tried. Reading I'v…
I need another life ;) Seriously though, this is worth pursuing. But I've more or less decided to dedicate the rest of my life to music and to start this all up again would require a small fortune and a very large dedication in time. Still. Tempting.
Oh, I had no idea! I thought you were doing some VC-fund thing.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#324Earlier quoted context omitted.
I originally had a tungsten ring when I got married and managed to shatter both it and its replacement within a year. Terrible for rings, just go with silver if you want or need a cheap wedding ring.
Stainless steel works too
My problem with Stainless Steel is a nickle allergy. Skin gets raw, itchy and red if I wear a stainless steel ring for more than a few hours and it takes days to heal after contact ends.
I also have to test Sterling Silver as it is supposed to only be 92.5% Silver and 7.5% copper but sometimes it is adulterated with nickel and can cause me to have a breakout.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#325Earlier quoted context omitted.
The tops look like fun: https://midwesttungsten.com/tungsten-shapes-toys/spinning-to...
LOL at the Pinewood Derby tungsten blocks. Feels like cheating no?
No, there is a weight limit. There is no practical size advantage compared to using cheaper lead weights.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#326Earlier quoted context omitted.
LOL at the Pinewood Derby tungsten blocks. Feels like cheating no?
No, there is a weight limit. There is no practical size advantage compared to using cheaper lead weights.
I suspect it does allow for design and distribution flexibility. I bought some of that sort of weight (and some tungsten-infused putty) for trying to add additional weight to improve the pulling power of a model locomotive. The putty's malleability and small size made it more amenable to fitting in the cast body.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#327Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, there is a weight limit. There is no practical size advantage compared to using cheaper lead weights.
I suspect it does allow for design and distribution flexibility. I bought some of that sort of weight (and some tungsten-infused putty) for trying to add additional weight to improve the pulling power of a model locomotive. The putty's malleability and small size made it more amenable to fitting in the cast body.
Ideally with Pinewood Derby cars, you want to place the weight up as high as possible (in the rear) to convert potential energy into kenetic energy.
Tungsten weights are smaller, so the center of gravity can be slightly higher if you elevate the weights.
The product page says "Simply position the weights on your pinewood derby car and super glue them in place."
So if you're just glueing them to a standard model without elevating the tungsten weights somehow, they would actually be less effective than a less dense material, because the center of gravity would be lower.
If you did elevate the tungsten weights, whatever height that would match the top height with standard weights, the extra amount of energy would most likely be negligeable, and possibly lost due to variations in the track. Over a hundred races it would probably come out ahead slightly more ahead, but Pinewood Derby races are single elimination.
If one was sparing zero expense, using wind modeling software, etc for their Pinewood Derby, then yes, tungsten weights would be the way to go.
(I need to learn how to use wind modeling software now.)
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#328I used to work with tungsten carbide cubes during my PhD thesis. They're used in multianvil high-pressure synthesis. With the right setup you can reach almost 20 GPa of pressure. Not as much as with diamond anvil cells, but you have more reasonable sample sizes (a few milligrams). And thats still like the pressure pretty deep into Earth's mantle. I also used the opportunity to snap a neat picture of a polished WC cub…
> They have the mean tendency to explode into super sharp pieces when you're not expecting it, so wear goggles.
Will goggles really help? This sounds like it would rip your whole face..
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#329> I struggled a lot with deciding to buy a cube. It felt wrong to spend so much money on a featureless hunk of metal. When I bought my cube, I used it as an exercise to fight back against my frugality. But it wasn't meant to be: it was delivered to the wrong address and I received a full refund. Then my neighbor delivered it to me.
Why did you fight your frugality?
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#330Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They have the mean tendecy to explode into super sharp pieces when you're not expecting it, so wear goggles. Well, I guess I need to buy a new wedding ring at some point.
Your marriage yields the equivalent of 1000t pressure stress on your wedding ring?
Mine did