Equipment:

• Glycerine Machine [Cabinet D5]
• syringe [Cabinet D3]
• Glycerine
• dye

Demo:

The machine consists of two concentric transparent plastic cylinders with the space between them filled with clear glycerin. The instructor injects some glycerin with a high concentration of dye in the space between cylinders producing a line or sort of abstract figure. The inner cylinder is then slowly and steadily rotated (5-10 complete rotations). As the cylinder is rotated, the dye smears and appears to be diffused. Since the flow of the viscous glycerin is laminar, there is little actual diffusion. When the inner cylinder is rotated in the opposite direction (the same amount of turns), the dye will form the initial line or figure.

Explanation:

The glycerine machine illustrates laminar fluid flow and helps with a discussion about reverse entropy. David Bohm used the glycerin machine as an analogy for the “implicate order” related to quantum potential interpretation. It has also been used as an analogy for nuclear “spin echo” which is the basis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Note:

In order to minimize the actual diffusion, the dyed glycerin must be at the same temperature as the glycerin in the interspace. This is accomplished by having the vile of dyed glycerin in a closed cardboard box with the glycerin machine for several hours.