Monday, December 01, 2008

Paper Boat Challenge December

Here is the new Paper Boat Challenge (something easy this time;-):

What is shown on the picture below?
I confess, a certain technical understanding might help.

7 comments:

Christian said...

Here is already a hint:
a = cylinder
b = bell jar
c = wire
d = piece of zinc
e = arm to open valve
f = nozzle
g = platinum sponge

Anonymous said...

My first guess was some form of pressurized container like for example a soda syphon... And honestly I had no clue until I read the description of g. This is a platinum lighter (don't know if it's called like this in English - in German it's Platinfeuerzeug).

Dana said...

Is it on purpose that you exclude women from this challenge? :-))) Not sure where I was when they were teaching technical stuff at school, but surely not much remains.
I am tempted to say that it's some sort of old battery cell.
Feel free to mock my technical understanding :-)

Christian said...

Sorry, Dana, I don't understand your question?;-) Well, I think "battery cell" wasn't that a bad trial but Michael was faster. And right, too. May I ask how you found out? On Wikipedia the title of the English article is "Döbereiner's lamp" (after the guy who invented it) but the term "platinum lighter" also exists.

Dana said...

Michael is always faster :-) It starts to look a bit fishy... Can't the rest of us mortals have the challenges, say, one week in advance? then you can tell Michael too, and it would be fair for all :-)

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm just too much of a TV junkie... :-) I just remembered this from a TV documentary some time (years!?) ago. But Dana, I promise not to try so hard next time, ok? ;-)

Christian said...

@Dana: There are some challenges still unsolved and on those Michael already gave up. Maybe that's an idea to gain some points;-)

@Michael: No doubt you are a TV junkie!