The temperature discrepancy in freezing is how you purify it. It might indicate an impurity, but it might be slow nucleation. Some organic compounds are really finicky in crystalizing, try adding some of the solidified phase to supercooled liquid phase to act as seed crystals. As for the "stringers", anethole is not electrochemically inert (at those voltages, nothing is). If you pass current through it, you're generating biproducts. Look of electropolymerization of styrene. Anethole has that same double-bond, and that paper saw styerene polymerization at 2 volts, not 2000.
@@LesLaboratory Wait, does that mean you did it by hand? Im so impressed with your videos. and THANK YOU the the ceramic pulse capacitor info. That helped us so much, and now we have a micro battery powered TEA laser
@@JoinTheTechnicians Did LesLab make a video about repotting ceramic capacitors in axial housings to improve voltage handling? Asking for a friend...the friend is me.
Anyone making CLICKBAIT like you should be banned, fined and arrested. I'm blocking this channel. I wonder about the mental state of people liking this video or following this disrespectful channel.
Thanks for this video, before I only knew the Kerr effect from Simple Mind concerts. BTW: we got very spoiled the last few days with videos about polarization effects, first 2 videos by 3B1B and now this one. Great work!
Agreed , its high time polarization gets rekt in the public pool of understanding , this is coming since I believe polarization was a very niche curiosity not covered much
Anyone making CLICKBAIT like you should be banned, fined and arrested. I'm blocking this channel. I wonder about the mental state of people liking this video or following this disrespectful channel.
An intro that summarises the video in under 7 seconds and straight to content. What an awesome place YT would be if all creators would do this. Got my subscription!
I would imagine your conductivity breakdown is caused by water contamination, simply redistilling your anethole over a suitable drying agent will do the trick, to get it essentially dry you will have to use something stronger than typical lab drying agents, if you can source P2O5 that will work, or Sodium metal, a OTC attempt that would also work would be ripping open a Lithium AA battery, they have quite a long sheet of high quality Lithium metal in them, just work quickly and rinse the rolled up foil in some fresh dry hexane then added to your anethole, you won't need much Lithium to form the hydroxide, store the remainder over hexane, paraffin oil, etc. It really doesn't take much contamination with a trace of moisture to totally ruin the dielectric nature of your oil, just like it doesn't take much metal ion contamination to ruin the non conducting nature of pure water, the slightest hint is all it takes...
You don’t have to use star anise. Regular anise, traditionally used in Europe, might be more practical. They aren’t related but they produce similar chemicals. Both have anethole. People nowadays seem to think that only star anise exists and other anise doesn’t. I saw a version of an ancient Roman recipe that was made with star anise even though probably Romans never used it.
Quite a large change in apparent magnitude too. I'm wondering if the stuff that appeared in the LED experiment is simiar to when they use lasers to grow crystals ?
Interesting choice of insulation. If im not mistaken both paraffin wax and petroleum jelly are flammable under certain conditions, eg when warm they soften and vapourise at low temperatures, and have a low flashover temperature. Wouldnt a better. Choice be epoxy resin or similar?
Until today, I only knew of the Kerr Cell in connection with John Logie Baird, who used it to modulate light in television receivers. I don't know if he used the appalling nitrobenzene, but I believe he used grid electrodes to reduce the control voltage needed (and renamed it the Baird Grid Cell!) I'm surprised he didn't try a mechanical shutter to modulate light! If you can make "Phonovision" recordings on a 78, you must be able to move a diaphragm at the highest frequency needed.
I don't think the effect is as strong as with nitrobenzene, and I lack the analytical equipment to test it. It could be for two reasons: The kerr effect is more or less a curiosity now, given there are pockels cells available that are far more practical. Secondly (related to the first), I have only found a single reference to the Kerr value of Anethole anywhere in the literature, so perhaps, as these cells fell into dis-use interest in research dwindled.
You have two effects going off there. One is a plasma effect of lensing when concentrated as you are doing between the electrodes from the very high voltage. The next effect is one of the additive you are using. It is crystalizing and then dielectrically orienting itself between the two electrodes. You can see if wiggling up and down like it is being vibrated and oriented between the electrodes (strings). This also has a lensing or focusing effect as well and shortens the path between the light source and the camera via the crystalized aniseed extract you are using, which is a sort of diffuser based on it's crystalline structure. The trick with the polarizers is an excellent way to use a light source and illuminate the targets between the plates without having to filter out the led source light for the camera. There have been many interesting experiments like this done just with seeds and high voltages. The seeds will jump up and down as they ferry charge back and forth between the electrodes. Much like the crystals are doing between your plates. This can be likened to lcd technology as well as the voltage controls the orientation of the crystals to make a shutter effect. That is what I get from this presentation. Nice presentation!
It's nothing to do with crystallising, it is a property of some liquids and solids, so the effect cannot be to do with any phase change. What is happening is that the high field strength distorts some of the bonds in the molecular structure causing it to rotate the plane of rotation of the light source.
Interesting LCD effect with the liquid (and you could say that modern LCDs are basically efficient low voltage Kerr cells all things considered), at the same time, Kerr effects slows down in liquid (and electrodes not as closely spaced, as capacitance can affect it also), while it's massively faster in solid state Kerr cells. Planning on using it to Q-switching a laser?
Remember a kerr cell filled with mononitrobenzene at a laser lab, the stuff is extremely nasty. I prefer pockles cells made with benign lithium niobate though.
For sure! It's a shame nobody is using Anethole as a substitute, but mentions of it in the literature are sparse. Pockels cells are superior in almost every respect, but I really like trying things out.
That's pretty cool... is the same effect (kerr) what's active in a LCD, just longer, so lower voltage, but because longer/less springy, it's slower? What's the kerr on sugar? Can I alter the twistyness with electricity or am I just gonna make an electrolysis mess?
An LCD relies on movement of the crystals in the liquid crystal, it's a mechanical process which is why LCDs are relatively slow. Sucrose, and possibly other sugars, exhibit the effect in solidus, but you'll need to grow some decent crystals to try it and somehow prevent them from hydrating.
And once upon a time it was used on model aeroplane engines instead of nitro methane… or was it an additive for model diesel engines…. Amylnitrate was also used
Nitrobenzene didn't half get it harsh there. It's a phenomenally useful compound, without out it medicine would be horrendously lacking. I posit that the Kerr effect is actually one of its least useful practical applications.
FYI, your channel name should be “Les’s Lab”, not “Les’ Lab”. You only drop the “s” after apostrophes when it’s a _plural noun_ not a name. Common error. I like the video.
Totally, this has been suggested, and I might attempt this. It would be a very interesting method of purification, unless its doing something weird like polymerizing the Anethole or something.
Wish I had sad "Kerr Cell" LOL ! that was super fascinating I have never come across this effect before, also a fast switching time ? that has to be explored !....cheers.
@LesLaboratory Most people can identify thousands of corporate logos, but fewer than ten plants. Do what you can to fix that, not contribute to it, please.
hi, grammar nancy here, should the title not be ‘contolling light with anise seed’? Two words? Instead of compounding it into a one word compound word?🤓🤔Thanks jusf curious!
For high-speed switching, a simple spark gap should be a good start to create a fast edge. For ultra-short pulses, maybe some sort of transmission-line setup ? As those impurities seem to be attracted by the HV, I wonder if you could use this property to filter the solution
A spark gap driving a shorted quarter wave stub, near the shorted end, with the open end across the cell would be a simple way to get damped oscillations at a frequency determined by the stub. (well into Ghz) The stub would also provide the needed voltage step up function. Also, since it is the electric field were are interested in, I don`t suppose the electrodes need to be in contact with the liquid, maybe they could be just foil on the outer walls thus avoiding potential contamination from the electrodes.
There is a diagram of a spark gap arrangement in one of the papers, but I have too much sensitive stuff on the bench at the moment. That is a great idea, like a precipitator of sorts...
Make yourself a spiral line pulse generator with an appropriately sized inductor on the output in parallel with the Kerr cell. It can make extremely quick HV pulses of about 4nS risetime.
There seems to be an easy way to purify using water and temperatures between 0 and 30degC: *Purification of Anethole by Crystallization: Summary* 1. *Initial Preparation:* An aqueous emulsion of anethole is first prepared. The concentration of anethole can vary. 2. *Cooling for Crystallization:* The emulsion is cooled to below the crystallization point, preferably around 0°C. Subzero temperatures can be used with antifreeze like methanol. 3. *Crystal Separation:* After crystallization, the anethole crystals are separated from the aqueous emulsion. 4. *Further Purification:* The crystals are reslurried with cold water and an emulsifier (potassium or sodium soap of tall oil fatty acid) or surfactant for further purification. This step can be repeated multiple times if needed. 5. *Water Removal:* To remove residual water, the crystals are melted and water is separated at temperatures between 25-50°C. 6. *Final Product:* The resulting anethole is highly purified, with reduced sulfur contaminants and excellent odor and taste. This process aims to increase the purity of anethole, which could potentially improve its performance in Kerr effect experiments. patents.google.com/patent/US4902850A/en
30+ years ago, I worked at the US Bureau of Mines at the Bruceton research center. They had an antique high speed camera in a bombproof's control room. This camera could take 22 photos at a shutter speed of 2Mfps. The film was stationary and held around the perimeter of a partial circle. The camera had a rotating mirrored block in the centriod of the arch, a hollow coil which, when energized with a huge current, collapsed a foil tube to stop exposure, and a Kerr cell as a high speed shutter. I had the job of troubleshooting and repairing the ancient home brew trigger and shutter driver circuitry. It was a laborious and finicky task getting everything to work correctly and produce usable images. I still run across images from that camera here and there. I don't know what they had used in the Kerr cell, but it could be modulated at 2MHz.
Sweet! Without a doubt it would be Nitrobenzene, for all its toxicity it gets the jobs done, and it will easily switch at megahertz speeds. That sure sounds like a very interesting setup!
The paraffin+petroleum jelly potting is a really cool idea. Most potting compounds are non-reversible, but you could easily melt out that wax without damaging anything if you needed to repair the circuit underneath. It's even better that you can buy the two ingredients ready to use at most grocery stores or any craft store.
I've always been a fan of wax vacuum-potting. A whole lot less messy than tar and, as you said OP, much less troublesome to repair than a sharp point breakout in epoxy. It's also generally better for the environment than most oils or tars, as well as less toxic to the user. It serves as an early-warning if a component is over-heating and, finally, wax being a solid (as opposed to a liquid oil) allows it to prevent outside detritus from interfering with normal function.
*Introduction and Background* - Introduces the concept of controlling light using electric fields, focusing on the Kerr effect. - Discusses the historical background of the Kerr effect, discovered by John Kerr in 1857. - Explains the traditional use of high-voltage Kerr cells and their applications in high-speed photography. - Highlights the toxicity and dangers of commonly used liquid nitrobenzene in traditional Kerr cells. *Alternative to Nitrobenzene* - Discusses the difficulty in sourcing and safely working with nitrobenzene. - Identifies Anethole, a non-toxic alternative with a high Kerr constant, as a promising substitute. - Describes the molecular structure and properties of Anethole, a component of aniseed. *Experimental Setup* - Details the construction of a Kerr cell for testing Anethole, including sourcing and assembly. - Explains the need for polarizers and a high-voltage supply for the experiment. - Notes issues with the plastic lid of the Kerr cell being affected by Anethole. *Experiment and Results* - Demonstrates the completed Kerr cell using a homemade high-voltage supply. - Observes the Kerr effect using an LED and a camera setup. - Notes the presence of impurities in the Anethole used, suggesting the need for purification. - Tests the Kerr effect using a laser, finding it to be very prominent. *Conclusion* - Concludes that Anethole is a safe and effective substitute for nitrobenzene. - Suggests future work could include purifying Anethole and testing the speed of the Kerr cell. *Positive Findings* 1. *Effective Substitute:* Anethole serves as a non-toxic and effective alternative to nitrobenzene for demonstrating the Kerr effect. 2. *Prominent Effect:* The Kerr effect was clearly observable, especially when using a laser. 3. *High Voltage Success:* The homemade high-voltage supply was capable of driving the Kerr cell effectively. 4. *Safety:* Anethole is non-toxic, making it a safer option for experiments. 5. *Affordable Setup:* The Kerr cell and other components were relatively inexpensive to source or build. *Negative Findings* 1. *Impurities:* Some impurities were observed in the Anethole, which could affect the performance. 2. *Material Compatibility:* The plastic lid of the Kerr cell was affected by Anethole, requiring a switch to a different material like Teflon. 3. *Complex Setup:* While affordable, the setup required various components and some technical know-how.
As I understand the Kerr effect is based on the field not the voltage or current directly. So I'm wondering why the electrodes are immersed in the liquid, why not place them on the outside walls of the curvet? That way there is no current flowing through the liquid, maybe that causes the ribbons etc.
Yes, you are right, no current should flow in these, and building them in the glass walls might be quite convenient! The stringers I 'think' are because of impurities, however as Mike pointed out, this effect could be used to clean the solution by precipitating that junk out.
@@LesLaboratory Hey genius, that’s ^*star anise, not fuqqing (^*anise seed, not aniseed) ffs. How can you post a video with such a major and obvious mistake?🙄🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️💩💩🤡👎
The optical effect is really cool, but I'm also interested in those stringers and if the could be used to help purify the liquid by precipitating out the contaminates.
Look up isoelectric focusing. The current creates a natural gradient using natural buffers. The molecules will precip at neutral Ph point. Don't need the ribbons. You can do this easily with blood and it's proteins
By the way, even though it is very toxic, nitrobenzene smells absolutely great! It has an almond oil like odour, just a bit sweeter and softer than the benzaldehyde found there - probably the best smell of any chemical I've smelled so far, really unfortunate that it's so toxic
@@LesLaboratory Well, the difference to benzaldehyde is very small, especially when dilute, so if you know that you have a very good idea of nitrobenzene. In my opinion, pure benzaldehyde has a slight stingy artificial note that nitrobenzene lacks, but it's only obvious in a direct comparison.
I have an utterly terrible joke for you: What d'you call it when the refractive index of a nonlinear optic is modulated by an electric field for the purposes of implementing high speed long-distance networking, only for people to mostly just use it to watch porn? The WAN-Kerr effect.
Very cool video! Are you interested in optimizing the performance of that device? To see what kind of transmission, modulation contrast and what speeds can be reached? Sidenote: Can't you use the exact same electrical setup for a pockels cells too? Specifically, with your KDP crystals?
I think Anethole is worth seriously exploring. There is very little about it in the literature. It would be interesting to characterize it. Pockels cells are way more efficient and require much lower voltages. I already have some hardware on the way to cut and mount the KDP.
If anethole is non-toxic *and* has an even higher kerr constant than the liquid death now being used, why hasn't anethole replaced nitrobenzene? Either of those mentioned properties seems like sufficient reason to switch, but both are combined!
Don't Electrecue Every One Coming Down From The First Ledge , Ok Alright How About Like Sound Engineering Amplified Since 1970s Feather Like But Lighter. And Rubbing Out The Etched In On The Hands Of Time in Time And Space .. Some Didn't Need to Read As Work Before Was What More Stones Like Coins Pelted On Progress.. Life ..
Yes, nitrobenzene is a strange beast, as a solvent for certain reactions it is unsurpassed, it also does some very weird things to plants, seeds specially treated with nitrobenzene show highly accelerated growth, of course that's not directly useful because the seedlings are TOXIC...actually, a similar effect can be seen in humans who use dinitrophenol, it has the effect of making cell membranes too leaky, ions leak out, so the cells use shitloads of ATP (energy) to pump the ions back in ! this has the effect of ultra rapid weight loss, a very dodgy way to drop tons of weight in record time. In fact, in the last century, workers at explosives factories (TNT, Picric acid etc.) were always quite thin, due to exposure to nitrobenzene...
bit of a dumb question maybe but: why is this not considered an LCD? also why does this even work if it's not an LCD and it uses 2 polarizers but the Kerr effect influences the refractive index instead of polarisation angle?
Could the solid be from polymerisation? Anethole is similar to styrene. Add an electron and that will react fast. The impurities may be initiating the reaction. However, is the double bond on the side chain necessary for the Kerr effect? Could you hydrogenate to dihydroanethole?
2:04 - “The toxicity of nitrobenzene cannot be understated”; that is not what you meant; it is _easy_ to understate its toxicity. For example: “Nitrobenzene is moderately toxic”; job done.
High voltage tends to emit better from pointed sources so it's my guess those "stringers" observed could be caused by surface imperfections on the electrodes. Highly polishing those electrode surfaces might reduce the stringers substantially.
It's amazing that the 19th century was rife with pioneers playing with tremendous hazards and voltages and somehow less loss of life than any given week in India
Lovely video. I do have to point out one thing though… the thumbnail shows Star Anise, not Aniseed. The former is a resinous tree seedpod, the latter is the seed of a small flowering plant. Common mistake.
The temperature discrepancy in freezing is how you purify it. It might indicate an impurity, but it might be slow nucleation. Some organic compounds are really finicky in crystalizing, try adding some of the solidified phase to supercooled liquid phase to act as seed crystals.
As for the "stringers", anethole is not electrochemically inert (at those voltages, nothing is). If you pass current through it, you're generating biproducts. Look of electropolymerization of styrene. Anethole has that same double-bond, and that paper saw styerene polymerization at 2 volts, not 2000.
Every time it just keeps getting better and better. Now you even have a rotary table camera setup to add that "total pro video" look, and we love it!
Thanks! I have been thinking about getting one for a while 🙂
@@LesLaboratory Wait, does that mean you did it by hand? Im so impressed with your videos. and THANK YOU the the ceramic pulse capacitor info. That helped us so much, and now we have a micro battery powered TEA laser
@@JoinTheTechnicians Did LesLab make a video about repotting ceramic capacitors in axial housings to improve voltage handling? Asking for a friend...the friend is me.
Any day that I find a new Les' Lab or Huygens Optics video is a good one. Great topic, explanation, and demonstration!
indeed
I hope that "Les" is not the French article. Can this channel be even more sxtxuxpxixd?
Anyone making CLICKBAIT like you should be banned, fined and arrested. I'm blocking this channel. I wonder about the mental state of people liking this video or following this disrespectful channel.
Thanks for this video, before I only knew the Kerr effect from Simple Mind concerts. BTW: we got very spoiled the last few days with videos about polarization effects, first 2 videos by 3B1B and now this one. Great work!
Agreed , its high time polarization gets rekt in the public pool of understanding , this is coming since I believe polarization was a very niche curiosity not covered much
Thanks! I have just watched 3B1B's video, that is spectacular! I never imagined you would see anything from the side of a sugar cell!
Simple Minds, Jim Kerr -- I see what you did there! 😆
Please, you all drop the crackpipe.
Anyone making CLICKBAIT like you should be banned, fined and arrested. I'm blocking this channel. I wonder about the mental state of people liking this video or following this disrespectful channel.
"A distressingly powerful organic solvent". Can confirm, and how beautifully put!
An intro that summarises the video in under 7 seconds and straight to content. What an awesome place YT would be if all creators would do this. Got my subscription!
Thanks!
You're not wrong, now you mention it.
Amazing video Les! Reminds me of Applied Science's video about the same effect. TH-cam has become a big source of inspiration I must say
Thanks! Yeah I saw that, it was the Faraday effect in olive oil, very cool stuff!
I would imagine your conductivity breakdown is caused by water contamination, simply redistilling your anethole over a suitable drying agent will do the trick, to get it essentially dry you will have to use something stronger than typical lab drying agents, if you can source P2O5 that will work, or Sodium metal, a OTC attempt that would also work would be ripping open a Lithium AA battery, they have quite a long sheet of high quality Lithium metal in them, just work quickly and rinse the rolled up foil in some fresh dry hexane then added to your anethole, you won't need much Lithium to form the hydroxide, store the remainder over hexane, paraffin oil, etc. It really doesn't take much contamination with a trace of moisture to totally ruin the dielectric nature of your oil, just like it doesn't take much metal ion contamination to ruin the non conducting nature of pure water, the slightest hint is all it takes...
Very very cool! Optical rotation of light is always interesting. Switchable effects even more so.
Absolutely, wrangling light is very cool.
@@LesLaboratory Was there a voltage that caused the light to start dimming again by rotating it too much?
Such a weird use for Star Anise / Aniseed, and I love Ouzo, so makes me want some haha 😛
Cool stuff.
Fantastic video as usual. Would love more on this, especially if it delves more into the physics of the Kerr effect.
Thanks! I think there is more that can be done here with Anethole (and perhaps others)
Really neat effect, especially since it was done with a fairly pleasant-to-handle chemical! Great stuff as always!
Thanks! It smells really nice (If you like aniseed!)!
Do the electrodes really need to be embedded in the liquid, or would the voltage potential still have an effect even without closing the circuit?
We use that flower in Turkish Rakı (Alcoholic drink), which also turns white when you add water in it
Nice!
was worth my time to watch great info
Thanks!
You don’t have to use star anise. Regular anise, traditionally used in Europe, might be more practical. They aren’t related but they produce similar chemicals. Both have anethole.
People nowadays seem to think that only star anise exists and other anise doesn’t. I saw a version of an ancient Roman recipe that was made with star anise even though probably Romans never used it.
Lovely demo
4:42 The Ouzo effect - no doubt named after its discoverer, Joe Ouzo
Quite a large change in apparent magnitude too. I'm wondering if the stuff that appeared in the LED experiment is simiar to when they use lasers to grow crystals ?
I'm not sure what I just watched, but it was pretty cool!😀
Interesting choice of insulation. If im not mistaken both paraffin wax and petroleum jelly are flammable under certain conditions, eg when warm they soften and vapourise at low temperatures, and have a low flashover temperature.
Wouldnt a better. Choice be epoxy resin or similar?
Until today, I only knew of the Kerr Cell in connection with John Logie Baird, who used it to modulate light in television receivers. I don't know if he used the appalling nitrobenzene, but I believe he used grid electrodes to reduce the control voltage needed (and renamed it the Baird Grid Cell!) I'm surprised he didn't try a mechanical shutter to modulate light! If you can make "Phonovision" recordings on a 78, you must be able to move a diaphragm at the highest frequency needed.
Interesting, but it doesn't seem to offer much apparent advantage over some type of liquid crystal light shutter.
If the effect is stronger and it's much less toxic, I'm very curious why it's not the more commonly used one. Is it worse in some other way?
I don't think the effect is as strong as with nitrobenzene, and I lack the analytical equipment to test it. It could be for two reasons: The kerr effect is more or less a curiosity now, given there are pockels cells available that are far more practical. Secondly (related to the first), I have only found a single reference to the Kerr value of Anethole anywhere in the literature, so perhaps, as these cells fell into dis-use interest in research dwindled.
I would love to see you build a high speed driver, there is a lot that goes into the design of something like that and lots to learn!
Very cool indeed !
Thanks!
You have two effects going off there.
One is a plasma effect of lensing when concentrated as you are doing between the electrodes from the very high voltage.
The next effect is one of the additive you are using. It is crystalizing and then dielectrically orienting itself between the two electrodes. You can see if wiggling up and down like it is being vibrated and oriented between the electrodes (strings). This also has a lensing or focusing effect as well and shortens the path between the light source and the camera via the crystalized aniseed extract you are using, which is a sort of diffuser based on it's crystalline structure.
The trick with the polarizers is an excellent way to use a light source and illuminate the targets between the plates without having to filter out the led source light for the camera.
There have been many interesting experiments like this done just with seeds and high voltages. The seeds will jump up and down as they ferry charge back and forth between the electrodes. Much like the crystals are doing between your plates. This can be likened to lcd technology as well as the voltage controls the orientation of the crystals to make a shutter effect.
That is what I get from this presentation.
Nice presentation!
It's nothing to do with crystallising, it is a property of some liquids and solids, so the effect cannot be to do with any phase change. What is happening is that the high field strength distorts some of the bonds in the molecular structure causing it to rotate the plane of rotation of the light source.
Interesting LCD effect with the liquid (and you could say that modern LCDs are basically efficient low voltage Kerr cells all things considered), at the same time, Kerr effects slows down in liquid (and electrodes not as closely spaced, as capacitance can affect it also), while it's massively faster in solid state Kerr cells. Planning on using it to Q-switching a laser?
Love the HighVoltage power supply. Any links to the equipment. I have an old ZVS Ive made years ago by hand but wouldn't mind having a W.k multiplier.
Fascinating
Nice share….what is the field intensity in that cell?
Thanks! The applied voltage is 26kV and the gap is 4mm, so 6500v/mm or 6.5MV/M
Wonderfull research!
I wonder if the used anethol can be purified by filtering since the "stringers" appear as a solid once cell has been run?
Possibly. Mikes Electric stuff suggested this as well. It might be possible to just create a setup to electrically precipitate out the garbage.
A wonderful video! Thank you
You are very welcome!
Nitrobenzene sounds like some death-metal track name.
Remember a kerr cell filled with mononitrobenzene at a laser lab, the stuff is extremely nasty. I prefer pockles cells made with benign lithium niobate though.
For sure! It's a shame nobody is using Anethole as a substitute, but mentions of it in the literature are sparse. Pockels cells are superior in almost every respect, but I really like trying things out.
Spice can control space, time and light
the epitome of "do not try this at home" [N-benzine]
Seriously, is there anything better than fun scientific uses of secondary metabolites
I lve this kind of stuff!
Why does he keep saying "Aniseed"
while showing _Star Anise?_
That's pretty cool... is the same effect (kerr) what's active in a LCD, just longer, so lower voltage, but because longer/less springy, it's slower? What's the kerr on sugar? Can I alter the twistyness with electricity or am I just gonna make an electrolysis mess?
An LCD relies on movement of the crystals in the liquid crystal, it's a mechanical process which is why LCDs are relatively slow. Sucrose, and possibly other sugars, exhibit the effect in solidus, but you'll need to grow some decent crystals to try it and somehow prevent them from hydrating.
We are now one step closer to creating Green Lantern Rings
Is this effect related to LCD screens?
Yes, it is related, but Liquid crystals react far slower than the traditional Kerr effect.
Thanks!
You are welcome, and thank you for your support!
My hate for star anise is further justified. I refuse to believe it isn't toxic.
And once upon a time it was used on model aeroplane engines instead of nitro methane… or was it an additive for model diesel engines…. Amylnitrate was also used
I read that as well. It can be an interesting fuel.
They're called Anise Seed - not Aniseed - how do you not know that❓
star anise ≠ aniseed they both include anethole, aniseed looks similar to fennel seed or caraway. It is not large.
Nitrobenzene didn't half get it harsh there. It's a phenomenally useful compound, without out it medicine would be horrendously lacking. I posit that the Kerr effect is actually one of its least useful practical applications.
FYI, your channel name should be “Les’s Lab”, not “Les’ Lab”. You only drop the “s” after apostrophes when it’s a _plural noun_ not a name. Common error. I like the video.
U da man 👍
You could purify the liquid using a high voltage gap as a filter. That would remove precisely the stuff causing the problem.
Totally, this has been suggested, and I might attempt this. It would be a very interesting method of purification, unless its doing something weird like polymerizing the Anethole or something.
Let’s be honest here, nitrobenzene is a sexy molecule, despite toxicity.
Oh for sure, it's a precursor for so many things, still I don't need the headache. Besides, Anethole smells so much nicer!
Isn't it easier to just physically hit the switch to turn the light off?😂
Why does mercury create an electrical charge when placed in rotation?
Because it interacts with the earth's magnetic field, so you are making a dynamo...
@jezmy2006 is it possible to increase the charge and harness the power?
Thanks for the reply btw
Wish I had sad "Kerr Cell" LOL ! that was super fascinating I have never come across this effect before, also a fast switching time ? that has to be explored !....cheers.
To be fair, the clue was minimal! Yep, for sure!
Herbalism is amazing
You related to Einstein by any chance, ?
Star anise is not anise. There is no anise seed in star anise.
Star anise, and aniseed are not even related, but they do contain the same chemical: Anethole.
@LesLaboratory Most people can identify thousands of corporate logos, but fewer than ten plants. Do what you can to fix that, not contribute to it, please.
Other than all that... nitro benzene is ok then.... Sheesh... what a toxic substance.
hi, grammar nancy here, should the title not be ‘contolling light with anise seed’? Two words? Instead of compounding it into a one word compound word?🤓🤔Thanks jusf curious!
It should be "Controlling Light with Star Anise".
You can just say Ukraine. Not the Ukraine which implies Russian ownership.
Thanks, I did not know this until someone mentioned it.
It's star anise.
Yup, star anise, aniseed, and several other species contain the chemical Anethole as a large component of their odor and flavor.
I had liked this video but removed my like as I discovered how paranoid and chemphobic it is.
LOL it's only a little chemophobic, Anethole and Nitrobenzene are close relatives!
This is star anise, not (^*anise seed, never aniseed) ffs.🙄💩🤡🤦♂️🤷♂️
Yes, star anise, aniseed, and several other species contain the chemical Anethole as a large component of their odor and flavor.
For high-speed switching, a simple spark gap should be a good start to create a fast edge. For ultra-short pulses, maybe some sort of transmission-line setup ?
As those impurities seem to be attracted by the HV, I wonder if you could use this property to filter the solution
A spark gap driving a shorted quarter wave stub, near the shorted end, with the open end across the cell would be a simple way to get damped oscillations at a frequency determined by the stub. (well into Ghz) The stub would also provide the needed voltage step up function. Also, since it is the electric field were are interested in, I don`t suppose the electrodes need to be in contact with the liquid, maybe they could be just foil on the outer walls thus avoiding potential contamination from the electrodes.
There is a diagram of a spark gap arrangement in one of the papers, but I have too much sensitive stuff on the bench at the moment. That is a great idea, like a precipitator of sorts...
Also very interesting. I had not considered capacitively coupling in the field!
Make yourself a spiral line pulse generator with an appropriately sized inductor on the output in parallel with the Kerr cell. It can make extremely quick HV pulses of about 4nS risetime.
There seems to be an easy way to purify using water and temperatures between 0 and 30degC:
*Purification of Anethole by Crystallization: Summary*
1. *Initial Preparation:* An aqueous emulsion of anethole is first prepared. The concentration of anethole can vary.
2. *Cooling for Crystallization:* The emulsion is cooled to below the crystallization point, preferably around 0°C. Subzero temperatures can be used with antifreeze like methanol.
3. *Crystal Separation:* After crystallization, the anethole crystals are separated from the aqueous emulsion.
4. *Further Purification:* The crystals are reslurried with cold water and an emulsifier (potassium or sodium soap of tall oil fatty acid) or surfactant for further purification. This step can be repeated multiple times if needed.
5. *Water Removal:* To remove residual water, the crystals are melted and water is separated at temperatures between 25-50°C.
6. *Final Product:* The resulting anethole is highly purified, with reduced sulfur contaminants and excellent odor and taste.
This process aims to increase the purity of anethole, which could potentially improve its performance in Kerr effect experiments.
patents.google.com/patent/US4902850A/en
30+ years ago, I worked at the US Bureau of Mines at the Bruceton research center. They had an antique high speed camera in a bombproof's control room. This camera could take 22 photos at a shutter speed of 2Mfps. The film was stationary and held around the perimeter of a partial circle. The camera had a rotating mirrored block in the centriod of the arch, a hollow coil which, when energized with a huge current, collapsed a foil tube to stop exposure, and a Kerr cell as a high speed shutter. I had the job of troubleshooting and repairing the ancient home brew trigger and shutter driver circuitry. It was a laborious and finicky task getting everything to work correctly and produce usable images. I still run across images from that camera here and there. I don't know what they had used in the Kerr cell, but it could be modulated at 2MHz.
Sweet! Without a doubt it would be Nitrobenzene, for all its toxicity it gets the jobs done, and it will easily switch at megahertz speeds. That sure sounds like a very interesting setup!
The paraffin+petroleum jelly potting is a really cool idea. Most potting compounds are non-reversible, but you could easily melt out that wax without damaging anything if you needed to repair the circuit underneath. It's even better that you can buy the two ingredients ready to use at most grocery stores or any craft store.
Exactly. The original plan was to use mineral oil, but it would require a sealed container else the HV causes it to spray everywhere!
I've always been a fan of wax vacuum-potting. A whole lot less messy than tar and, as you said OP, much less troublesome to repair than a sharp point breakout in epoxy. It's also generally better for the environment than most oils or tars, as well as less toxic to the user. It serves as an early-warning if a component is over-heating and, finally, wax being a solid (as opposed to a liquid oil) allows it to prevent outside detritus from interfering with normal function.
*Introduction and Background*
- Introduces the concept of controlling light using electric fields, focusing on the Kerr effect.
- Discusses the historical background of the Kerr effect, discovered by John Kerr in 1857.
- Explains the traditional use of high-voltage Kerr cells and their applications in high-speed photography.
- Highlights the toxicity and dangers of commonly used liquid nitrobenzene in traditional Kerr cells.
*Alternative to Nitrobenzene*
- Discusses the difficulty in sourcing and safely working with nitrobenzene.
- Identifies Anethole, a non-toxic alternative with a high Kerr constant, as a promising substitute.
- Describes the molecular structure and properties of Anethole, a component of aniseed.
*Experimental Setup*
- Details the construction of a Kerr cell for testing Anethole, including sourcing and assembly.
- Explains the need for polarizers and a high-voltage supply for the experiment.
- Notes issues with the plastic lid of the Kerr cell being affected by Anethole.
*Experiment and Results*
- Demonstrates the completed Kerr cell using a homemade high-voltage supply.
- Observes the Kerr effect using an LED and a camera setup.
- Notes the presence of impurities in the Anethole used, suggesting the need for purification.
- Tests the Kerr effect using a laser, finding it to be very prominent.
*Conclusion*
- Concludes that Anethole is a safe and effective substitute for nitrobenzene.
- Suggests future work could include purifying Anethole and testing the speed of the Kerr cell.
*Positive Findings*
1. *Effective Substitute:* Anethole serves as a non-toxic and effective alternative to nitrobenzene for demonstrating the Kerr effect.
2. *Prominent Effect:* The Kerr effect was clearly observable, especially when using a laser.
3. *High Voltage Success:* The homemade high-voltage supply was capable of driving the Kerr cell effectively.
4. *Safety:* Anethole is non-toxic, making it a safer option for experiments.
5. *Affordable Setup:* The Kerr cell and other components were relatively inexpensive to source or build.
*Negative Findings*
1. *Impurities:* Some impurities were observed in the Anethole, which could affect the performance.
2. *Material Compatibility:* The plastic lid of the Kerr cell was affected by Anethole, requiring a switch to a different material like Teflon.
3. *Complex Setup:* While affordable, the setup required various components and some technical know-how.
how does one follow you on youtube or facebook 🤣 coz you just got a new fan
@@zhinkunakur4751 Thanks, Sub on TH-cam , I have a community Tab. I also have twitter: @LesLaboratory
@wolpumba4099 That is an excellent summary of the video. Do you do this for other videos? Do you publish them anywhere that is easily searchable?
As I understand the Kerr effect is based on the field not the voltage or current directly. So I'm wondering why the electrodes are immersed in the liquid, why not place them on the outside walls of the curvet? That way there is no current flowing through the liquid, maybe that causes the ribbons etc.
Yes, you are right, no current should flow in these, and building them in the glass walls might be quite convenient! The stringers I 'think' are because of impurities, however as Mike pointed out, this effect could be used to clean the solution by precipitating that junk out.
@@LesLaboratory Hey genius, that’s ^*star anise, not fuqqing (^*anise seed, not aniseed) ffs. How can you post a video with such a major and obvious mistake?🙄🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️💩💩🤡👎
The optical effect is really cool, but I'm also interested in those stringers and if the could be used to help purify the liquid by precipitating out the contaminates.
For sure, there have been several comments to that effect. I reckon it's worth a shot.
Look up isoelectric focusing. The current creates a natural gradient using natural buffers. The molecules will precip at neutral Ph point. Don't need the ribbons. You can do this easily with blood and it's proteins
By the way, even though it is very toxic, nitrobenzene smells absolutely great! It has an almond oil like odour, just a bit sweeter and softer than the benzaldehyde found there - probably the best smell of any chemical I've smelled so far, really unfortunate that it's so toxic
Cool! I heard someone also say it smelled like boot polish. I will pass though! My workshop now smells of aniseed.
@@LesLaboratory Well, the difference to benzaldehyde is very small, especially when dilute, so if you know that you have a very good idea of nitrobenzene. In my opinion, pure benzaldehyde has a slight stingy artificial note that nitrobenzene lacks, but it's only obvious in a direct comparison.
You make me curious. 😅
Instructions unclear. Accidentally created a lightsaber.
The Kerr effect was originally published by John's brother Joe ... but nobody took him seriously :D
Typical of normies
This is some serious homebrew science. I love stuff like this. Thanks for posting the video.
Thanks! :-)
Pro tip: You can also switch the LED on and off directly.
😏
Continuing to redefine the bar of whats possible in a small personal lab. Seriously
Thanks!
Just a side-note. The country is called "Ukraine", not "The Ukraine".
The meaning behind Ukraine is "The Edge", or something to that meaning. So, The Ukraine is accurate.
The electrodes are immersed in the anethol liquid? at that high voltage you don't see ionization and discharge?
Yes, they are immersed. Anethole has relatively high dielectric strength, however if you push it too hard, breakdown can occur.
I have an utterly terrible joke for you:
What d'you call it when the refractive index of a nonlinear optic is modulated by an electric field for the purposes of implementing high speed long-distance networking, only for people to mostly just use it to watch porn?
The WAN-Kerr effect.
*Ukraine
Not "the" it's just... Ukraine.
Apologies!
Very cool video!
Are you interested in optimizing the performance of that device? To see what kind of transmission, modulation contrast and what speeds can be reached?
Sidenote: Can't you use the exact same electrical setup for a pockels cells too? Specifically, with your KDP crystals?
I think Anethole is worth seriously exploring. There is very little about it in the literature. It would be interesting to characterize it.
Pockels cells are way more efficient and require much lower voltages. I already have some hardware on the way to cut and mount the KDP.
If anethole is non-toxic *and* has an even higher kerr constant than the liquid death now being used, why hasn't anethole replaced nitrobenzene? Either of those mentioned properties seems like sufficient reason to switch, but both are combined!
Hello, this is your channel, absolutely fantastic) I watched all the videos FIRE
Thanks! 🙂
You filter out the solids that form? Easy way to purify?
Don't Electrecue Every One Coming Down From The First Ledge , Ok Alright
How About Like Sound Engineering Amplified Since 1970s
Feather Like But Lighter.
And Rubbing Out The Etched In On The Hands Of Time in Time And Space ..
Some Didn't Need to Read As Work Before Was What More Stones Like Coins Pelted On Progress..
Life ..
Yes, nitrobenzene is a strange beast, as a solvent for certain reactions it is unsurpassed, it also does some very weird things to plants, seeds specially treated with nitrobenzene show highly accelerated growth, of course that's not directly useful because the seedlings are TOXIC...actually, a similar effect can be seen in humans who use dinitrophenol, it has the effect of making cell membranes too leaky, ions leak out, so the cells use shitloads of ATP (energy) to pump the ions back in ! this has the effect of ultra rapid weight loss, a very dodgy way to drop tons of weight in record time. In fact, in the last century, workers at explosives factories (TNT, Picric acid etc.) were always quite thin, due to exposure to nitrobenzene...
Interesting! Thank you. I thought the Kerr Effect changed the refractive index rather than the polarization.
bit of a dumb question maybe but: why is this not considered an LCD? also why does this even work if it's not an LCD and it uses 2 polarizers but the Kerr effect influences the refractive index instead of polarisation angle?
Actually turning light on and off! That's really good! (ssssh! nobody tell him, he'll be heartbroken.) Good work, now we can get some sleep, oh yes.
Could the solid be from polymerisation? Anethole is similar to styrene. Add an electron and that will react fast. The impurities may be initiating the reaction. However, is the double bond on the side chain necessary for the Kerr effect? Could you hydrogenate to dihydroanethole?
2:04 - “The toxicity of nitrobenzene cannot be understated”; that is not what you meant; it is _easy_ to understate its toxicity. For example: “Nitrobenzene is moderately toxic”; job done.
High voltage tends to emit better from pointed sources so it's my guess those "stringers" observed could be caused by surface imperfections on the electrodes. Highly polishing those electrode surfaces might reduce the stringers substantially.
It's amazing that the 19th century was rife with pioneers playing with tremendous hazards and voltages and somehow less loss of life than any given week in India
6.10 this affect can be achieved by taking the lens out of real polarised sun glasses and holding them up against each other while tuning them.
Imagine what human kind could do with the ability to “turn light on and off” with just the flip of a high voltage switch!
Have you covered the Blue laser of Hawaii at all ?
Lovely video. I do have to point out one thing though… the thumbnail shows Star Anise, not Aniseed. The former is a resinous tree seedpod, the latter is the seed of a small flowering plant. Common mistake.
Thanks! Artistic licence 😉 star anise, aniseed and others all contain anethole.
Why is your homemade powersupply with 45KV measured in amperes?
What conclusions can we draw from this experiment? Why does it work