the incredible shrinking *
May 5, 2005 2:12 PM   Subscribe

Shrunken heads! (Heads on coins that is).
posted by of strange foe (9 comments total)
 
Given that Telsa's name cames up on Metafilter occasionally, I'm surprised not to find any previous related posts. I was told that this was a Wired story, but couldn't find anything on their website either. Hope the search goddess is not playing tricks on me today.
posted by of strange foe at 2:16 PM on May 5, 2005


Wow, this is bizarre.
Their electric bill must be phenomenal.
posted by Specklet at 3:20 PM on May 5, 2005


The Lichtenberg Figures are really attractive.

And I just happen to live in a place with a mantel.

Course I just lost my job, but that's neither here nor there ...
posted by Relay at 3:31 PM on May 5, 2005


Wow. Cool site, thanks, osf.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:45 PM on May 5, 2005


I'm not sure i understand the obsession--Do they do this because they look better after shrinking?
Which they do.
The presidents look superhuman.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 5:27 PM on May 5, 2005


You'll notice that that they also have another page offering these coins for sale, and doing "custom shrinking" so it's probably a mixture of hobbyist interest [I was additionally surprised to read them talking about "fellow shrinkers" like thi sis someething a lot of people do, not just these guys] and profit motive. Fascinating link, thanks.
posted by jessamyn at 9:00 PM on May 5, 2005


Rob Stephens, a friend and fellow coin shrinker in Ontario, Canada was able to separate the coin into two independent pieces. However, his blast shield failed during the shot, and he sustained considerable damage to his lab from shrapnel from the exploding work coil.

Blast shield? Insane.
posted by bdave at 9:30 PM on May 5, 2005


When researching this post on some other hi-voltage enthusiasts, I thought about linking to the coin shrinking but decided it was worth a post of its own.

Very nice and dense site these guys have.

Here's my question: how fast does this happen? Is it fast enough to trigger implosion fission? It looks much more controllable than HE implosion.

Another fun fact: all other things being equal, the strength of a magnetic field is proportional to the mass of the copper in the solenoid. We leave the proof as an exercise for the reader.
posted by warbaby at 9:39 PM on May 5, 2005


dense! har
posted by gorgor_balabala at 11:19 PM on May 5, 2005


« Older Ministry of Cults rescues false turtle god   |   on ebay? Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments