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I went to a talk by a very old physicist. At the end of his talk, he said, recalling from memory, all of the great experiments of the past were done by nothing.
by dilawar 2y ago
I went to a talk by a very old physicist. At the end of his talk, he said, recalling from memory, all of the great experiments of the past were done by nothing. If an experiment costs more than $100, I am out.
His setup has mud in a jar and bacteria in it which you can see with a simple microscope or handheld lens.
- AlotOfReading 2y agoThat's a bit harsh. To give one counterexample, the Michelson-morley experiment put the figurative nail in the coffin of centuries of speculation about the "luminiferous aether". The experimental apparatus was a table-sized precision carved slab of sandstone floating in a huge vat of mercury, holding the highest precision optical equipment of the day. I suspect it cost rather more than $100 even in the 1880s.
- veltas 2y agoAlthough it was a refinement of the Fizeau experiment which conceivably could have cost $100 in living memory.