this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2025
472 points (98.8% liked)

Science Memes

16854 readers
728 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.

Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.

Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Sal@mander.xyz
fossilesque@mander.xyz
SciBot@mander.xyz
fossilesque@lemmy.dbzer0.com
472
Wobble wobble (infosec.pub)
submitted 5 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
41 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Eheran@lemmy.world 37 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The centrifuge would not run like that, it noticed the vibrations and turns off. They had that "feature" for decades now.

[–] clif@lemmy.world 16 points 5 days ago (5 children)

That's awesome... And also funny that it had to be added. Thanks for the info!

I still want to know what happens on an old one without vibration detection or if it was "broken". I assume something like an unbalanced washing machine but on a smaller scale? It just going out for a stroll :)

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 20 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Science is a whole lot of adjusting after someone died. Like, it’s mostly been that.

e: want nightmares? Here’s the Karen Wetterhahn Memorial Award. All the precautions and yet… not enough.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 9 points 5 days ago (2 children)

So is OSHA!

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 7 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Lemmy needs /c/writteninblood. That sub was one of the highlights of education on reddit.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

https://ehrs.upenn.edu/health-safety/lab-safety/safety-alerts/ultracentrifuge-explosion-damages-laboratory

This is a famous example from when they didn't have alarms. The don't just happily wobble across the room.

The safety shielding in the unit did not contain all the metal fragments. The half-inch thick sliding steel door on top of the unit buckled allowing fragments, including the steel rotor top, to escape (Image 3). Fragments ruined a nearby refrigerator and an ultra-cold freezer in addition to making holes in the walls and ceiling. The unit itself was propelled sideways and damaged cabinets and shelving that contained over a hundred containers of chemicals.

[–] clif@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I forget that there are large centrifuges (somebody posted about Stuxnet further down).

Or, more accurately, I'm more familiar with the small ones (ThermoFisher calls them "Mini" and "Micro" centrifuges) for ~0.5mL samples and I had a hard time thinking that those would blow out a room. But the same link (ThermFisher) that I looked at to find the names also specifies 17,000g and 21,000g models which is just... fucking insane. I knew they spun fast, I didn't know they spun 21,000g's fast. Learn something new every day.

[–] Fluke@feddit.uk 7 points 4 days ago

IMO, you missed the best bit off:

A shock wave from the accident shattered all four windows in the room. The shock wave also destroyed the control system for an incubator and shook an interior wall causing shelving on the wall to collapse.

[–] Eheran@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Oh that can absolutely end in a desaster. Like not breaking when driving a car when you absolutely should.