I'm not sure what to call the circuit involving the chain of uninsulated Brainiacs in this clip. See 2:13-4:00.
Your ideas?
The segment from 4:00-4:53 is a nice example of a series circuit!
UPDATE: Commenters and NCNAAPT/PTSOS list responders have identified this as a resistance ladder or R-2R network. I love having access to the brainiacs of cyberspace!
is the source ac?
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing pulsed DC. But the power source doesn't change my puzzlement over the arrangement of resistors.
ReplyDeleteI posit that the "blocker dude" doesn't sweat very much (a pre-demo bong hit?) and the others are a skosh anxious. As for the first "conductor", I think his nucleus accumbens is showing enhanced activity each time he grabs the wire. No Pain, No Pleasure (or something like that).
ReplyDeleteIt would have been great to see this in terms of potential difference. Potential difference is the cause of current - not the vague concept of completing a circuit.
ReplyDeleteEach person is like a resistor between their hands and another resistor between hand and ground. So some of the current is carried on to the next braniac and some of the current goes to ground. A resistor ladder.
ReplyDeleteA resistor ladder is a good approximation of what's going on here. With two 'Braniacs' it would look like a pi network, if you can picture what that would look like. (sort of like this I7) Each braniac adds another parallel leg and another series leg to the next Braniac. (I7777 - with each straight line being a resistor).
ReplyDeleteThis is quite similar to what an R-2R network looks like. It is used in analog to digital conversion, where the voltage is halved at each branch of the network. So although it's not exactly the same, in this case I'd assume the voltage is proportional to the inverse of the square of which ever number node you are at.
Agreed: Resistor ladder.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistor_ladder