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Gravity Speakers
Status: Video special effect
This video purports to show an amateur experiment in which someone created a small gravitational field "using a speaker and a generated sound wave." The instructions say that a Bose Companion 2 Series II speaker was used, and a "sine wave at 16 khz" was generated.Obviously it's fake. Audio speakers will not create a gravity field. But I'm not sure how they created the special effect. (Not that I know much about creating video effects.)
Perhaps they used some kind of fancy editing software. Or perhaps they did it a really low-tech way -- moving the objects one frame at a time to make it appear as if they were sliding towards the speaker. If they did it the latter way, they managed to make the sliding effect look very smooth.
Perhaps it's a viral ad for Bose speakers.
For some reason this video keeps getting removed from Metacafe. Hopefully it'll stay up long enough for you to see it.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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My guess, the table is slightly tilted such that the friction between the objects and the surface (just) keeps them in place. the vibrations of the speaker perturb it just enough that the object begins to slide, once it is sliding it just keeps going. The fact that the objects seem to accelerate as they slide hints that a slope it involved.
Posted by Martin in Cardiff, Wales on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 02:35 AM
Not only does the table change angle relative to the picture frame between cuts, but the cable coming off the back of the speaker changes angle relative to the speaker.
Posted by Wesley on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 03:00 AM
Vincent is right.
Let the movie load, and then scrub through fast from beginning to end. The picture on the wall behind is getting rotated round a little more each time.
Therefore, I think the whole room is a set (including fake floor), the camera and probably lights are also attached, and everything tilts, so that the items just slide downhill towards the speaker. They are always placed very carefully so that they will slide in a line and "land" on the front of the speaker. If they'd been to the side just a little, they would have fallen past the speaker, and the game would be up.
Posted by pad in London, England on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 03:26 AM
Let the movie load, and then scrub through fast from beginning to end. The picture on the wall behind is getting rotated round a little more each time.
Therefore, I think the whole room is a set (including fake floor), the camera and probably lights are also attached, and everything tilts, so that the items just slide downhill towards the speaker. They are always placed very carefully so that they will slide in a line and "land" on the front of the speaker. If they'd been to the side just a little, they would have fallen past the speaker, and the game would be up.
My thought is that the speaker is working, and that the tone (clearly not 16K, though 16K is in the normal hearing range, albeit at the top) is vibrating the table via resonance of either the tone or one of its harmonics.
If you've ever seen the footage of the Tacoma-Narrows bridge heaving back and forth before crashing to the water below, then you know how powerful resonance can be. The bridge collapse was caused by the wind vibrating the bridge causing it to oscillate at one of it's natural frequencies.
As noted by FrostBird, I get a frequency of a G above middle C on a piano keyboard, right at 400hz.
If the table was leaning even a little, it would vibrate itself downward.
There is no magic, and no voodoo. And certainly has nothing to do with magnets. Sorry, but Elmer's is just not magnetic. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't even slightly diamagnetic (and you would need extrodinary magnets to physically test this).
For the claim that no other speaker would do this, it could be something as simple as rubber feet on the bottom of the other speakers damping the vibrations. How many speakers did he test?
Posted by royce in usa on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 04:26 AM
If you've ever seen the footage of the Tacoma-Narrows bridge heaving back and forth before crashing to the water below, then you know how powerful resonance can be. The bridge collapse was caused by the wind vibrating the bridge causing it to oscillate at one of it's natural frequencies.
As noted by FrostBird, I get a frequency of a G above middle C on a piano keyboard, right at 400hz.
If the table was leaning even a little, it would vibrate itself downward.
There is no magic, and no voodoo. And certainly has nothing to do with magnets. Sorry, but Elmer's is just not magnetic. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't even slightly diamagnetic (and you would need extrodinary magnets to physically test this).
For the claim that no other speaker would do this, it could be something as simple as rubber feet on the bottom of the other speakers damping the vibrations. How many speakers did he test?
I think it's magic.
Posted by Web on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 05:04 AM
I think that movement is too smooth and too closely matches the acceleration of something sliding down a slope for this to be magnets.
One important note is that there is a cut immediately before the pull-away! This means that the whole setup might have been made in a smaller tiltable model, and then the pieces moved into a room to 'prove as genuine'.
Plus, as others have mentioned, the speaker is clearly not plugged in, so it's faking even at the basic level.
Posted by Rob on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 05:26 AM
One important note is that there is a cut immediately before the pull-away! This means that the whole setup might have been made in a smaller tiltable model, and then the pieces moved into a room to 'prove as genuine'.
Plus, as others have mentioned, the speaker is clearly not plugged in, so it's faking even at the basic level.
Definitely a tilted table thing. The things about to slide are put down carefully, because they're held there with a magnet. When the speaker is "turned on" the magnet underneath is pulled off (or switched off) so that the item can slide down the table.
Biggest giveaway for me - the cut from the end of the last experiment. You see the slide, then a title card, and then a pullaway - not in one shot. And if you look carefully at the picture at the end of the last experiment and the beginning of the pullaway, you can see that it suddenly gains a shadow - because it's not stuck firm to the wall any more.
Posted by Steve in Wales on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 05:31 AM
Biggest giveaway for me - the cut from the end of the last experiment. You see the slide, then a title card, and then a pullaway - not in one shot. And if you look carefully at the picture at the end of the last experiment and the beginning of the pullaway, you can see that it suddenly gains a shadow - because it's not stuck firm to the wall any more.
At 102 seconds, take a look at the speaker wire end on the floor. It's not even plugged into anything.
BUSTED!
Posted by hoaxfinderouter on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 06:30 AM
BUSTED!
Okay,
monofilament, object placed on monofilament and pulled.
When pulled, same effect.
Notice how glue bottle slides as being put down.
Posted by JGB on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 08:43 AM
monofilament, object placed on monofilament and pulled.
When pulled, same effect.
Notice how glue bottle slides as being put down.
A magnet under the table, dragged along and pulling the object.
Posted by Craig on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 10:18 AM
Look at the left edge of the table during the pull back. Suddenly there is an electric socket there that wasn't there during all of the slides.
Posted by Brian Utterback in Nashua, NH on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 10:46 AM
My money's on a tilting room with either some nice speaker or magnet holding the stuff before it begins to slide down embedded in the bottom left part of the table. Indicies for this theory are the picture, the wall wart appearing at the end of the vid and the other changes between *everything* and the pullback shot.
In conclusion: FUCK YOU BOSE. Fuck you for sending me annoying ads, fuck you for trying to go the "viral" way.
Nathaniel: Move your hand up and down. Does it get attracted towards the centre of whatever object's gravity you're experiencing (usually the earth)? Does this stop you from moving it up smoothly? (Answers: Yes, No, it woudln't give away the fakeness of the video)
Adam Stanhope: The weight (in this case a force towards the speaker) is a function of an object's mass (a few grams for the lanyard, tens for the phone) and the gravity it experiences. It's also being held back by friction (once again: mass (this time pointing down) and friction coefficient). On a very smooth table like this, the phone might very probably move faster than the lanyard if the speaker actually had some gravity.
Mickey: The tone's not 16 kHz. Not by far.
Posted by phlo on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 03:20 PM
In conclusion: FUCK YOU BOSE. Fuck you for sending me annoying ads, fuck you for trying to go the "viral" way.
Nathaniel: Move your hand up and down. Does it get attracted towards the centre of whatever object's gravity you're experiencing (usually the earth)? Does this stop you from moving it up smoothly? (Answers: Yes, No, it woudln't give away the fakeness of the video)
Adam Stanhope: The weight (in this case a force towards the speaker) is a function of an object's mass (a few grams for the lanyard, tens for the phone) and the gravity it experiences. It's also being held back by friction (once again: mass (this time pointing down) and friction coefficient). On a very smooth table like this, the phone might very probably move faster than the lanyard if the speaker actually had some gravity.
Mickey: The tone's not 16 kHz. Not by far.
My vote is for some sort of reverse filming of someone sliding it backwards with fishing line and him picking it up. it just works, because it would give a good reason why the speakers aren't plugged in and the way the items react to the sound is sporadic.
Posted by Thomas Sabinowitz in USA on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 07:07 PM
Maybe they tried to do this:
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=94KzmB2bI7s
Posted by γγͺγΌγ on Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 07:26 PM
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=94KzmB2bI7s
It's a tilt trick. Slick and simple.
And that's nowhere near 16khz.
Posted by Anthony Peluso on Fri Oct 26, 2007 at 12:24 AM
And that's nowhere near 16khz.
If it was a true "gravity wave", then the strap on the cel phone would be attracted with the rest of the celphone, instead of dragging behind.
The motion of the objects after hitting the speaker is too smooth. I say incline instead of magnets.
Posted by Mozai on Fri Oct 26, 2007 at 07:54 AM
The motion of the objects after hitting the speaker is too smooth. I say incline instead of magnets.
Well, I tried to duplicate this experiment and I have to report that I accidentally discovered the "brown note".
Excuse me, gotta run now...
Posted by Blondin on Fri Oct 26, 2007 at 11:08 AM
Excuse me, gotta run now...
Camera mounted facing "scene".
"Scene" is secured firmly.
Speaker then secured to the "Scene"
"Scene" is tilted ala "Jamiroquai"
Object unsecured slides towards speaker.
Posted by BT in Spokane,WA on Sat Oct 27, 2007 at 03:11 PM
"Scene" is secured firmly.
Speaker then secured to the "Scene"
"Scene" is tilted ala "Jamiroquai"
Object unsecured slides towards speaker.
The table is being tilted. There is no magnet. If you take the slider, after the film has been loaded, and move it back and forth from start to end, you will see the picture in the background change locations repeatedly. Why would someone continually move a picture?
I was pretty sure of this, and then the camera moved out to show the table. This proved it too me. He felt he needed to prove that he wasn't doing it the way he was doing it. He did nothing to disprove other ways that it could have been done. To the person who said that the items would fall off the table...if they did, the director would simply not have included that iteration of that particular object...he would have shot another until it was right.
I'm certain that this was how it was done.
Posted by Daniel Alderman in Twin Falls, ID on Sun Oct 28, 2007 at 01:32 PM
I was pretty sure of this, and then the camera moved out to show the table. This proved it too me. He felt he needed to prove that he wasn't doing it the way he was doing it. He did nothing to disprove other ways that it could have been done. To the person who said that the items would fall off the table...if they did, the director would simply not have included that iteration of that particular object...he would have shot another until it was right.
I'm certain that this was how it was done.
My guess is that the table is tilted, just slightly. When the speaker is turned on, it causes the table to resonate and the objects get the little bit of movement needed to overcome the friction. If you look carefully, when he places the glue on the table, it moves just slightly when he lets it go.
Posted by smif on Wed Oct 31, 2007 at 02:42 AM
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