science in the home

[42itous]

Our washing machine spins at the resonant frequency of the bathroom.

Comments

[lunchboy.livejournal.com]

There was a car alarm yesterday that was bleating in time and in tune with Jim O'Rourke's "Bad Timing" CD. It was perhaps the first car alarm I ever enjoyed hearing (until the tempo of the song changed and everything went to hell again).

[sunspiral.livejournal.com]

This can be curable by changing the resonant damping of the machine. Easiest way is to put some sort of resilient pads under the feet, and make sure there's no wall contact.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, that's what we were planning on doing (the pads under the feet thing). The slower portion of our washer's spin cycle resonates at the frequency of the building, though not the faster portion of the cycle. True science in action.