(no subject)

[meanfreepath]

When I took gen chem in college, because I hadn't done chemistry in a while, there was a period of several weeks where I broke a different thing in lab each week. It was mostly very minor stuff... things like glass stirring rods, but nothing expensive like a volumetric flask.

But I always figured I wouldn't break stuff in physics labs, and until today I generally haven't.

I just managed to blow out a brand-new wall-wort transformer. I think it may have been a bad solder joint leading to a loose wire that caused the short circuit... I was probing around with a DVM and suddenly there was an ominous spark. Granted, it's a $15 device, but now I'll have to order another one, and the purchasing office hates orders under $50.

Comments

[msarcher.livejournal.com]

Clearly you should throw a couple of extra items in the order...

[meanfreepath.livejournal.com]

Yeah... it's hard to do sometimes though. That is, it's not easy to think of things you may not need just then. Alternatively, one can in desperation just order large quantities of the thing you need. That is why there is a box of almost 100 fuses (the guy only needed one or two) sitting around the lab somewhere.