Catching Earthquakes

Someone recently donated a TC-1 seismometer to the physics department, so it's been my job to get it up and running. I've set it up in a tiny closet downstairs (after emptying it of forgotten VHS tapes, floppy disks, and Macintosh stands) and got it online over the weekend. Here's a quick look:

The closet is teeny.

Here's the seismometer! The basic idea is that the magnet attached to the slinky will bounce around with an earthquake, causing electromagnetic induction in the coil of wire. The current can then be read off and the signal interpreted by an Arduino. Also, I haven't gotten around to pulling the carpet up yet, but that's definitely going to happen.

Not related, but this projector I found in the closet took me back to my high school days.

Anyway, we're now registered with the Incorporated Research Institution for Seismology (IRIS) and its program Seismometers in Schools. If you want to check out a realtime image of seismic activity registered right here, it's at this site: http://geoserver.iris.edu/content/rhdes

This is the first data. Up at the very top you can see some pretty big signals; that's where I kicked the seismometer to see if it was working. This morning there appears to have been a lot going on. I think some of it corresponds to noise from classes getting in and out (I'll have to figure out a way to minimize that). I don't know what all of those signals are at 15:00, but I'd be willing to bet it's the construction next door.