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Build a 15,000 rpm Tesla Turbine using hard drive platters

Step 2Make or reuse spacers

Make or reuse spacers
The ideal spacing between the platters depends on several variables including the fluid viscosity, velocity, and temperature. You could go through the calculations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navier-Stokes_equations) and make a set of spacers, or be lazy and just reuse the spacers from the disassembled hard drives.

I was lazy and reused the spacers that were originally in between the platters. The advantage to this is that they'll have the same inside diameter as the platters. They're about .050" thick where the ideal spacing is closer to .012" but the increased distance doesn't make that big a difference in this case.
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3 comments
Jul 14, 2010. 5:27 PMDehLeprechaun says:
could i simply use a few magnets or rubber o rings?
May 30, 2010. 8:07 PMdellmang187 says:
i can use this turbine to power some small experiments right
Feb 26, 2010. 7:04 PMLonleyExperiments says:
where all a little lazy no worry's

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Author:sbtroy
I have B.S. degrees in both Physics and Electrical Engineering. I do Lecture Demonstrations for the University of Washington Department of Physics. I don't check my messages here so please email me ...
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