touching lamps

last friday becca, kyle, katy, alan, and i spent an embarrassingly long time conducting some experiments. it all started when kyle discovered that a werther's original was enough to activate the vaughn family touch-lamp. Not knowing the principles on which touch lamps are founded we set off on a science safari where we found more questions than answers. What follows is a summary of our disappointments and triumphs.

for a complete list of what works and what doesn't wait until alan fixes his scanner and then check out his blog.
for now...
wisk. no. frosted flakes. no. sperry topsider. no. muenster cheese. yes!
frozen eggo waffle. no. toasted eggo waffle. no.
kyle's pancakes (which he made specifically for these clinical trials). yes!!!

so by now you are probably all wondering how in the world a touch lamp knows what is touching it. well, i'll tell you. it has to do with a little something i like to call capacitance.
i've done some research, and in non fancy talk pretty much a capacitor stores up an electrical charge and holds it until something comes along that can absorb or change said charge-but not all house hold items have this special power...as we have clearly demonstrated.

also pictured: becca mcsquinty eyes, standing kyle, doing citric acid alan, and egg on coaster katy. sorry that this post has been a formating nightmare. i am shamefaced.