Ark of the Covenant Replications/Study

[ridethelight]

Hey, be nice!

That's been postulated in the past, as well. Also that the contents may have been radioactive (gold shielding would work, but it would be H-E-A-V-Y!.) In the "Ark as Capacitor" hypothesis, we presume that it was electrostatically charged by friction either by the wind-blown drapes, in the tabernacle, or under its travelling-cover (I think this was badger-skin, but I didn't check, so don't quote me...).

[Que]

Today is a good day.

[ridethelight]

ummm... yeah.

Yes indeed. a good day.
Antiquer, just as a quick aside- do you have any comments about the centuries-old "Science vs. Religion debate?

[ANTIQUER]

Que;
I was a science major in college. Real science and real Christianity are compatible, but this is not the thread to discuss it. If you wish to talk about it start a new thread, use the "Bible" thread or pm me; your choice. If not, have a nice day.

Al

[ANTIQUER]

Hi Bob;

A truly excellent and fair minded post , esp. considering you seem to reinforce my thinking more than your own. But keep going with the "maybe" belief; I under stand "hope springs eternal in the human breast" and no experimentation is ever wasted. Just be careful, we don't want to kill any endangered species!

As to the Ark itself here's an link to another interesting source of info. on it:

&#198 The Characteristics of the Ark of the Covenant - The Message of the Covenant

Enjoy.

Another thought comes to mind-- Antiquer, I'm guessing your knowledge of cabinetry has something to do with your user-name -- and I'm an amateur woodworker.

Yep, I'm 2nd generation furniture repairman, antique restorer and cabinet maker (with a lot of other interests). We always called the "carcass" the box or case, as in "case-goods mfg". I know what you mean about people not knowing woodworking tech. That's why they buy so much imported junk nowadays.

2- Acacia gum was used as a binder in gold leafing and pigments in that time, from Turkey to Egypt. Rabbit-hide glue was most commonly used for gilding.

Where did you get this info.? Just curious as I do gilding and have researched it and not found this.

Another thought just came to my mind; Why would YHVH need a capacitor?

Al

[Shamus]

Hi Al,

I don't think we're too worried with the motivations of YVHV or anyone else right now, just with the possibilities.

@Bob: Have you looked at the "replication" done by Hutchison in the links I posted in the first post? I'd be curious to hear your take on it.

[ridethelight]

answer a question with a question......

Thank you, Antiquer, for the kind words and encouragement. I do try to be fair-minded- an old-fashioned trait, I'll admit, but one I strive for. As to one of your comments, I'm going to resort to an old trick, I'm told, but I'm gonna try it here, anyways......

Another thought just came to my mind; Why would YHVH need a capacitor?

--- and my parry-question would be- "I dunno. Why would YHVH need a gold-covered box to live in?" But, as Shamus said, that, as well, might be for a different discussion.

I figured you must have a knowlege of woodworking, because your first instinct was to assume a frame-and-panel Ark! I was fascinated by your link to the other Ark reference, especially (as noted in private correspondence) some of the early rabbiniccal references. I promise not to electrocute myself, or anyone else with any of my (re)creations!

As to that gold-leafing reference-- I didn't bookmark it, and the closest reference I could find online was to a gold-powder-and-acacia-gum mix that was used for gold ink/paint by the Egyptians-- I couldn't find the original gilding reference (maybe as a sealer, under a hide-glue?) that I was relying on. Or perhaps it was a temporary hallucination on my part. But they did use the stuff as a binder and adhesive- for everything from paints to cosmetics.

Shamus, as to Hutchinson's "replication"...... ahem. Look, the biblical specifications leave open a reasonable possibility that from time-to-time people have gotten "pokes" from a static electricity buildup. But to assume that the contents consisted of (here's a quote) "the inside likely contained simple transformers." Likely? LIKELY? Huh? OK. After all, I did assume the Ark could be a simple capacitor... Maybe. How simple? Here's the "Bill of Materials"

Two tesla coils wound opposite ways 30" high, transceiver type tunable with a few extra turns. 6" pvc white plastic pipe, black has carbon in it... Just use white pvc only 10' @ 57$. 1/2" copper pipe coils, bendable water pipe, we bought 2 rolls of 60' each, might only use half of that, @ 153$. #22ga wire 6lbs, (we bought 10lbs) @20$. 4 2x2's pre cut 32" long, @8$, 1 gallon of shellac urethane @32$, 6 spray cans of same 4$ each, 4 liters of polyester resin @42$ and two meters of cloth @13$. Several flats of sand paper @2$ each.

Um. OK. I know these were devout people, and they would have donated the appropriate number of shekels, at a 2000BCE exchange rate, but...... C'mon, now. Building a Tesla coil with modern materials is not a trivial task. Go to any Tesla-coil forum, and see all the questions, problems, and constant redesigns that these guys go through. A Tesla Coil, and its associated resonant circuit is a matter of carefully-balanced trial-and-error, precision-made and insulated wire, and high breakdown voltages. Cloth insulation over beaten-gold wire won't cut it.

And I assure you, there is no way. No way. NO WAY that the ancient Israelites could have provided an evenly regulated AC power supply to feed it with. NO WAY. Not with static electricity from the tabernacle. Not with radium in the ark. No. Way. Here is Hutchinson's power-feed. AC voltage from wall receptacle to Variac, then....

160 volts from the variac, a triple brass ball adjustable spark gap, as well as rotating cherubim to increase or decrease the distance between them. This version can be charged with a neon sign transformer (15000kv 60ma) to charge things up and activate the metals so they are more sensitive to ions.

Note that it HAS to be AC, at a consistant voltage and frequency. HAS TO BE. The neon-sign transformer they use to precharge the cheribum would need AC too, so they would have needed at least a duplex outlet.

No way. Look, I can put a pair of Tesla coils into a rubber raft, and get sparks between whatever they're connected to, but that doesn't make it a replica of an ancient artifact. Maybe that's what the sparks looked like, between the cherubim, but they were NOT generated by a Tesla Coil, transformer, integrated circuit, or transistors. Unless YHWH was a traveller from outer-space, which, again, is fodder for a different forum.

A capacitor, intentional or inadvertant, I can believe. Not Tesla Coils. I've studied them since I was twelve- even most electronic engineers confuse them with simple 'step-up' transformers. The trick with a Tesla Coil is the capacitor bank's charge/discharge rate through a precision "spark gap" sets a resonant frequency, to precision matched primary and secondary coils wound to match the same resonant frequency. Decidedly nontrivial. I sincerely doubt that the original recipe "was repressed" by the biblical authors.

If you find someone to cough-up enough 1/4" thru 2" thick acacia wood and gold leaf, Antiquer and I could build both a "carrying-case Ark" and a "capacitor-built Ark" and we can run some measurements on them-- It should cost a lot less then $6000, unless we "get happy" with the gold (don't need gold rings) . That being said, Hutchinson's ark looks cool as hell (not so impressed with the brass-eagles as cheribum!) -- especially when there is discharge between the cheribum. But the original Ark didn't have Tesla coils in it. Nope. Didn't.

And I also reserve a bit of doubt about a guy who lists (on the Press" page) a (sic) "McDonald Douglas" report (its McDonnell Douglas)-- I'm just sayin....

-bob

[Shamus]

Thanks for that, Bob. So the Hutchison path most likely isn't it. I still think that we aren't told the whole story as to not only the construction of the device but its contents.

BTW, I just want to be clear: I never put out any offers of financing. I don't have the money to throw around on speculation and I sure wouldn't use gold leaf for a prototype. Besides which, I could build my own box for far less than 6,000 USD.

[ridethelight]

no problem!

Actually, Shamus, I was referring to a mention on Huchinson's site of someone who had been commisioned by a television show to build a $6000 ark-- but if there are any TV producers out there, I'm sure Antiquer and I could be bribed! ( )

I still think that we aren't told the whole story as to not only the construction of the device but its contents.

like I said,

(hey, it's not "The Journal of Woodworking", after all- how much detail do you expect?)

(grinz)

-bob