Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,

I am working on an Arduino Clinostat but there are a few issues I have
1. Is there any alternative to Petri Dish that I can use? as the petri dishes are taking a week to arrive.
2. Can a 180 degree positional servo motor be used instead of the continuous rotating 360 degree one??

For reference to the project- https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... -clinostat

Thank you,
Nit

Hi Nit!

Thank you for your question!

1) Possible alternatives for Petri dishes include foil muffin tins and clear Tupperware lids. No matter what you use, however, ensure it has a lip large enough for a layer of agar to be poured into its interior.

2) Unfortunately, if you want to include a clinostat as part of your experimental groups, you will need a 360-degree servo motor. Clinostats continually rotate plants through 360 degrees to eliminate a set direction for gravity; a 180-degree rotation would theoretically not produce the same elimination of gravitational direction.

Hope this helps! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions.

Anika