FIDDLING WITH CAPACITORS.

Alright, time to get to work. I've been ignoring the physical capacitance noise issues that have been persistent throughout last semester and this. Doing redocumentation last week reminded me that, okay, it's time to fix this.

Using Capacitors

In order to resolve the issue regarding the noise and unreliable values, I also experimented with adding small capacitors between the range 100pF-400pF.

I found that utlising a 100pF capacitor, connected in parallel to the rest of the circuit, provided the most stable and repeatable outcomes with the widest numerical range between active and non-active.

Alright! So now the issue of noise and unpredictable readings is no longer relevant, so I can move on!

Consult with Andreas

Following my capacitor experiments, I had a consult with Andreas. Essentially, he told me while all this was well and good I could just make life slightly easier for myself by not trying to build the entire sensor system from scratch! Also, the idea of using pre-exisiting technologies to further my concept is okay, so I need to be slightly less stubborn. ( He passed me his BareConductive board instead to use in further progress. )

The concept of 'arbitrary'

Also, during this consult, we discussed creating a plan about what my second experiment in my dissertation is going to be, and what’s missing from my current progress.

My research objective mentioned 'facilitating a conversation and dialogue regarding the state of nature in our lives', but Andreas pointed out that I don't have that aspect of dialogue or conversation yet. We then went into what a conversation between a human and plant could look like: are the responses from the plants text based and structured like a literal conversation? Or, are they more abstract and open for interpretation?

We discussed if arbitrariness is something that should be avoided or not, and Harpreet Sareen's recent algae project was brought up.

We discussed whether the presence of the tiny little bubbles generated would contribute to an experience that was shorter-lived in terms of excitement. However, for my project, maybe attempting something more literal was ideal and worth a try. We came up with this plan:

On how I could attempt to faciliate a real conversation or dialogue with my plants, building upon my research objective! Time to hustle and execute this next week and see how.