Have
you ever wondered why a plant root seems to be growing predominantly towards
the earth's centre or how the organisms adjust to microgravity environment
or for that matter how does gravity affect a plant or animal's development
and behavior. A Clinostat can provide answers to all these questions.
 Do
You Know?
It was Professor Julius Von Sachs, a reputed German botanist who
invented the Clinostat. |
A Clinostat is a very simple device like a very slow moving exhaust
fan that places plants, small organisms or even cells growing in culture on
a rotating platform. This rotation drives the biosystem under consideration
to the gravity vector forces from all the directions.
A simple clock Clinostat is a great way to teach the students about
gravitropism and phototropism experiments. It is also equally important in
conducting space biology experiments as a clinostat can imitate the
microgravity of space.
Clinostat Electric
A
Clinostat can also operate on electric and that is getting more popular
these days for ease of use. The Clinostat uses a a motorised disc which is
able to support and protect small plants, seeds or cuttings. By using this
motorised disc plants, or even spiders are slowly rotated at around 4
revolutions per hour for an uniform exposure to gravity and sunlight. A slow
rotation effectively means that the plant is under a gravitational pull
which is averaged over 360 degrees, in turn creating a weightless
environment. The plants are generally pinned properly to a soft pad fixed to
the disc using cotton wool.
