Clinostat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
A clinostat is a device which is used to negate the effects of gravitational pull on plant growth. A single axis clinostat consists of a disc attached to a motor, originally clockwork but usually electric nowadays. The disc is held vertically and the motor rotates it slowly at rates in the order of one revolution per minute. A plant is attached to the disc so that it is held horizontally. The slow rotation means that the plant experiences a gravitational pull that is averaged over 360 degrees, thus approximating a weightless environment. Clinostats have also been used to cancel out effects of sunlight and other stimuli besides gravity. The clinostat was invented by Julius von Sachs.
A single axis clinostat only produces the weighlessness effect along its axis of rotation. A 3D or two axis clinostat, can average gravitational pull over all directions.

