Thread by @EliLevensonFalk

We discovered what was wrong with the grounding in the lab! Strap in #newPI friends, for a cautionary tale. 1/6

Having a clean electrical ground is really important for everyone who does sensitive measurements. Electronics can interfere with each other through the ground, causing spurious signals. So we like to have grounds that are completely isolated from the rest of the building. 2/6

I knew this when it came time to build my lab, so I insisted on 3 independent ground panels, each connected to its own copper spike driven into the earth outside. (Why 3? I eventually want 3 fridges in the lab, each with their own ground; need more $$ first!). 3/6

The architect originally designed 3 panels all connected to the same copper spike. "Oh no no!" I said, "We need them all to be separate on their own individual spike." They redesigned it and I forgot about it, hubristically confident the problem was solved. 4/6

Yesterday I discovered that the 3 spikes...were all driven into the ground about 2 inches apart, right next to other building grounds. They're effectively all shorted to each other through the dirt. This has been causing issues! 5/6

So I'm off to beg the college to shell out precious pandemic $ to drive new ground spikes, in order to correct for the incompetence of the original architect/contractors. Please learn from my mistakes! 6/6