Charles Platt

Charles Platt is a former science fiction writer (his best known book is probably The Silicon Man) who switched to journalism and became a senior writer for Wired magazine. Currently running a small R&D business in Florida, Platt pursues portrait photography as a spare-time interest, and is a longtime fan of Hong Kong martial arts movies. His favorite show is Viva La Bam on MTV. His interest in MAKE-ing gadgets began when he build a tic-tac-toe computer from telephone relays in 1966.

Author of these Magazine Articles

Create an Insect Eye
Make a multifaceted image from any portrait photo.
In Upload from MAKE: 16: Spy Tech page 98

Shadowless Closeups
A simple setup for better auction photos.
In Upload from MAKE: 16: Spy Tech page 100

Solar-Powered Studio
Bruce Baldwin's DIY desert dream.
In Maker from MAKE: 15: Music page 37

Hooked on Phononics
Filter sound 
frequencies with an array of metal tubes.

From MAKE: 15: Music page 78

Stomp Box Basics: Tremolo and Fuzz
Simple guitar effects circuits you can build.
From MAKE: 15: Music page 82

Exquisite Crops
Collaborative art for the artistically challenged.
In Upload from MAKE: 15: Music page 93

Make Your PC (Seem) Intelligent
Can your computer pass the Turing test?
In Upload from MAKE: 15: Music page 96

Make Noise!
Turn your desktop computer into a musical instrument.
In Upload from MAKE: 14: Optics page 86

Designer Dots
Create your own cross-stitch pattern with a perfectly pixelated digital image.
In DIY: Design It from CRAFT: 07: Shoes page 99

The Escaping Blocks
Remake this classic magic trick with high-quality materials.
From MAKE: 13: Magic page 70

The Levitating Head
Only you can stop the head from sliding down the string!
From MAKE: 13: Magic page 78

The Power of Negative Thinking
While they're watching the money, you'll know the trick is in the bag.
From MAKE: 13: Magic page 80

Quick Bits
Tips and tools for digital diversions.
In Upload from MAKE: 13: Magic page 104

Make Your Own Sun
Create dramatic back-lighting effects with image editing software.
In Upload from MAKE: 13: Magic page 105

Songs to Go
Enhance your music for playing in the car.
In Upload from MAKE: 13: Magic page 110

Seeing Red
Shifting the spectrum can transform a landscape and create dramatic artistic effects.
From MAKE: 12: Upload page 56

Quick Bits
Tips and tools for digital diversions.
From MAKE: 12: Upload page 61

The Little Cart That Couldn't
Wind-powered vehicle claims look like hot air.
From MAKE: 11: Alt Vehicles page 58

Purely Platonic
Have fun with classic Platonic geometry while building your own dodecahedron table lamp.
In Primer from MAKE: 11: Alt Vehicles page 164

Repeating Splendor
Design fabric with interlocking shapes and patterns.
From CRAFT: 04: Costumes page 96

Your Electronics Workbench
What you need to get started in hobby electronics.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 58

The Biggest Little Chip
An introduction to the versatile 555 timer.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 62

Nice Dice
Build a pair of electronic random number generators.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 68

Plastic Fantastic Desk Set
Saw, drill, and bend your own objects made of ABS plastic.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 100

Throwing to the Dogs
Ken Schroeder's dog-bone throwing machine.
In Made on Earth from MAKE: 09: Fringe page 21

Patently Curious
Physicist Tom Valone looks at technologies most scientists consider junk.
From MAKE: 09: Fringe page 50

In Search of Psi Download PDF.Download Sample PDF
A boy and his Hieronymus Machine.
From MAKE: 09: Fringe page 56

My Love Affair with LEDs
Build a bright, low-powered desk lamp.
In DIY: Home from MAKE: 08: Toys and Games page 133

Life and Death at Low Temperatures Download PDF.Download Sample PDF
How to freeze and revive a garden snail.
From MAKE: 07: Backyard Biology page 54

Electric Avenue
The street-legal electric car of the future is coming--not from Japan or Detroit--but from your neighbor's garage.
From MAKE: 05: Science, Weather, and Outdoors page 60

A Fusion Reactor for the Rest of Us
Ed Storms is leading the effort to take cold fusion off the back burner by moving it into the garage.
In Maker from MAKE: 03: Cars and Halloween page 25

Photographer for these Magazine Articles

Create an Insect Eye
Make a multifaceted image from any portrait photo.
In Upload from MAKE: 16: Spy Tech page 98

Shadowless Closeups
A simple setup for better auction photos.
In Upload from MAKE: 16: Spy Tech page 100

Hooked on Phononics
Filter sound 
frequencies with an array of metal tubes.

From MAKE: 15: Music page 78

Make Your Own Sun
Create dramatic back-lighting effects with image editing software.
In Upload from MAKE: 13: Magic page 105

Seeing Red
Shifting the spectrum can transform a landscape and create dramatic artistic effects.
From MAKE: 12: Upload page 56

The Little Cart That Couldn't
Wind-powered vehicle claims look like hot air.
From MAKE: 11: Alt Vehicles page 58

Purely Platonic
Have fun with classic Platonic geometry while building your own dodecahedron table lamp.
In Primer from MAKE: 11: Alt Vehicles page 164

Your Electronics Workbench
What you need to get started in hobby electronics.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 58

The Biggest Little Chip
An introduction to the versatile 555 timer.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 62

Nice Dice
Build a pair of electronic random number generators.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 68

Illustrator for these Magazine Articles

Exquisite Crops
Collaborative art for the artistically challenged.
In Upload from MAKE: 15: Music page 93

Purely Platonic
Have fun with classic Platonic geometry while building your own dodecahedron table lamp.
In Primer from MAKE: 11: Alt Vehicles page 164

The Biggest Little Chip
An introduction to the versatile 555 timer.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 62

Nice Dice
Build a pair of electronic random number generators.
From MAKE: 10: Home Electronics page 68


MAKE: Online Extras

Unsafe At Any Amperage?
Behind the scenes of our high-voltage dilemma: whether to publish a dangerously cool project in MAKE magazine's "Fringe" issue.
by Tom Anderson, Gareth Branwyn, Shawn Connally, Dale Dougherty, Mark Frauenfelder, Joe Grand, Saul Griffith, William Gurstelle, Bunnie Huang, Tom Igoe, Mister Jalopy, Steve Lodefink, John MacNeill, David Pescovitz, Charles Platt, Paul Spinrad, Phillip Torrone; March 16, 2007

The Fascination of Extreme Science
Charles Platt, author and photographer of "A Fusion Reactor for the Rest of Us" in MAKE Volume 03, explains the allure of long-shot scientific research by individuals and small groups.
by Charles Platt; July 21, 2005

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