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The Latest in Hobby Robotics 09

Welcome to this weeks edition of The Latest in Hobby Robotics, where Frits and Andrew are taking a fast tour of 10 cool hobby robot projects! Here are links to the projects in the video: CNC machine v2.1 – aka “Valkyrie Reloaded” Z-39 – made by CNC HXT900 Hexapod DAGU Robot Arm with Roboduino Control […]

Showing Off Aluminum’s Natural Reactivity via Gallium Alloy

Showing Off Aluminum’s Natural Reactivity via Gallium Alloy

Very interesting vid from 16-year-old Hayden Parker, who impressed me greatly with his animated chemistry demonstrations at Maker Faire. Metallic aluminum can be dissolved in liquid gallium to create an aluminum-bearing alloy that is liquid at ambient conditions. Because it can flow in the alloy, the aluminum cannot form a stable passive oxide layer and will react violently with water, which nicely demonstrates the normally-hidden high natural reactivity of metallic aluminum.

How-To: Curate and Store a Fabric Stash

I learned so many great tips from The Art of Choosing series over at In Color Order. Jeni has written posts covering how to sort your fabrics most effectively by colorway, how to fold them for easy storage, and several options for keeping them tidy and easy to use. (There are also posts on how […]