DIY science is the perfect way to use your creative skills and learn something new. With the right supplies, some determination, and a curious mind, you can create amazing experiments that open up a whole world of possibilities. At home-made laboratories or tech workshops, makers from all backgrounds can explore new ideas by finding ways to study their environment in novel ways – allowing them to make breathtaking discoveries!
If you’re looking for a bare-bones hovercraft build, this one from ENGINEERING.com’s Some Assembly Required is about as minimal as it gets: A leaf blower, a couple circles of plywood, a lawn chair, and a shower curtain for the skirt. [Thanks, Dad!]
This video is short, and really pretty boring if you don’t know what’s going on. Shown is a chunk of new alloy that undergoes a phase change, at about 125C, from a nonmagnetic material to one that is strongly magnetic. If you bias the system with an additional, permanent magnet, heating the system past the transition temperature produces an electric current in a nearby coil, thereby converting heat to electricity.
Garden_Pallet-Completed-430×300 How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden
Robert Bruce Thompson, author of Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments, has assembled a chemistry set to sell to amateur chemistry buffs and homeschoolers. Because chemistry is widely considered to be the most difficult lab course to do wellโparticularly on a tight budgetโwe offer the CK01 Standard/Honors Home School Chemistry Laboratory Kit. It provides a […]
In this, the last installment of the third series of Bill Hammackโs wildly popular Engineer Guy videos, Bill exposes the wonders of fiber optics. He starts by demonstrating transmission of laser light through a fiber optic stereo cable, then explains total internal reflection with a really cool visual aid made from a bucket of antifreeze. There are details on the manufacture of the fibers themselves, the design of the first transatlantic fiber optic cable, and the signal processing used to encode data for transmission via fiber. All that, and more, in just five minutes and thirty seconds. Nice way to wound out series #3, Bill!
MIT graduate and MITERS member Amy Qian built this sweet ride in only 5 days. Also be sure to check out her amazing hand-built hub motor! [Via Adafruit]
San Diego area artist Richard Morrison and surfboard maker Gary Seavgraves devised this burly rocket fish surfboard from 72 beer cans, some foam, and copious amounts of fiberglass resin. Originally intended as sculpture, the board may well be the first fully functioning surfboard made from recycled beer cans. [via GeekyGadgets]
