Science

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!

What are self-healing cutting mats made from?

What are self-healing cutting mats made from?

When I was in graduate school, I took a seminar class from a chemist whose work in developing self-healing polymers was widely admired. I had seen these self-healing cutting mats in the MicroMark catalog, and always wondered what they were made of. So I asked him, in class. He looked at me like I’d grown a second head: “You mean to tell me you’ve seen self-healing polymers on the market? In a consumer product?” Later I brought him the catalog, and showed him the listing. He was stumped, and more than a bit dubious.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan13
Math Monday: Colossal compounds

Math Monday: Colossal compounds

Polyhedra lovers are fond of certain compound shapes, such as this symmetric arrangement of five concentric regular tetrahedra. If you like to make things in wood, it’s a natural challenge to cut some plywood, bevel the edges, and screw or glue together a giant geometric model. Here is Dale Seymour with his compound of five […]

Continue Reading Gareth Branwyn
Maker Birthdays: Benoît Mandelbrot

Maker Birthdays: Benoît Mandelbrot

Today marks the first anniversary of the birth of Polish-born, Franco-American mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot since his death on October 14. Mandelbrot worked in a variety of mathematical disciplines, but is best known as the “Father of Fractal Geometry.” He was well eulogized by the New York Times, and, more personally, by Rudy Rucker. Today he would’ve been 86.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan

Recyclable Bloom laptop

Autodesk has been giving away Inventor of the Month awards. The October award was given to a group of Stanford grad students. They designed the “Bloom laptop,” which is designed to be completely field-stripped in a couple of minutes for ease of recycling, without the use of tools. One side benefit of their design is […]

Continue Reading Gareth Branwyn
Make: Projects – Laser projection microscope

Make: Projects – Laser projection microscope

A couple of weeks ago I posted about this sweet laser stunt from Teravolt.org, and I finally got around to trying it for myself. My laser is only 10% as powerful as theirs, but I can now say with conviction: Everyone should try this.

The only tricky part is getting the laser and the hanging drop of water lined up and keeping them aligned, but this simple stand I built from hardware store odds-and-ends makes it easy. The laser and syringe snap into broom clips mounted on supermagnet bases which allow easy positional adjustments, but hold strongly enough to keep everything in alignment once you’ve got it right.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan18