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!
President to Host White House Science Fair… On Monday, October 18th, President Obama will host the White House Science Fair celebrating the winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions. The President will view exhibits of these students’ work, ranging from breakthrough basic research to new inventions, followed by remarks […]
This link came in the mailbag from one Junior Veloso, of Singapore, who has produced this very impressive homemade photopolymer-based 3D printer. Traditional stereolithography uses a scanning UV laser to cure the liquid resin, one layer at a time. A DLP printer is similar, but uses a micromirror-based video projector to expose each layer, as shown in the diagram. Junior’s version exposes each layer for four to eight seconds, resulting in print times on the order of several hours. The resin has to be opaque to prevent “shadowing” from light transmitted through the printing layer.
Photograph by Javier Trueba This is certainly old news to the geologists in our midst, but I couldn’t believe my eyes watching this BBC video clip of Professor Iain Stewart exploring the amazing Cueva de los Cristales (Cave of Crystals) in Naica, Mexico. The cave is home to crystal beams as long as 36 feet […]
Blob Motility is an attempt of actuated shape display using fluid programmable matter. We have developed an environment where we can program the shape of gel geometrically and topologically using our unique magnetic fluid called pBlob. This enables us to experience organic shape changes in real space, like a metaball in the CG world. The […]
Greg comments on his difficulties with the stiff consistency of the cornstarch / caulk mixture, which seems like a germane time to mention a comment on last night’s Oogoo post from W. Aaron Waychoff, who claims to have had success using glycerine as an additive instead of cornstarch. [Thanks, Greg, and Aaron!]
Turns out, though, that mixing in some cornstarch accelerates the drying process; just how much depends on how much starch you add. The author recommends starting with a 1:1 mix. I’m not sure about his explanation that the process works because the hygroscopic starch carries moisture into the internal volume of the silicone, but in any case there are probably other additives that will accelerate the process as well as or better than cornstarch. You might even find one that’s not opaque and allows for translucent castings.
