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!
We all love car subwoofers that pump out loud, thumping music while you drive, and in the latest issue of MAKE, Volume 23, Henry Herndon explains how he powered his with a solar panel on the car’s roof. Before embarking on a long summer road trip, Henry bolted a standard rooftop solar panel to his […]
By way of Steampunk Workshop comes news of the U.S. Land Steam Record (USLSR) Team and their attempts to build and race the fastest steam-powered vehicle on Earth. They plan to try for that record on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, as early as August, 2011. The previous land steam speed record is held by […]
In any case, if ever a thing were rightly called bitchin’, it would be this 20″ custom powder-coated steel hood ornament by metal artist and perennial Make: Online favorite Jud Turner, who made it on commission for a very lucky friend.
Mike Pantrey, aka Flickr user Mrsuperpants, saw Phil’s post on Friday about Dave’s homemade laminar water jet and “in two evenings of tinkering in the garage, and some time reading up the background over a couple of lunchtimes” produced his own version, shown here. Construction details are available on Mike’s personal site. He cites The Laminar Project Forum as a valuable design resource.
Inspired by Sam Redfield’s rural alt.energy work in hydro-electric power, featured here on MAKE, “Fishboy,” working out of the Vancouver Hacker Space, created this micro-hydro plant in a plastic bucket. The power generator in the system is a Permanent Magnet Alternator (PMA) with a pelton wheel directly attached to the shaft. Water is sent through […]
Interesting article over at AAAS’s ScienceNOW about MagneLink, a short-range wireless communications system being developed by Lockheed-Martin that uses magnetic fields, rather than radio waves, to transmit information. Supposedly Tesla first experimented with such a system, hoping to compete with radio, in the 1890s. For most wireless applications, radio is clearly a superior system; magnetic wave communicators suffer from limited range and poor signal-to-noise ratios. There’s one thing they can do, however, that radio can’t: easily transmit through hundreds of meters of rock or clay. They can, therefore, be depended on in the event of a mining accident to allow trapped workers to communicate with rescue personal in situations where radio is impossible and wired systems may be inoperable or inaccessible.
Informal craftsmen, known as jua kali in Kenya, make their livelihoods by manufacturing products in the resource-constrained environment Westerners struggle so hard to adapt to. Their businesses thrive due to the complex networks among traders and producers.
