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!
It’s a bike! It’s a shopping cart! It’s CartBike! Not only is this bike mod handy and practical, it requires no welding and uses only “U” brackets and hose clamps! Full step by step and construction details on the site. Link. Thanks Novysan!
Exploratorium, the museum of science, art and human perception has a cool section called “The Science of Cooking” with all sorts of interesting things about food and cooking for Makers. Discover how a pinch of curiosity can improve your cooking! Explore recipes, activities, and Webcasts that will enhance your understanding of the science behind food and cooking. Link. Also check out Cooking for Engineers here.
It looks like something is brewing over at White Box Robotics- they’re relaunching their site on May 10th with photos, documentation and prototypes of the 9 series. These might be what was shown off at Robonexus “The White Box 912. Tom was the brainchild of the 912, an affordable personal robot powered by an industry standard VIA Mini-ITX mainboard. This mainboard along with other hardware (hard drives, CD-Burners, DVD drives, web cams, etc.) are then installed in the White Box Robotics 912 mobile platform“. Link.
Neat history and photos of “art cars” in Pakistan. “This extraordinary tradition has it’s routes in the days of the Raj when craftsmen made glorious horse drawn carriages for the gentry. In the 1920’s the Kohistan bus company asked the local Michaelangelo, Ustad Elahi Buksh, a master craftsmen to decorate their buses to attract passengers. Buksh employed a community of artists from the Punjab town of Chiniot, who’s ancestors had worked on many great palaces and temples dating back to the Mogal Empire. It was not long before truck owners followed suite with their own designs”. Link.
Here’s a site that shows how Mike made a working jet engine built from junkyard parts. The engine presented here is based on a used automotive turbo charger, lots of off the shelf parts, and only a few custom made components. Anyone with a little knowledge of engines, access to a reasonably well stocked workshop, some free time, and some excess cash should be able to make an engine…Link.
Mad Physics Dot Com is a site created by a couple students/researchers to show how things work, some experiments and demonstrations. The experiments include: The Physics of Glowsticks, GIANT Hooke’s Law Demonstration and The Science of Fire Extinguishers. They also have a neat section called “Ask Mad Physics”. [Via MeFi] Link
Taser upgraded via Fark…Lightning On Demand is a volunteer organization of engineers, artists, scientists and machinists. Our key objective is to produce a controllable discharge of lightning at the greatest physical scale imaginable using modern technology. One of the projects is a 110,000 Volt Taser Cannon. The Taser Cannon can direct a 15,000 Ampere plasma channel through the air along a straight trajectory, at grounded targets up to 35 ft downrange. Link.
