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!

Pakistani Truck Art

Pakistani Truck Art

truck.jpgNeat 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.

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The Junkyard Turbojet Engine

The Junkyard Turbojet Engine

smnight1.jpgHere’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 engineLink.

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Mad Physics Dot Com

Mad Physics Dot Com

glow.jpgMad 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

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110,000 Volt Taser Cannon

tasergun.jpgTaser upgraded via FarkLightning 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.

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Bamboo Bicycle Frame

Bamboo Bicycle Frame

bamboo1.jpgIs there anything bamboo can’t do? Here’s a how to on making a bike frame out of bamboo. “I saw many amazing constructions made of bamboo and I always wondered, why such light, strong, stiff and elastic material is not widespread used for building of bicycle frames. Since I finished my carbon frame, I was thinking about using bamboo for my second frame”. Link via BoingBoing.

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OnStar Projects

OnStar Projects

onstar.jpgAnyone out there have an OnStar? In our 3rd issue we’re going to have a lot car projects and GM’s OnStar system seems to have a ton of things you could do. This project looks really promising– “Interfacing into OnStar’s GPS”. After some modifications (adding a series interface) plug in a PC and grab the GPS coordinates. Might be cool to tie that in to a war driving app or a slurping up some google map data with a high speed connection. Perhaps I can rent a car with OnStar and tinker. Any way, email, AIM/iChat or Skype me if you have one.

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