Make lenses from Jell-O
The Optical Society of America has a very cool site about the science of light. I found instructions for making lenses from Jell-O and ice, with a great explanation of how lenses work.
Science
LEGO Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT)
Bluetoothkiwi documents his LEGO Mindstorms Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT) – it’s a great example of the process of problem-solving. Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT) is a special self powered autonamous floating robot that locates and destroys small clusters of bugs that float on the top of swimming pools. We used LEGO MINDSTORMS to build […]
Powers of 10 by Charles and Ray Eames
Charles and Ray Eames were incredibly influential American designers – one of their most famous projects was a short film called Powers of 10. It was produced in 1977 and I was a little surprised to find that it’s still amazing to watch. It’s available for viewing on the Powers of 10 site – you […]
Amazing light phenomena
Environmental Graffiti has a roundup of amazing light phenomena photos, with nice pithy explanations of the science. Via Mr.Reid The collision of electronically charged particles in the earth’s upper atmosphere often creates magnificent light displays over the polar regions. The colour depends on the elemental content of the particles – most auroras appear green or […]
Spraying hot water at -20F
Birdchick lives in Minnesota, where it’s wicked cold right now! She shot this video of what happens when you spray hot water at -20 degrees F. So are those threads of ice dropping down, anyone know exactly what is happening?
Biggest full moon of the year, again
If you missed December’s biggest full moon of 2008, tonight will be the biggest full moon of 2009. NASA has a nice article about it. Johannes Kepler explained the phenomenon 400 years ago. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is not a circle; it is an ellipse, with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than […]
Weekend Project: Portable Spy Scope
Use a cellphone camera for espionage that captures long-distance secret activities! Thanks go to Eric Rosenthal for the original article in Make: Volume 16 To download The Portable Spy Scope MP4 click here or subscribe in iTunes. Check out the complete Portable Spy Scope article in MAKE: Volume 16 “Portable Spy Scope”
