DIY Photo Light Box: Did Amazon Patent Photography Against A White Background?
To some, it might seem that you can patent anything these days. Last week a weird story appeared in my Facebook newsfeed: Amazon has somehow been able to patent photography against a white background....
View ArticleK’nex Kinetic Interactive Sculpture
In previous articles I’ve demonstrated how to use littleBits and erector set parts to build a magnetic stirrer and a sample rotator. Since I was able to drive Erector set machines with the littleBits...
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Birdsnap App Can Help You Identify Birds
Birdsnap is an iPhone and web based app that uses many of the techniques of facial recognition software to identify 500 of the most common North American birds. The web based version of Birdsnap is...
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The NSA, Snowden, And Citizen Cryptology
In a previous article I demonstrated how to use a One Time Pad cipher using a pen, paper, and Scrabble tiles (or Boggle cubes). If used correctly, One Time Pads cannot be broken by the NSA or any...
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5-Minute Science: Ketchup Packet Cartesian Diver
You can easily build a Cartesian diver toy using an empty one liter soda bottle (with the label torn off), a ketchup packet, and tap water. You may want to have a few ketchup packets on hand and put...
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The Irony Of Twelve Triple Three
The NSA is not allowed to gather intel on US citizens (at least not without a FISA court order), but there is an obscure Reagan era loophole--Executive Order 12333, or Twelve Triple Three--that allows...
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Snap Circuits Science: Resistors In Series
A tone generator is a useful piece of test equipment used, for example, to test the frequency range of audio equipment such as your stereo or the external speakers for your iPod. A tone generator can...
View ArticleRobotics: 555 Timer H-Bridge
You can build a simple circuit using two 555 Timer ICs to create an H-bridge that will drive a single motor in forward or reverse. An H-bridge circuit is often used in robotics to reverse the polarity...
View ArticleKano Computer: In A Word, Wow!
I've lost count of how many computers I've built over the years, but I think it is safe to say that the Kano Computer was the easiest build ever. So simple a child could do it. Kano founders, Yonatan...
View ArticleIntroduction To Pulse Width Modulation Using Scratch On The Kano Computer
In my previous article about the Kano Computer, I demonstrated how to use MIT’s Scratch graphical programming language on the Kano to flash an LED (the “Hello World!” program of hardware hacking). In...
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Snap Circuits Science: The Electronic Relay
What’s a relay? You’ve probably seen a relay race where one runner hands off a baton to another runner. Similarly, an electronic relay hands off control from one circuit to another. A relay is a very...
View ArticleSnap Circuits Science: The Diode
The diode has a number of applications in electronic circuits. One application you may be familiar with is a rectifier. A rectifier converts alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). Alternating...
View ArticleFoldscope: A Microscope You Can Carry In Your Pocket
I finally received a Foldscope beta test kit. “Foldscope is an origami-based print-and-fold optical microscope that can be assembled from a flat sheet of paper,” according to the website. The Foldscope...
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DIY Super Selfie Stick
My wife bought me a “selfie-stick” (sometimes called Wand of Narcissus), which is ironic since I so rarely actually take selfies. But, once I took a look at its simplicity of design, I couldn’t leave...
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Erector Set Magnetic Optical Mount For Laser Pointer
I’ll demonstrate how to build a simple magnetic optical mount for a cat toy (laser pointer). Though it is simple—that is, there aren’t any fine tuning mechanisms one would find on an optical bench—it...
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The Tyndall Effect
You can use a simple cat toy (laser pointer) to demonstrate the Tyndall effect. “The Tyndall effect, also known as Tyndall scattering,” according to Wikipedia, “is light scattering by particles in a...
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DIY Titration Lab Ware
You often see demonstrations of titration using an expensive glass burette, but you can build titration lab ware using a disposable serological pipette, a solder sucker bulb, and a ring stand or...
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LaserOscope
Build a laser oscilloscope using Lego, littleBits, Erector set, and the Kano Computer. In honor of The International Year of Light I’ll demonstrate how use the Kano computer to drive a littleBits motor...
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Lego Optics Lab: Beam Splitter
I finally took apart a broken computer projector. Some of the optics were burned or broken but I managed to salvage several lenses, mirrors, filters, and a curious little glass cube. read more
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Lego Optics Lab: Small Lens Holder
In my previous article, I started building a Lego optics lab with a dichroic prism I salvaged from an old computer projector that I took apart (I used the prism to build a beam splitter). I also...
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