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Category Archives: Makers and Making
Amateur Science and the Rise of Big Science
As many students of the history of science know, once almost all scientists were amateurs. Copernicus was a monk, Darwin was trained first in medicine and then his father tried to make him a priest, and Einstein, despite a degree in electrical engineering, was a patent clerk in Switzerland. Continue reading
Paper Airplane Sets New World Record
This week a viral video spread across the Web (see below) featuring former Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob throwing a paper airplane across an entire warehouse, breaking the world record for longest flight with a distance of 226 feet, 10 inches. Continue reading
Posted in General Interest, Invention, Makers and Making, Physics
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Citizen Science Musings: Of Artists and Scientists
Last night’s ceremony made reference, as they always do, to the science and technology behind the art of making movies. And this got me thinking about the relationship between science and art throughout history. Continue reading
Magnetic Levitation Pencil
Since it’s Christmas Eve, and we all know that toys are a big part of the holiday, we offer this little gem from Arvind Gupta’s Toys From Trash. Continue reading
Citizen Science Musings: The Case for Science Hacker Spaces
An obvious question is whether the time is right to entertain the idea of such spaces for scientists, amateur and otherwise. It isn’t just a question of the market. As most of our readers know, doing science in suburbia, especially things involving microorganisms or home chemistry can draw the attention of nosy neighbors or worse, local law enforcement that has no idea what constitutes a threat and what does not. Continue reading
The Essential Breadboard
Fluency in basic electronics is increasingly useful for anyone getting into citizen science. These days electronic kits from Make, SparkFun, Adafruit, and many other vendors are everywhere. Ardino and Netduino has created an entire subgenre of electronics with active, enthusiastic communities. Continue reading
Posted in Amateur Radio, Amateur Science, Electronics, Invention, Makers and Making, Projects, Tools
Tagged bread board, breadboard
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Citizen Science Musings: Announcing CSL Classified Ads
Sometimes you need instruments or circuits, and sometimes you want to try to make something completely new.To that end, we’ve started a new Classified Ads service to help members and friends find just the right piece of gear. Continue reading
Building a DIY Photospectometer
For a great science project that will go well beyond simply building it, we ran across this oldie-but-goodie from 2007: “Take a 100 W light bulb, a light-dependent resistor, a prism or grating in front of a slit, and a curtain – and voilà , a DIY spectrophotometer.” Continue reading
Posted in Chemistry, Makers and Making, Physics, Projects, Research Tools
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PBS News Hour on the Maker Phenomenon
On 29 June PBS ran a piece on Makers and Making hosted by Miles O’Brien. One of the things they emphasize is how making stuff makes science more appealing to kids. Continue reading
Posted in Education, Makers and Making
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