Electromagnets can be used by people with too much time and electrical knowledge to crush cans, but the truly ambitious can (briefly) harness a magnetic field to shrink a quarter to about half its original size. The principle is kinda simple, really… A big capacitor sends a surge of electricity into a coil around a quarter. This creates a magnetic field in the coil, and also in the quarter, but the field in the quarter has the opposite polarity. The quarter tries to get away from the coil, but having nowhere to go, shrinks inward as the magnetic field strength exceeds the strength of the metal. The coil, on the other hand, explodes outward at mach 2. The process takes between 30 and 40 microseconds, meaning that the edges of the quarter shrink inward at about 400 mph.
This particular experiment was done by Hackerbot Labs, and Intellectual Ventures has more pics and video at the link below.
I totally appreciate how awesome this video is, but it seems to me that an aircraft might not be the smartest place to be in the middle of a lightning storm. But hey, what do I know, I’m just one of those weird people who likes not dying.
Actually, aircraft are quite safe from lightning. It is estimated that each commercial aircraft gets struck about once a year, but the lightning gets safely conducted over the skin of the plane and never makes it inside. Much better than standing under a tree.
Incredibly, this is not just another piece of weird internet humor. You actually can make a photovoltaic cell with little more than high proof alcohol, powdered donuts, and purple Passion tea from Starbucks. It’s the future, people! The cell only puts out about 0.13 amps per square meter, so you’re not gonna be able to power your house with a few boxes of donuts and some Everclear. But, just in case, you should probably pick that stuff up anyway. You know, for scientific experimentation.
Is it just me, or do drinks taste better when they are carbonated? Take grape soda for example, that’s much better than your run-of-the-mill grape juice. Now granted, one of those two is probably healthier for you than the other (depending on if it’s real juice), so why not add a little carbonation to it? I’m no science whiz, but apparently all it takes is some baking soda, vinegar and one of these funny little u-fizz contraptions.
Apparently you can carbonate just about any liquid you’d like with one of these little suckers. I’m pretty sure that the first thing I’d try would be Jell-o. That would be some pretty cool stuff right there. If your kid needs a science fair project, or you’re bored with your current non-carbonated drinks, then this $7 kit will get you started.
I like lemonade. I like it a lot, in fact. But if there’s one thing that lemonade absolutely sucks at, it’s telling you what time it is. So next time you find yourself with some spare lemons, chop them up and stick them onto the Citrus Clock. The clock is made with two spikes of copper and zinc to impale the lemons on, and will run for a week using the juice contained in one lemon thanks to black magicelectrolysis. It doesn’t have to be a lemon, either… Anything acidic will do. Like limes. Or potatoes. Or a battery.
The Citrus Clock doesn’t seem to be commercially available, but hey, you can make one at home! Or better yet, just go to any middle school science fair and steal one.
If you’re not familiar with some of the theories related to quantum mechanics, this alternate universe kit by Jonathan Keats’ might not make much sense to you. But take my word for it, there is some logic here. Way back in 1957, a physicist by the name of Hugh Everett came up with what is known as the ‘many-worlds interpretation’ of quantum mechanics, where the universe continually spawns off alternate universes whenever a “subatomic system consisting of a superposition of two likely states reduces to just one.” In a very crude way of thinking about it, if in your universe you decided to order pizza, another universe is created where you ordered Chinese instead. So based on Hugh’s theory, Jonathan Keats created these alternate universe kits, and here’s how they work according to him:
Everett’s theory addressed the question of how a subatomic particle can exist in a quantum superposition - for example being in two places at once - until someone observes it, at which point the observer finds it to be in only one place at a time. The explanation Everett gave is that the particle remains in both places when it’s observed, but the observer’s entire universe splits as the measurement is made, so that from that moment forward there are two separate observers living in separate universes, both identical except for the observed location of that single subatomic particle.
The kit uses a quarter-inch sphere of uranium-doped glass to provide a steady supply of subatomic particles, placed in close proximity to a sliver of scintillating crystal which measures the radioactive decay, effectively observing a quantum process - and splitting the universe.
The DIY kits are available for just $20, but you can only get them from the Modernism Gallery in San Francisco. And if Hugh Everett’s many-worlds interpretation theory has piqued your curiosity, I recommend checking out an episode of NOVA that ran a couple of months ago called Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives where musician Mark Everett (Hugh’s son) goes on a quest to learn more about his father and his multiple universe theory.
Do you guys remember that comic strip where Calvin saved up a snowball all summer, just so he could throw it at Susie? Well unfortunately saving up a snowball for any length of time is a difficult task. I believe my one attempt as a child was quickly foiled by my parents, as they knew exactly what I was up to. Though I haven’t had to worry about my parents going through my freezer for some time, I haven’t tried saving back a snowball again. Thankfully, modern science allows us to have snow whenever we want it, even without some large machine.
iSnow is a non-toxic polymer material which can be used to create artificial snow. Just add a bit of water, and you’ll be ready for a (very small) snowball fight in no time. The material is reusable, so you can create snowballs over and over again, provided you scoop up the remains and keep them safe. Just $4 gets you a set of five iSnow kits.
Yes, I know, you’ve made blue roses before by sticking a white rose in some blue food coloring and waiting a day or two. Bully for you. But up until now, naturally blue roses have been an impossibility, for the simple reason that rose petals lack the enzyme necessary to produce the color blue. Naturally blue roses may still be an impossibility, but a little bit of clever genetic engineering has enabled researchers in Japan to stick some blue petunia enzymes into some naturally purple roses to end up with something actually blue.
Or, blue-ish.
It’s got some blue in it, anyway.
In the same way that yellow roses signify friendship and red roses signify love, blue roses signify the impossible, and I kinda think that still holds true, ’cause they look rather purple to me. You should be able to buy a more or less blue rose for that certain impossible someone early next year.
Have you ever been to a science center or museum and watched someone’s hair stand on end while they were touching that giant metal sphere contraption? Well that device is known as a Van de Graaff generator, and this wand from ThinkGeek is basically a handheld version of that, but with considerable less ‘oomph.’ However, it can build up enough static charge to make a set of included 3D mylar shapes appear to levitate and move about at your command. Here’s a video of it in action from ThinkGeek:
While that guy might not be Hogwart’s material, the wand does look like you could easily blow the minds of a group of 5 year olds. And that’s $26.99 well spent.
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