carat PROJECTS € DEVICES % TO CHANNEL VOUR |) 3°) ((44°f HYDROGEN Fueu ce ROCHET re ceopesic DOMES Pe Cubase € more KG We y, SIMON QUELLEN FIELDssid ASIA PL ‘s sa ou 9 ;Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Field, Simon (Simon Quellen) Return of gonzo gizmos : more projects & devices to channel your inner geek / Simon Quellen Field. p. em. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-55652.61 852-610-5 yaratus andl appliances—Design and construetion—Amateurs’ manuals. 2. Science— Experiments. I Title. "TK9965.F475 2006 621.381 —de 2005034276 Cover and interior design: Laura Lindgren © 2006 by Simon Quellen Field All rights reserved First Edition Published by Chicago Review Press 814 North Franklin Su Chicago, Illinois 60610 ISBN-13: 978-1-55652-610-7 ISBN 1.55652-610-5 Printed in the United States of America aoe Incorporated etContents Thoughts on Safety Homemade Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker Bernoulli Ball ‘Vacuum Pump Propeller Toy Rocket Engine Ring LauncherConte Transmitter Comput Cou Controle Transmitter lerless Breadboards 1.-Watt Audio Amplifier Integrated Circuit Audio Amplifier 103 103 10 19 128 136 137 138Introduction Llove unusual gizmos, especially those I can make myself Most people who enjoy gizmos freely admit that they are toys. The devices might have some beneficial use, but a large part of why people love them is that they are fun, plain and simple Sometimes just being small makes something cool. A tiny rocket engine—like the one in this book—is fun partly just because it is so tiny. A microscope is interesting because it lets you see things that have always been invisible to your naked eye Another reason a small rocket engine is great is because of what I call “ tion at a distance”: being in one pla nd having an effect in another, distant place. This is why slingshots and bows and arrows are popular, as well as snowballs and walkie talkies. In this book you will find very simple radio transmitters and laser transmitters that can send your messages over long distances. Building your own gizmos is part of the fun as well. This is especially true when the device is mysterious or challenging, such as anything to do with lasers. Building your own radio transmit- ter or receiver (or both) sounds impressive, but often what is most impressive is just how easy it can be to build something that most people would think impossible. You can build the radio transmitters and receivers in this book in just a few minutes, even if you have never done anything with electronies before. ‘The laser transmitter and receiver are simple as well. Magnets are especially fun because few other things possess that invisible force that can be felt in your hands but not pereeived;nets to shoot or propel objects any other senses, Using m: imes the name of a toy adds lo the fun. Telling people you built your own rail gun, hydrogen fuel cell, or geodesic dom all projects in this book) sounds really high-tech (and perhaps little frightening) Ai You can listen in on the electrical J some gizmos are fun because they do am n this book, and open your ears to a part of the world you probably never knew existed. You can float a ball in midair, balanced on an invisi ath by an unseen force. You can paint a safe, nontoxic liquid metal alloy onto a piece of glass to create a homemade mirror he first words after With almost every one of these projects, Ww does it do that?” All of these gizmos fow!” are usually “ come with an explanation of the scientific principles that make them work. Using simple language and illustrations, each gizm is described so that even the youngest audience can undersian orinventor but with enough detail to satisfy the engineer, teac directions. whose mind is now taking the project in entirely new All, of course, in the name of fun.Thoughts on Safety This book is not for people who don't like to think, It is not for people who like to smash their fingers with a ham- mer, or burn their house dows There but putting a little thought into basic safety is always a good idea. lot of really dangerous projects in this book, Several of the projects in the book deal with soldering irons other hot things. Don't put them into your mouth or your ear Use lead-free solder if you plan to eat your radio. Don't aim th rail gun at the parakeet, Don't play with matches in the house, in the garage, or in a field o! dry grass. If you like to run with scis: sors, this is not the book for you. Science projects are fun k or setting your hair on fire. Wearing 10 show off because they make you art. Don't ruin the effect by bleedin; lover the equipment fety goggles makes any proj- ect look more impressive, and protects your eyes to boot. Take good care of the electric fish. They like to jump out of he tank, so keep it covered. Electric fish don’t work once they have dried out. Give your fish a name and talk to it during the project, so you will be motivated to keep your little friend safe. Houdini is a good name for a critter that performs escape stunts eat peril to its life Keep a fire extinguisher on hand at all times. Like safet; s, it adds a sense of danger and excitement to the project and can keep a simple mistake from becoming a tragedy Most of all, use your head, and slow down a little if you feel you are getting overly excited. This is supposed to be fun,ice that con uch as hydrogel is the only by-pr Hydrogen fuel ce craft and other hig that power source. a hydrogen fuel cell in your kitch pout 10 min and demonstrate how hydrogen and ox; gen can combine to produce clean electrical power:SHOPPING LIST ated nickel wire ted nic Eo ( 9 1 foot of platinum: or pure platinum wire (available from science supply stores. or at ( www scitoys.com) e Popsicle stick or similar small piece of wood or plastic 9-volt battery clip 9-volt batlery Tre 9 Glass of water eve 'sparent sticky tape TOOLS 1 Volt meter First, cut the platinum-coated wire ; into two 6-inch-long pieces, and wind each piece into a little coiled spring that will serve as the elec trodes in the fuel cell. The wires end of the test lead of a volt mete: put a nail, an ice pick, or a coat hanger works nicely as a coil form. Next, cut the leads of the battery clip in the eu! half and strip the insulation fro ends. Then twist the bare wires onto ends of the platinum-coated el own in the photo at right. The battery clip 1 two wires will also be attached to the electrodes. These will later be used to con- nect to the volt meterCHEMISTRY Tape the electrodes securely tape the Popsicle stick to the glass of to the Popsicle stick. Then water, so that the electrodes dan- gle in the water for nearly their entire lengths. The twisted wire connections must stay out of the coated water, so only the platinu electrodes are in the water. Now connect the red wire to terminal of the volt the positi meter, and the black wire to the negative (or common) terminal of the, volt meter. The volt meter should read 0 volts at this point, although a tiny amount of voltage may show up, such as 0.01 volt. Your fuel cell is ow complete. To operate the fuel cell, touch the 9-volt battery to the battery clip don't actually clip it on; you will only need it for a second or two). Touching the battery to the clip causes the water at the elec: trodes to split into hydrogen and oxygen, a process called elec- trolysis. You can see the bubbles form at the electrodes while the battery is attached, Bubbles of hydrogen will cling to one elec- trode, and bubbles of oxygen will cling to the other Now remove the battery. If you did not use platinum-coated wire, you would expect the volt meter to read 0 volts again, since there would be no battery connected. But the platinum acts as a catalyst, allowing the hydrogen and oxygen to recombine—the hydro the cell to split the water, the hydrogen and oxygen combine to reaction reverses! Instead of putting electricity into