Education
Maker Education is such a valuable role. These stories will bring you the latest information and tales of maker educators who area spreading the maker mindset. Help others learn how to make things or how to think like a maker at makerspaces, schools, universities, and local communities. The importance of maker education can not be understated. We appreciate our educators.
How-To: Papercraft Enigma Machine
Their wiki page also includes a brief history of paper enigma models that traces the origins of this method back to Alan Turing’s hypothetical “comic strips” model from his 1942 Treatise on the Enigma. To make it, download the PDFs, print them out, cut them out, and apply them to a 75mm diameter cardboard tube.
Engineer Guy vs. Frickin’ Lasers
In this, the fourth installment of Engineer Guy Series #4, Bill, Patrick, and Nick show off the engineering that accounts for three key characteristics of laser light: single wavelengths, narrow beams, and high intensities. Highlights include laser retinal surgery, the difference between phosphorescence and fluorescence, and a rather more sophisticated treatment of laser physics than is common in popular science.
Radar Gun Connected to Stereo System
In this off-the-cuff video, MIT prof and MAKE pal Gregory Charvat shoots Nerf darts into the beam of an old X-band Doppler radar gun with its output hacked into a linear power supply, a preamp, and finally into Greg’s living room stereo system. The signal sounds like a cartoon sound effect!
Petition the White House for Open Journal Access
At issue is free public access to scientific information gathered using tax dollars. Which, in the US, is about a third of it. If you’ve ever been hot on the trail of a technical lead and run up against a robot demanding $40 to download one four-page, thirty-year-old journal article, you know what I’m talking about.
RobotGrrl’s Heathkit Build Continues
I’m following along as Erin “RobotGrrl” Kennedy continues to build the vintage Heathkit voltmeter she unboxed earlier this month. Now she’s continuing the build! Last part we unboxed the Heathkit, looked at all the components, and started to build some of it. Now it’s time to finish off the build with the three main plates. […]
Engineer Guy vs. Aluminum and Titanium Anodizing
As much as I love Engineer Guy videos, I am especially partial to Series #4, because it is themed around the chemical elements—each installment features a different element and a remarkable bit of engineering based upon it. And this week my two personal favorite elements are in the spotlight. Though it is utterly common, today, […]
