Amateur Science

I am working with piezo ceramics, 5.5 mm thick. I need to know the rate of a shock wave as it travels through the material. James Woodward, et al are developing a piezoelectric Mach thruster device they are claiming develops propellantless thrust as a physical analog to the Shawyer engine. The materials to do a few simple tests are cheaply available so I figure it could be an interesting side project. Thanks for any help if you know that detail about ceramic piezos or have an interest in mach thrusters in general.

I'm planing to operate a plant nursery in future. now I can only dream. I read that some green house input carbon dioxide. So I'm looking into the cheapest, cleanest and safest way to produce some CO2. I can burn some paper or dried leaves. but it may create monoxide, and probably dioxins. In enclosed space, it can be hazardous. The aquarium people use sugar and yeast to ferment in a bottle. I probably need something with a bigger scale. They are burning some oil or fuel to create CO2. However, it seems to be quite wasteful.Some oils are quite cheap actually, however I will consider cheaper options if there is one. What do you think of the above methods ? and …

Hello! My group mates and I are working on a project concerning potential reinforced concrete hollow blocks using junk shop materials. We're pretty new to the entire process, and we're not sure of how we will arrive to our results (if the final results will be declared via machine or derived through a certain formula). Either way, we've decided to include an equation for further explanation. Our aim is to compare the compressive strength—the topic we are researching on. Knowing which equation to use is somehow troubling since upon searching, results show the usage of the Hilsdorf Equation; although, according to a webpage I've encountered (https://theconstructor.org/pract…

Hello guys, i have a got a problem with my Beard Trimmer's motor.... The trimmer stopped working while i was trimming.... So i have dismantled and checked for the problem and found out that it was due to motor failure. The motor in the above picture is the one i am talking about, a DC motor of rating 1.2 Volts Now i need to replace the motor but the problem is that for this motor to run the trimmer it requires a shaft attached to the axle as marked in the above figure. Can anyone what do we call such stuff which are attached to the motors axle (in case of toy cars we have some gears attached). will a motor be available with such a shaft attached to it or do we …

The concept of polarization is an established phenomenon associated with the theory of light as a wave. It is all about vibrations and their direction. It is also quite incompatible with Huygens' Principle which states that every element of a wave contributes to pushing the wave indefinitely until it meets an obstacle. Huygens was quite adamant about the fact that side processes did not diminish the energy necessary for the wave to keep going forward. It was, as far as he was concerned, the only reasonable assumption that did justice to the idea that light could travel indefinitely through space. Later on, those side processes, or "wavelets", acquired more pronounce…

Hi All, My nephew has been learning about Hydro Electricity at school. He is very interested in the subject and has asked if I could help him make a Hydro-Electric generator at home as an experiment. I am more than happy with building the turbine bit. I was first thinking of using the tap outside to provide us with the power source (water-flow). The thing I'm not sure of is how to turn the spinning turbine into electricity and use it to do something effective for him to see. It can be something as simple as lighting a small bulb or sounding a buzzer. Then I got thinking about maybe plumbing something up to the drain pipe outside and somehow "storing" the electrici…

Hi everyone! I'm trying to make an at home tooth whitening gel that needs a final concentration of 6% hydrogen peroxide, when means I need a stock of 12%(1:2 dilution). My local drug store only sells 3% hydrogen peroxide. Now I know that I can buy 30-35% online very easily but the problem for me is it costs a lot. So I was reading another topic on this forum about people getting h2o2 to like 90% (not sure why) but they mentioned that you can get h2o2 to 62% by freezing. My question is how can I get 12-20% by freezing? I don't want it to get all the way up to 60% and I'm also not clear on the method (just place it in the freezer and take out the ice cubes?). Also after…

Is it possible to create a battery from magnets? The idea came to me when I was in biology learning about cellular respiration. ATPs, or Adenosine Triphosphate which uses a negatively charged phosphate in concentration to energize the body. So my question is, can you make a battery harnessing the energy created by 3 negatively charged magnets being forced together. Would the magnets be enough to create a substantial amount of excited electrons? Could these electrons be used for energy?

Now im sure some of you have seen these magnetic electrical generators claiming to produce electrical energy non stop, and i know that these machines generally do not exist PERPETUALLY... Here is my question If I were to test magnetism in a vacuum on the earth, would the magnetic properties be affected? ive looked online and cant seem to find any practical data or an experiment which has been produced

Can I connect my DC motor straight to a 9V battery? or do I need a resistor in between? I've tried it and the motor spins, but will having no resistor ruin the motor? Also, when I connect the two wires to complete the circuit, I see small sparks, is that normal?

Hello folks, Does anyone here know a method to make a mirror entirely without the use of metals? Cheers, Mike

I have a DIY query regarding the bubbling/filtering of smoke though water. No, it's not regarding weed or tobacco - it's regarding wood smoke. Take a look at the following image, just as a start guide: http://www.artisan-distiller.net/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1676 If a set-up was made using steel (iron) pipes similar to what's shown, where the left-hand vertical pipe was sealed and filled with wood chips, but instead of using an external air-blowing source (shown as an aquarium air pump) - an external heat source was applied to the bottom of the vertical pipe on the left (e.g. burner, or hot coals)....would enough "smoke pressure" be built up so that the smoke wo…

I am a amateur but had some free time and was curious about immortality and population growth. I created a spread sheet with a guesstimate of population growth with immortality. Population Growth. I did some ballpark numbers and found that our entire planet would be transformed into a continuous cityscape in a thousand years. I then played around with subterranean cities, with a million people, a storefront floor, with floors that are discrete such as one for trash and sewage, another for electricity and communications lines, another for residents only, etc. It could even have like 15 floors of hydroponics that use LEDs and carbon dioxide enrichment. This would make us sc…

First some background to my reasoning. I am interested in different methods of ionisation of gases. Typically gamma rays and X-rays including extra high frequency radio waves can be used as well as very high voltage DC. I recently read a very old physics book written by JJ Thompson, he pointed out at the instant switch contacts are opened a bunching effect of charges occurs due to inertia. This can create an extremely large momentary EM impulse, and explode wires or electronics if the current does not find an alternative path. A parallel pair of wires is the easiest way to envisage, my question, various other configurations could be used. Thinking of 2 long para…

Hello! I am a high school senior who fell in love with the subject of microbiology. I had gathered the money ($400) and trying to purchase either OMAX or Amscope microscope on Amazon. Which brand is better?

i want to make some alka seltzer tablets as part of an experiment. it's easy to make the powder by mixing citric acid and sodium bicarbonate, but how can i make that into tablets?

I really hope you don't mind me asking questions here as Im not a science head. Instead im a craftsman. Normally Google is my best friend when if comes to finding out stuff but im stumped here to get the right help. Basically I make suncatchers using crystals. . combinations of faceted spheres and octagons. For display purposes I want to be able to refract them on a wall using artificial light. Iv tried this with no success. Does it need to be a super strong bulb held close or far?or is there a type of light or bulb that I should be using to achieve good results? Hope someone can help Thanks in advance Dave

Hi everyone , Are there any way to reconize a polarized magnet ? I ask this question because I try to make a little experiment. Make a current with a coil, potentiometer and magnet. Anyway, the schematic is joined with this topic. So, your replies are welcome. ( Sorry if my english is bad).

I am builing a coilgun, and was looking into getting more powerful capacitors. i am using a normal photoflash charger, and 10 parallel wired flach capacitors. The capacitors i was looking into getting, are from radioshack, 1000uf 35v or 50v. Would my flash charger still work with these capacitors, or would i need to get a new charger? also if i get ten of these and wire them together, it would still have 10000uf and 350v right? that could come to 1250J energy stored.

I followed this circuit diagram for making my ignition Circuit and connected it to an ignition coil of a car but it does not produce any spark at the spark plug?? Where do I get it wrong??? Also I didnt had 3 in qty 22000 ohm resistors that is why i used 27000 ohm resistors in place of the two resistors connected at pin 2 of NE555 IC! the other 22000 ohm resistor is correct! Also I am using a 12V 80 Amps Car battery for powering this circuit! Plz help me on this!!!!

I am having a old motor bike Engine of 7.5 BHP (146cc). I am interested to use it walking Tractor. Can any one help me, How should I make my imagination a reality. Or provide me the reason why i can't use that engine as walking tractor. Thanks, S.Saxena.

I am wanting to install a battery assisted solar array that provides a dc line to small (500 watts or so) passive resistance space heaters throughout the house. Since 120 vac converts to 84.84v RMS, wouldn't that be the voltage in DC to deliver an equivalent heating effect?

Hi, I'm doing a science fair project and it involves growing bacteria (E. coli) and determining the effectiveness of garlic in fighting bacteria. The link is here: http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/project1098_39_1.html I have a couple questions about this project... 1) How long would it take me to grow the E. coli without an incubator? I have an empty oven that (I think) maintains a constant temperature, and I have a heating pad; would I be able to use any of those as an "incubator?" 2) Why is it necessary to add the E. coli specimen to milk before putting it on the agar petri dish? Also, this is irrelevant, but in case the topic above does not work out…

Now, you may have reached the conclusion that the universe will eventually contract itself, in, say, 10 trillion years or whatever. All of the atoms and energy around us (as well as within us) will be gravitationally attracted to the center of the universe, and like before, form an omega black hole, until once again, the weight reaches critical mass, and it causes the ULTRANOVA (do you like my nomenclature? XD) All of the atoms and energy - well, does it all explode out the same way? Does all of this happen again? Will your life repeat itself once more? And how many times has this all happened? Am I a bad person for freaking you the heck out? Hit m…

so i was compressing a small air tank i made for my homemade air powered car and it ruptured at around 5000 psi lucky me that I put it in my small very thick steel "blast box" that directed the air away from me. before I proceed to higher pressures, I need a ratio of thickness to pressure for metals and different things like carbon fiber for safety. also how many joules of energy are in one gallon container of air at 10000-20000 psi at room temp. I need to know for how many miles I can get out of my car I have lots of safety tests to do before I build it