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05 March 2004

Wanderings

Ralph J. Coppola
r_j_coppola@hotmail.com

SAS Disclaimer

Starting in this week's column and hopefully from time to time in the future, I will be head lining a special site or topic.

Headliner

The other day I came across the excellent site hosted by The Nexus Research Group . This organization is dedicated to providing the ambitious amateur, of all ages, with enough detailed "how-to" secrets of research to allow them to make original discoveries.

While looking around their site I found an article describing a simple low cost Black Box Data Logger that was built by two New Zealand students. The logger is based on a PICAXE microprocessor chip. Not being familiar with the PICAXE, I did a GOGGLE search and found a pile of info.

The PICKAXE family of microcontroller chips is based on Microchip's PIC series . The difference comes from the bootstrap software that Revolution Education Ltd , a UK company, adds to the PIC's converting them to a PICAXE. This software allows the PICAXE to be easily programmed from a PC via a serial cable. A free MS Windows editor is available that allows the PICKAXE to be programmed in BASIC or by flowchart. The downside of the PIC/PICAXE's is their very small memory but depending on the chip selected they come fitted with built-in A/D converters a definite plus.

The following are a few related sites that I've come across.

Wanderings

The Wikipedia project is a multilingual, on line encyclopedia that allows its users to read, add or edit the content. Tim Davis has, already, made a Wikipedia entery for SAS .

Along the same line is Wikibooks . They hope to assemble a collection of text books that will be written collaboratively on line. For example, see the Physics Text .

Tim brings us another interesting URL ---- NASA's JPL and CalTech show us how, with a little effort, we can produce 3D pictures . Thanks for the URL's , Tim.

I intended to write a short piece, for the E-Bulletin, about converting a junked PC power supply to lab use, but Andy Batts seems to have beaten me to it. He's even done a better job than I would have done.

Even though it's almost spring, this neat site, SnowCrystals.com , i s a guide to snowflakes, snow crystals, and other ice phenomena. It gives directions on how you can experiment with artificial snow flakes, even in the heat of summer.

James Spottiswoode built a Diamagnetic Suspension Seismometer for $20US.

The Amateur Laser Construction section of Sam's Laser FAQ has an excellent section on the Introduction to Vacuum Systems and Technology .

SAS member Bruce Conover converted Technique of High Vacuum (Chapter 3 of Procedures in Experimental Physics by John Strong) from text to web. This and other archived articles were found on the SAS Archive at The Waybackmachine .

Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) is early offspring of Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy. The force between a scanner tip and the surface of the sample is used to image the surface topography.

Jürgen Müller's Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) page links to other amateur and professional STM sites.

Mark VanLandingham's paper, The Effect of Instrumental Uncertainties on AFM Indentation Measurements , discusses the accuracy and precision of measurements taken with various types of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs).

I haven't dealt with Information Unlimited but they seem like an excellent source for inexpensive high voltage capacitors and diodes . They also carry a 1000 Meg 10kv resistor for $12.95US. The leakage characteristics of these resistors might be improved by the application of Natural Ceresin Wax as per page 258 of Strong .

The Texas Instrument's TSL235 , Light to Frequency Converter, provides a convent method of getting light intensity information into a computer. TAOS shows a typical application of the TSL235 on their site.

Along with Tony van Roon's extensive collection of electronic circuits for the hobbyist is a selection of tutorials. For example, have a look at the section on Capacitors .

The National Academy of Sciences has a collection of over 3000 free online books.

Martin V. Zombeck's Handbook of Space Astronomy & Astrophysics and M. Mitchner and Charles H. Kruger's Partially Ionized Gases are now available as e-books.

Recently, there was an interesting program on the Discovery Channel. The program featured W.T. Wallington , a retired carpenter, who demonstrates his theories of how the ancient builders may have manipulated huge building blocks.

If you have ever had a desire to perhaps build your own Stonehenge you should take a look at the Big Stones Web Site .

Egyptology.com presents The Best Egypt Links On The Web .

The San Francisco Exploratorium has an interesting section on The Evolution of Language . In this article a references made to The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

The Linguistics Department at the University of Victoria has a nice collection of *wav files illustrating the various sounds of the IPA.

Red Deer Collage's Thought & Language site is a collection of cognition and language links.

NASA reports that they have evidence of a giant black hole ripping apart an unlucky star

The Planetary Society presents A Mars Timeline by A. J. S. Rayl. This site chronicles to exploration of Mars from 300BC to the present era.

The Kids Room

The purpose of NASA's Earth Observatory is to provide freely-accessible scientific information and new satellite imagery of our home planet. Of special interest is a series featuring Sarah Mims , our editor's youngest daughter. See parts --- 2 3 and 4 .

Get involved! ---- ISS EarthKAM is a NASA sponsored project that allows middle school students from around the world to remotely photograph the earth from the International Space Station.

Drive a Rover at the Mars Stations ! ---- The Planetary Society and LEGO Company have teamed together to establish a network of Mars Stations around the world. Each station contains a LEGO® rover equipped with a Web camera that you can drive over the Internet!

DNA and genetic engineering --- The Nexus Research Group uses an original protocol t o isolate human DNA . Instructions are also given on how to use e lectrophoresis to form a DNA “fingerprint”. Your time would be well spent looking around the Nexus site. What about their Microbiology SIG?

While we are on the subject of DNA and PCR , don't forget Shawn's July 2000 Amateur Scientist Column ---- PCR at Home .

Basic Molecular Biology : The Cell and DNA.

Michael and Christine Fenton have an excellent article on how to construct the SmartMouse Data Logger by modifying a PC mouse.

Rick Hoadley's Magnet Man web site contains a vast collection of cool and interesting e xperiments you can do with permanent and electro-magnets.

Maxwell SV , from Ansoft, is a free full-featured program that allows for two-dimensional, electromagnetic, and electrostatic-field simulation.

MeteorObs is an Internet forum for meteor observers of all levels

Collect micrometeorites in your own back yard.

Question . Are micrometeorites real or actually industrial pollution? . A possible Answer.

Windows to the Universe! is a graphics intensive resource for K12 students and teachers.

MathMol (Mathematics and Molecules) serves as introduction for those interested in the field of molecular modeling.

On The Lighter Side

The News of the Weird site is a weekly syndicated newspaper column featuring bizarre but interesting news features.

Along these same lines is Amara's Stranger than Fiction site.

From The Far Side

A search of the US Patent Office for NASA's patent # 6,317,310 reveals --- An Apparatus And Method For Generating Thrust Using A Two Dimensional, Asymmetrical Capacitor Module . In order to view the *.tiff images a third party browser plug-in, such as interneTIFF , must be downloaded from the web.

Directions for building a DIY NASA Capacitor Thruster can be found on J.L. Naudin's site .

Electric powered rock ? ---- What will they think of next? See "The Williams Petradox" or "The Williams Enigmalith."