Ralph J. Coppola --- r_j_coppola<at>hotmail.com
SAS Disclaimer
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Last month I wrote that I'd be out of action “until further notice.” Well, I did manage to get this month's column wrapped up before I went into surgery on 15 November. We'll have to wait and see if I can get something out for January.
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah
Feature
This year the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will be on Saturday 22 December 2007, 06:08 UTC
In 2006, my wife, Gail and I visited the Megalithic Passage Tomb at Knowth, and this year we dropped in at Stonehenge, which is located near Salisbury in the UK. Both Stonehenge and Knowth, along with Newgrange, are associated with the Winter Solstice.
Winter Solstice sunrise at Newgrange - 21st December 2004.
The Winter Solstice from Eric Weisstein's World of Science.
The Winter Solstice from Windows to the Universe.
Here is a list of web sites which discuss various facts and myths relating to the Winter Solstice.
Wanderings
In the prologue to his web site, Views from Science, Ely Silk talks about having a spinthariscope when he was young. I recall sometime in my youth sending 50 cents plus a box top from some brand of breakfast cereal and receiving a spinthariscope in the form of a ring. I spent a lot of time in a dark closet viewing the awesome scintillations.
You can buy a modern spinthariscope from United Nuclear for $30...
Or try your hand at hacking together a DIY spinthariscope.
Tom Van Baak is a Time Nut. That is, he is a member of a group of amateurs who are interested in precise time & frequency measurements. On his web site, LeapSecond.com, he documents his Project GREAT: Does gravity really alter time and can this weird phenomenon be detected with a family road trip experiment?
Here is an Earth Field Magnetometer that may be a bit more ambitious project than those listed in past columns.
This High-Power Rocketry Flight Computer can compile data like altitude and acceleration, and then send it to a cell phone.
This Simple USB Data Acquisition System features a simple GUI that allows you to view graphical data instead of streaming serial data.
Peter Terren, an Australian amateur scientist, demonstrates his interests in his Tesla Downunder site.
Get ready for the 2008 Project Budburst that begins in January 2008.
Build your own Segway Scooter
Solar Cookers International (SCI) is a charity that spreads solar cooking awareness and skills worldwide.
The El Paso Solar Energy Association was founded to further the development and application of solar energy and related technologies.
The Review of Solar Cooker Designs is an extensive archive consisting of more than 56 major designs, over 69 variations and drawings from all over the world.
Skygazing: Astronomy Through the Seasons
Science at Accessplace.com
The Kids Room
Paige Ferrari says that 10 most dangerous playthings of all time. Give me a break!!!!!!
Build the best paper airplane in the world!
PBS & ZOOM shows you how to build a Solar Cooker.
The Wolfram Demonstrations Project is an open-code resource that uses dynamic computation to illuminate concepts in science, technology and, mathematics.
About.com has a collection of K12+ Science Projects.
Parents, here are some neat chemistry projects that you can do with your kids.
Don't know the answer? Well then why don't you Ask a Scientist?
Suppliers
Being listed here does not constitute an endorsement by SAS or me of any information, product or service.
Do you remember Steve Silberman's article Don't Try This at Home, that appeared in Wired Magazine? The article chronicled United Nuclear's run in with the “law.” Fortunately, they are still in business. Check out the United Nuclear web site for a wide selection of supplies for the amateur. RATS! They don't ship to up here to Canada :-(
From The Far Side
The Resonate Coil Project 
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