Ralph J. Coppola --- r_j_coppola<at>hotmail.com

SAS Disclaimer

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Feature

Forget the “Corn to Fuel” process! Let’s get rid of North America’s millions and millions of used tires. See Waste/Energy: Turning Tires and Oil Into Alternative Fuel.

Was Castro right?

The rising cost of corn is putting bite on food, drink and ethanol producers

The Ethyl War: Forbidden Fuel and Public Poison.

A US farm bill promotes advanced biofuels --- Legislation that promotes biofuels made from non-food crops and offers incentives to move away from corn ethanol production has been passed after the US Congress overturned Bush's veto of the legislation.

Is petroleum a fossil fuel? No, its not, according to the late Prof. Thomas Gold . In his two books, Power from the Earth and The Deep Hot Biosphere, he looks at the possibility that methane and other hydrocarbons are formed, naturally, deep beneath the Earth’s mantel.

Oil Doesn’t Come from Squashed Ferns and Fish

New Ideas in Science --- Dr. Thomas Gold.

Why not try your hand at producing your own DIY Ethanol fuel --- or --- Drain your deep fryer and make some bio-diesel.

LocalB100.com --- A web site for biodiesel, biodiesel homebrewers, and small-scale commercial producers.

Biodiesel links & resources

Wanderings

"Amateur Science--Strong Tradition, Bright Future" --- by Forrest M. Mims III.

Jimmy Yawn warns about the dangers of using potassium chlorate as a rocket fuel component. He’s right! Two of my high school friends were seriously injured “playing” with potassium chlorate.

Jimmy Yawn’s Recrystallized Rocketry Site --- Specializing in Rcandy: KNO3/Sucrose propellant made by solution and recrystallization.

Mohammed Bah Abba, from northern Nigerian, won a Rolex Award for Enterprise for his invention of a simple cooling system that can help preserve food in rural areas where there is no electricity.

Convert a tire inflator-type air compressor into a Simple DIY Vacuum Pump.

In many costal areas, wave power could supplement local energy requirements.

Start experimenting with DIY Wave Power.

The Creative Science Centre at the University of Sussex (UK) has, among other features, a Things to Make and Do page.

Has anyone seen the British TV program --- Rough Science? The show takes a team of scientists to some remote location and presents them with a series of challenges that they have to overcome. For example, in one case they had to determine their Latitude and Longitude. Check it out and see how you would solve some of their problems.

If you ever need a specialized spring why not try and make your own? --- How To Make Springs.

The Evil Mad Scientist shows us how to make our own analog computer --- a Fraction-of-an-inch Adding Machine.

Doug Coward’s Analog Computer Museum and History Center.

More mechanical analog computers can be found at the Slide Rule Universe.

While playing with my dog’s Chuckit, I got thinking about the atlatl, an ancient spear throwing device. There’s even an atlatl association --- The World Atlatl Association, Inc.

Rocketry Online is your global rocketry resource.

The Water Rocket Index

The Guerrilla Guide to CNC Machining

I came across these instructions for making DIY-Flexible-Printed-Circuits by accident. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a source for small quantities of the DuPont Pyralux. Perhaps you could get a free sample from DuPont.

A few weeks ago my daughter, Jennifer, heard about a Rocket Stove while attending a weekend Straw Bale Construction workshop. This high efficient stove sounds interesting:

·       The CCAT Rocket Stove

·       PYRO-Eco Stove for Cooking on Rural Areas

·       The Rocket Stove

·       Design Principals of Wood Burning Cook Stoves

·       Designing Improved Wood Burning Heating Stoves

·       Cooking With Cow Patties

Other DIY stoves can be found at the Wings: The Home-Made Stove Archives

Make Your Own Solar Cell

The Philosophy of Science Portal is a venue for discussions of science and philosophy.

Electronic Circuits and Tutorials

All About Circuits is an on-line electronics course.

Radio QRP --- The Art of Low Power and Clandestine Radio Transmitters.

Sam's Laser FAQ --- A Practical Guide to Lasers for Experimenters and Hobbyists.

Royal Society of Chemistry shows how to Build Your Own Spectrophotometer.

A digital camera + a CD-ROM + a cardboard tube + some aluminum foil, tape, and hot glue = a spectrometer/spectrograph.

Alton Moore’s DIY Wind Power Page

There are directions for making a Print-and-Fold Ames Room in Make Magazine #14.

The GRACE twin satellites are making detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field and revolutionizing investigations about Earth's water reservoirs over land, sea and ice.

PVC Schedule 40 & 80 Pipe Dimensions

Weed Identification Photo Gallery

The Nutrient Content of Fertilizer Materials

Signs of Thaw in a Desert of Snow --- Scientists Begin to Heed Inuit Warnings of Climate Change in Arctic.

The North Pole may be ice free for first time during the summer of 2008.

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs located, near the head of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada, is a world-class palaeontological site that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7 July 2008. These cliffs have yielded fossils that give an unprecedented glimpse into life during the Carboniferous Period, including a rich variety of flora, a diverse fauna of amphibians, some exciting track ways of the Arthropleura, and some of the world's first reptiles.

The Kids Room

ROBLOX --- The free Virtual Playworld.

Some Successful Designs for Inexpensive PVC Flutes

NCUBE --- The Norwegian Student Satellite Project.

Suppliers

Being listed here does not constitute an endorsement by SAS or me of any information, product or service.

The Scientific American Book Of Projects For The Amateur Scientist.

Light and Its Uses: Making and Using Lasers, Interferometers and Instruments of Dispersion

Home Power Magazine is your source of Solar, Wind and Hydro information.

The TechShop is a fully-equipped open-access workshop and creative environment that lets you drop in any time and work on your own projects at your own pace.

A wee bit expensive at $1000US/week but The Tinkering School, which offers an exploratory curriculum designed to help kids - ages 7 to 17 - learn how to build things, looks like fun.

MyPlasticStore ----- Canadian.

On The Lighter Side

It’s Alive!

The Darkroastedblend site will give you hours of browsing through weird and wonderful postings.

Hoax-Slayer ... Debunks the latest e-mail hoaxes & current Internet scams.

Snopes --- Did you hear an urban legend or is it true?

Use Globalspec’s Brain Strainer to build a rocket launcher.