Expert electrician Danny Herb demonstrates in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions how to replace a light switch and how to replace a wall socket. He begins by showing you how to turn off the circuit breaker, an essential first step to any electrical repair, and offers safety tips and advice for working with electricity. He shows you the tools and equipment you'll need to get the job done, and how to test electrical outlets to be certain they aren't still hot.
Make sure your next apartment rental goes smoothly by properly checking the property before signing a contract. This way you will avoid unexpected disappointments or problems that you were not aware off. Moving is hard enough, give yourself all the advantage you can by going in prepared.
In this video you will learn how to decorate your boy's room with lockers using cheap and fun ways. In order to do that you need to follow this steps and tips from the video: The first thing that you need to do is to get a large locker where you can deposit your kid's toys and athletic stuff. Another tip or step is to install timers to your kid's room. The timers will turn off the light and you won't have to worry because your electricity bill. This tips will help you organize your kid's room...
Before undertaking any electrical project, it is imperative that you know precisely what it is you're doing and to keep in mind that electricity can kill. With that said, this electrical tutorial presents a guide to identifying the switched live wire on a lighting circuit and also explains how to rewire a ceiling rose. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on completing this home project, take a look.
Getting your own blog is easier than what you can imagine. Thanks to WordPress. One need not be a techie to follow the steps mentioned below (though certain stages might require third-party advice).
I am writing this quick post in response to the recent earthquakes and tsunamis that are affecting Japan. As soon as the news broke, and we began to hear of tsunami warning for our area, I immediately realized how under prepared I was for a natural disaster. The thing that drove this point home even deeper was the number of people asking me for advice on what they could do to prepare for the possibility that we are hit by one of the resultant tsunamis. Many thoughts raced through my mind, and...
Nothing sets off your garden beds like a nice, crisp edge. Here are four common tools for edging a garden bed. This video gives you a few options on how to edge your garden.
Solar panels are an amazing invention. Catching energy from the Sun before it even enters Earth's food chain, photovoltaics are like an all-natural nuclear power plant. Unfortunately, the constituted parts of a solar panel are rare, valuable, and subject to the coercive forces of market competition.
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to put in a ceiling fan. Steps:
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to create zones in a hot water system. Steps:
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to flush your water heater. Steps:
There are many reasons to take cold showers. It can improve circulation, stabilize blood pressure, improve skin and/or hair, and improve immunity. Cold showers are not easy to just jump into. It does take some time to adapt to the shock of getting into cold water and then staying with it.
Dress yourself and friends as unique super heros and some evil villans. Go around saving random people from everyday things such as shoping bags and ice cream cones. also fight off you evil villan friends. It would be hilarious to watch
Air fresheners are often packed with chemicals or they plug into the wall and use electricity. In this how-to video, you'll learn how to make a natural, organic air freshener with an orange, a length of rope, and some dried cloves. Watch this video and make your own citrus air freshener today. Make a natural air freshener.
I'm sure most everyone has some kind of fluorescent light source in their home; those long white tubes that emit a bright white light when turned on, or maybe a few of the CFL power-saver bulbs. These bulbs actually require very little "power" (i.e. a high voltage:almost no current ratio) to emit light. In fact, static electricity is enough to make them flicker. Inside these tubes is a gas, and when electricity flows through that gas, it gets "excited" and produces light.
Looking for a front-yard upgrade that'll have visitors beating a well-lit path to your door? The answer is an easy to install pathway lighting set. Too often, we're forced to choose between form and function. But when it comes to the route that leads to your front door, you can have it both ways: a pathway lighting system that combines the safety and security of good exterior illumination along with decorative elements that enhance your landscaping. Even though you might not have any experien...
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to change your water heater anode rod. Steps:
Are your exterior lamps looking totally out of place? Bring them back into the fold with a simple spray paint face lift. As every fashion-conscious gal knows, accessories make all the difference. The same is true for your house: the decorative touches, accent pieces, and color schemes can make the difference between a house that looks all together or altogether tacky. Exterior lights are a perfect example: do your lamps match your home like the perfect pair of earrings match your outfit? If n...
If you're ever in a survival situation where you have no electricity and you're fresh out of flashlight batteries, fear not. By using commonplace items such as glass containers, old T-shirts, and cheap vegetable oil, you can very easily put together your own DIY oil lamp that will brighten up that darkness for hours. And no matter how fancy those store-bought scented candles can smell, none of them will smell as good as a DIY lard candle made with your leftover bacon grease.
In this article, I'll be showing you how to make a simple yet effective static electricity generator. Basically, this device allows you to carry a constant static charge on your body and discharge it on anything grounded or of opposite polarity. The electricity generated is around 8-10 kV, at a very low current. The shock is enough to startle your friends, just like a static shock from a trampoline or carpeted room. You'll need a little experience in soldering and circuit design to build the ...
In this article, I'll show you how to built a Wireless Transfer of Energy Transmitter. Simply put, this device will send electricity to a florescent light bulb and light it up, from up to three feet. The idea originally (at least, prominently) came from Nikola Tesla (read more about this amazing inventor here), who used his Tesla coils to transfer wireless energy to light bulbs in demonstrations (photo below). However, the circuit described in this article consists of a flyback transformer, n...
In this series, I'll be exploring electromagnetic weapons, how to build them, their function and application to the future, and the amazing possibilities electromagnetism has to offer. First, the electromagnetic pulse generator, or EMP. You've probably heard of these before, and their devastating effects on electronics. A simple EMP consists of a capacitor, transformer, trigger, and coil of copper wire. This, when triggered, would produce an intense magnetic field for a brief period, similar ...
Bounce Energy, a Texas electricity service provider, shows you how to read your Bounce Energy Bill
No kidding, watch below as 500,000 volts of electricity literally course over a man's body. Of course, he has a little protection: the faraday suit. The video was shot in Austin, Texas, for a German television documentary. Producer Johannes Wiebus is quoted as saying:
We have seen it before (previous post: Human Powered Ferris Wheel), but it never gets any less amazing. Talk about resourcefulness. No need for electricity. Use humans to power your ferris wheel (if you had one sitting around... I wish I had one). Via Make,
In this article, I'll show you how to build a simplistic circuit to generate negative ions. Negative ions have been known to contribute to fresher air, happier mood, and general health benefits. However, they also look amazing in the dark (check out the photos below, purple plasma is amazing!). And if all else fails, they make a cool nightlight. If you've ever been around a Tesla coil, cathode ray tube TV or sometimes even on a trampoline, you've probably noticed that smell; the smell of "sta...
Redstone and electricity have much in common. They both have what's called resistance. That is, they only travel a certain distance before the signal degrades to the point where it's unusable, and they take a certain amount of time to get there. With electricity, that time is nearly instantaneous because electricity is extremely fast. Redstone, on the other hand, is pretty slow.
In this article, I'll show you how to make a portable prank stun-baton. Powered by static electricity, simply charge up the baton, and discharge it for a static surprise. The concept behind this device ties in with Leyden jars, and their tendencies to retain static electricity.
Computer viruses are terrifying. They are undetectable, dangerous, and operate constantly right under your nose. For the average computer user, there are only a few repair options. You could buy expensive antivirus software that causes more problems than it fixes, you can wipe your hard drive clean and lose all of your important data, or if all else fails—just switch to Linux.
Hi everyone! I love the ideas what you showed us and the how to make does electric stuffs, but I had some ideas:
The Telegraph reports that a team of researchers lead by Dr. Sang-Woo Kim of the Institute of Nanotechnology at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul have developed a method for converting the energy from sound into electricity. They've applied the research to the charging of mobile phones, and while you don't have to yell with all the emotion and fear exhibited above by Drew Barrymore in Scream, it sounds like the more energy the better. Dr. Sang-Woo Kim says:
Another example of outstanding resourcefulness and ingenuity in the medical community (see earlier this week: Blood Sucking Plunger Could Heal Millions).
This is the third part of my electromagnetic pulse series (see Part One and Part Two). By now, I've covered the hardware and general concept of electromagnetic pulse generators, but how exactly do they disable electronics? How can an invisible field of energy have such a catastrophic effect on computers, cell phones, and most any other electronics? I'll be answering all these questions in part three of Making Electromagnetic Weapons.
As some of you Mad Science readers will remember, we recently covered the separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. Passing a current through water can rend it apart, but we can also recombine that oxygen and hydrogen to make electricity! This is the principle behind those vehicles run by hydrogen fuel cell engines.
In this article, I'll show you how to create a simple yet accurate demonstration of the "rising ionized gas" principle. In other words, a transformer, two metal prongs and lots of evil laughter. Remember those large "towers" in the background of Frankenstein movies with a "lightning bolt" rising upwards every few seconds? That's called a Jacob's Ladder; one of the coolest awe-inspiring demonstrations of high voltage. Here's a video of the final product: Materials and Tools
Tesla coil music, a method of modulating the frequency of a Solid State Tesla Coil to produce music. The result is an amazing lightshow of electricity, paired with music!
Here are some easy ways to lower your summer electricity bill and make your home more energy efficient!!
So my next project is how to video. How to make your home Energy Efficient for the Summer Months. Its gonna be filled with tips and ways to lower your electricity bill and make your home more energy efficient!
One of the creepiest musical instruments ever is undoubtedly the theremin, a device originating from the early 20s that emits eerie sounds with a just a wave of the hand. If you've seen the original movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, you know what I mean—freakishly creepy. Playing the theremin can be off-putting for some, since it's a relatively pricy gizmo, but a new geek gadget called the EaTheremin aims to make all of us professional, dinnertime theremists.
Kitchen appliances use large amounts of energy, knowing which appliances draw the most and helpful tips on reducing usage can really go a long way to save you money on your monthly electricity bill.