Hydrogen can be used to improve mileage. The hope with this method is that hydrogen will increase the amount of gasoline combusted and increase fuel efficiency, as you trickle hydrogen into the tank. Often propane is used to increase gas mileage. The studies are still being done. There's no official data at present, but there is significant experimentation.
Do you even know what a Leyden jar is? Well... it's an early form of capacitor made from a glass jar with layers of metal foil on the outside and inside. This video tutorial will show you how to make a Leyden jar to store static electricity. This Leyden jar will give you a powerful shock!
Magnetic ink is generally used by the banking industry to allow computers to read information off of a check, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun with it. The guys over at openMaterials have figured out a great recipe for a DIY magnetic ink that you can use for an interesting art project—or just to mess around.
"Tron: Legacy" may have not been the most plot-driven movie out there, nor will it be an Oscar contender, but cinematography-wise it was truly a feast for the eyes. One of our favorite video game characters from the movie was Gem, one of the sirens who suit Sam up for the games.
Take a journey to the center of a vortex. A beautiful whirlpool is created by the magnetic coupler inside a tall CD cover, driven by the Tesla CD Turbine on faucet water pressure.
Gummi Bears are great for science experiments due to their gelatinous makeup. In this video you will learn how NOT to make a Gummi Bear conduct electricity, but in fact how to use them to demonstrate osmosis and crystallization by preparing them for conductivity.
Glass normally doesn't conduct electricity, but there are all sorts of cosmetic and industrial applications for conductive glass. There are easy and hard ways to make it. This video will show you one so easy you can do it at home with only four ingredients: glass, Stannous Chloride, toothpaste, and alcohol.
Electroluminescent devices need electricity to light up, clearly, so if you're working on an EL project building a proper power supply is crucial. In this video you'll learn how to make a DIY power supply for your EL projects that is safe, effective, and cheap.
Electroluminescent (EL) materials light up when electricity passes through them, as opposed to more common incandescent lights that respond to heat. EL displays are becoming very popular in advertising and art,but getting them or the materials to make them can be expensive. Watch this video to learn how to turn an LCD into a simple EL display, and also how superglue can be used as a cheap dielectric in this sort of project.
This video demonstrates the relationship between electricity and magnetism and shows how to construct an electromagnet using a 4 inch iron nail, 5 meters of copper wire and a 1.5 volt AA battery. Electromagnetism was discovered by the Danish scientist Oersted. Electromagnetism is the science behind electric motors, solenoids, speakers and electromagnets.
Learn the elevation card trick with this instructive how-to video. Fascinate friends with your ability to magically make cards rise up and out of a deck as if levitating.
Personally, I know life would be a lot easier if the people in it could just read my mind. Since that technology is currently unavailable, it's comforting to know that your air conditioner can be your personal telepathist with Sensibo.
Michael Faraday was awesome. He discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis, and he invented the Bunsen burner (before it was the Bunsen burner). Because of his work, we can make suits that can withstand 1,000,000 volts of electricity and cases to protect our gadgets from nuclear attacks.
First off—Happy Independence Day! Since it's the 4th of July, let's make this week's roundup short and sweet, so you can all get back to your holiday festivities.
In this tutorial by Lowe's, we learn how to install exterior motion-sensor lights with Lowe's. First, you will need to pick out what kind of motion sensor light you want. Most of the kits you purchase will come equipped with all the things you need, you will just need to supply the hardware. You will need: a screwdriver, circuit tester, electrical tape, silicone caulk, work gloves, and safety glasses. Open up the package and find the directions inside of it. After this, turn off the electrici...
In this Education video tutorial you will learn how to build a wind turbine with PVC windmill blades. This project when completed will charge a 12V battery. You can turn a motor in to a generator. When you spin the shaft on the generator, electricity is generated. So you get a motor with a flywheel and attach the turbine blades to it. When the blades turn with wind action, electricity will be generated. Take PVC pipes, 8" in diameter and 24" long. Cut the blades out of the pipe as per directi...
This video shows the viewer how to start a fire without sing matches or electricity. This is done by first selecting a fairly large dry log. The aim is to ‘chip’ or peel smaller pieces of wood off from this log. These pieces will burn more easily and as such will make it easier to start the fire – a small hatchet is a useful tool to use when breaking down the larger log. Once you have the kindling place it on an alcohol wipe. Then use a flint or a fire steel to ignite the alcohol wipe. Once t...
Like a lemon, a potato can produce electricity. This science experiment was prepared by Ebtisam Al Anzoor and demonstrated by Mustafa Daif. The electricity is proven using an analog micro ameter. The positive is copper from a penny or copper coin while the negative is a galavanized nail. The potato releases a charge and is further proven when it is connected to a calculator. You can daisy chain the potatoes for a greater charge.
How to find your direction without a compass if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. Find cardinal points with an analog watch. It's more effective than a compass, because it's not affected by the earth's magnetic fields.
The trick in the video is that the magnets are made of a conducting material and they connect the battery terminals to the copper wire, so the battery, magnets and copper wire make a circuit that generates a magnet field just in the vicinity of the battery. The geometry means the two magnets are automatically at the ends of the generated magnetic field, where the field is divergent, so a force is exerted on the magnets.
Gravity can be a real pain when you are trying to finish a project and your supplies wind up on the ground.
In this software tutorial you will learn how to manipulate images in Photoshop to remove the background and then bring that transparent background image into After Effects without loosing the transparency. The Photoshop section covers the use of the Magnetic Lasso tool and Quick Mask to remove a background. With the image adjusted, you will learn how to import your new image into After Effects with preserved transparency.
EMFs (electro magnetic fields) can sap energy. Even if you don't believe that the art of feng shui can change your life, you can be sure that removing those EMFs from your bedroom will make you feel better. Learn how to boost your energy by watching this video interior design and feng shui tutorial.
Build a faraday motor with tips from this how-to video. In the early 1800s, physicist Michael Faraday invented the first device to convert electrical energy into mechanical motion. This is an easily built version of his motor. The magnet sets up a magnetic field, and the electrical current through the screw sets up a separate electromagnetic field around the screw. The two fields react and the result is rotation.
Balls go flying as MrfixitRick attempts to show how certain conditions cause a magnetic ball to reverse its direction, mysteriously revolving backwards to the rotating magnets of the CD Turbine.
The snapping function (the magnetic attraction between two clips or to the playhead) is sometimes very helpful and other times really annoying in Final Cut Pro. In this video you will learn to turn it on and off. A cool trick is to use the keyboard hot key to quickly turn the feature on and off.
Video showing how a battery-magnet-wire motor creates a rotating electro magnetic field. Watch the hanging bar magnet react to the rotations. You need a battery, magnet & copper wire.
You can learn how to make a magical magnetic toilet roll. To do this, you need a paper roll, a piece of paper, glue, and scissors. You cut the roll into two pieces, connect the roll to the piece of paper, and mark the middle gap to make inserting the third stripe more accurate.
About a third of the methane released into the environment comes from the production and transport of natural gas. The gas leaks as it moves along the transport chain from gas wellheads to market.
I don't like paying for repairs, and I don't like purchasing extended warranties. When one of my gadgets break, I perform emergency surgery and try and fix it myself. It doesn't always go well, but I've managed to resuscitate a few iPhones, an HDTV, an Android tablet, multiple MacBook Pros, and other gadgets seemingly on their deathbeds.
Some bacteria can already do it—generate electric current, that is—and those microbes are called "electrogenic." Now, thanks to the work of a research group from the University of California, Santa Barbara, we know how to easily turn non-electrogenic bacteria into electricity producers.
In this video, learn how to make your own homemade electroscope. An electroscope is an early scientific instrument that is used to detect the presence and magnitude of electric charge on a body and for static electricity experiments. They are easy to make. This electroscope is made from a binder clip and two sheets of plastic (or overhead transparency film), and scissors.
Helping to prove that science is way awesome, an 18-year old electrical engineering student has successfully made a light bulb float. His name is Chris Rieger, and he's been working on his "LevLight" project for about six months now, with pretty amazing results. This feat of ingenuity was accomplished by using magnetic levitation, although that over-simplification masks how considerably difficult this undertaking was.
Other than sticking your crayon drawings onto your refrigerator door, magnets have a variety of unexpected and sometimes surprisingly practical uses, ranging from keeping your chip bags sealed to creating weird patterns on your nail beds using magnetic nail polish.
Electical discharge machining is a techinque in which electricity is used to machine (cut, grind, etc.) metal. It usually invovles sophisticated tools and equipment, but not here! Watch this video for a guide to making a small electrical discharge machining machine with an old electric doorbell.
In this tutorial, learn how to make a very cool new lamp for your home. This string pendant lamp is so much fun, people will think you spent a ton of money on it, when in reality you can create it for less than ten bucks.
Mike Kraft of Lowe's shows you how easy it is to install a ceiling fan. Not only will it keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, but also it can dramatically lower your utility bills. Using common household tools, even an inexperienced electrician can install a ceiling fan within minutes. Working with electricity can be scary, but this video will show you step-by-step how to mount your ceiling fan safely and securely.
How were you supposed to know your computer can't swim? Isn't it called a laptop? You will need paper towels or lint-free cloth, cotton swabs, a towel, lots of luck, and professional help. Warning: liquids and electricity don't mix. Please make sure your hardware and all points of electrical contact are completely dry before plugging them in.
Learn how to control a normal bendy straw without touching it. Almost no prep required. Easy and amazing as you use static electricity to move it seemingly with your mind.
Sarah McColl teaches us how to light up a room or backyard with homemade lanterns. As she shows us, lighting is one thing you never want to neglect. Electricity is not required.
