Science Projects

[Daem0hn]

Well, i know most people on this forum are orientated mainly towards comptuers, so i dont konw how well this thread will do, neowin certainly isnt as scientifically orientated as 4hv.org however,

Its summer holidays from uni, and i'm BORED! im looking for a science project, preferably an electronics project to work on during the holidays.

So i made this thread, in which you should share science projects that you have been involved in.

hopefully this will generate some positive and intellegent discussion :)

[Daem0hn]

i'm a second year electronic engineering + computer science student and have been involved in a few hobbiest projects.

one of the larger projects ive completed is a small scale 'coilgun' to demonstrate various laws of magnetism and hopefully inspire students interests in physics. This i sold to my old school as a demonstation model for around $200AUD.

This project ran from a 12V external powersource, the school uses a 12V powersupply. Energy for the coil is stored in two 1100uF 400V Electrolytics wired in series. These are charged to 350VDC using a switch mode powersupply (i adapted the design from a 12V flourescent invereter). The caps charge in about 10 seconds, and launch a iron bolt of 4cm length, 8mm diameter about 25 metres (~16m/s).

i finished this about a year ago, after working on it for 3 months or so and it met the specifications laid down to me by my highschool physics teacher.

i'm midway through building a multistage gun, however the monotony of winding coils got to me, and its on the to-do list.

Ive got many more projects to share, hopefully this thread sees some posting activity so that it doesnt disappear into the bottomless pit that is neowin :p

[Rob2687]

Build a machine that winds the coils for you then :p