Post by thread:[AD]: or [OT]: Amateur Scientist CD/Scientific Ame

I recommended looking at the old _Amateur Scientist_ columns a few weeks ago for a student looking for wind tunnel designs. (These are from the once-great Scientific American magazine). I recently got a CD from a place called Surplus Shack that has basically ALL the old Amateur Scientist columns on it. Some of it is a bit dated (like you'll want to use PICs rather than vacuum tubes), but there is a lot of great info on glassblowing, lasers, high vacuum systesms, particle accelerators you can build in your basement, etc. etc. It's all gotten a bit much with liability and waning interest these days, and the better columns were mostly conducted by CL Stong who actually built most of the projects, few of the columns after 1972 or so were all that impressive. (there's also a CD of shovelware demos included but I have not played with that yet). All the illustrations are inluded in high and low res, and the text is HTML, not just scanned. It was originally something like $90 but this place had it for just $39+ shipping, and I've since found Amazon now carries it for exactly the same price. If you are interested in this sort of tinkering and learning, this is a really excellent resource. There was a book produced, but it isn't as up to date as this and goes for a premium when you can find it used. I had it years ago and have been searching used book stores for ages trying to find another copy. Anyway, I'd highly recommend this CD if your interests include any of these areas. www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=speffcom-20&creative=4985&cam p=993&link_code=st1&path=ASIN/097034760X The above link will take you to Amazon (and I'll get a small kickback if you order it from there) or go to Amazon or your and search for it, or search for Surplus Shack. Any way it's worth it. Best regards, P.S. Here's the search I did for "Wind Tunnel" Search Results Found 24 relevant articles November 1997 Caught in a Wind Tunnel 54% estimated relevance March 1993 Flight-Testing Fruit Flies 51% estimated relevance July 1972 An Amateur Makes a Wind Tunnel to Study the Vortexes That Form Around a Cylinder 45% estimated relevance October 1966 How to Build a Wind Tunnel That Achieves Supersonic Speeds with a Vacuum System 43% estimated relevance April 1953 About a Small Wind Tunnel, Cloud Chambers and "Primitive" Techniques of Measurements 34% estimated relevance May 1955 How to Make an Aerodynamic Smoke Tunnel and More about the Puzzle of the 12 Balls 29% estimated relevance October 1955 Some Simple Apparatus for Studying the Dynamics Airflow and Waterflow 29% estimated relevance April 1969 The Lore and Aerodynamics of Making Flying Kites 28% estimated relevance Supplement: Measuring the Wind with Hot Metal 28% estimated relevance October 1971 Experiments with Wind: a Pendulum Anemometer and Miniature Tornadoes 27% estimated relevance Feburary 1978 Introducing the Musha, the Double Lozenge and a Number of Other Kits to Build and Fly 26% estimated relevance August 1965 How to Measure Raindrops, Make Snowflakes, and Simulate Subatomic Particle Scattering 19% estimated relevance April 1957 On Testing Boat Designs Without a Towing Tank, and Skipping Stones on the Beach 19% estimated relevance May 1971 Schlieren Photography Is Used to Study the Flow of Air Around Small Objects 19% estimated relevance August 1975 Graphs That Predict When Planets Will Line Up with Another Planet or the Sun 15% estimated relevance April 1954 On a Well-Made Refracting Telescope and Testing Airplanes in the Bathtub 13% estimated relevance September 1953 About Sundials and the Cyclotron, the Latter Built By a Group of Bold High School Boys 12% estimated relevance Feburary 1988 The Feathery Wake of a Moving Boat Is a Complex Interference Pattern 12% estimated relevance August 1967 A Gauge to Measure Tiny Changes in Gas Pressure; Growth Substances in Plants 11% estimated relevance Feburary 1964 How to Photograph Air Currents in Color and Build an Accurate Foucault Pendulum 10% estimated relevance Feburary 1973 Molecular Models and an Interferometer That Can Be Constructed At Modest Cost 10% estimated relevance August 1974 An Air Flash Lamp Advances Color Schlieren Photography 10% estimated relevance June 1957 About the Activities and the Trials of Amateur Rocket Experimenters 8% estimated relevance March 1980 Stalking the Fossil Trilobite, Crinoid, and Seed Fern in Ohio 8% estimated relevance Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" spam_OUTspeffTakeThisOuTinterlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com /.-.\ (( * )) \\ // Please help if you can: \\\ dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/US/Emergency_Information/ //\\\ /// \\\ \/ \/ -- http://www.piclist.com hint: To leave the PICList .....piclist-unsubscribe-requestKILLspam@spam@mitvma.mit.edu

Thanks, Spehro! I just went to Amazon.com and ordered myself a copy of the Amateur Scientist CD. For many years I owned a copy of the Amateur Scientist book, and considered it one of my prize possessions. I bought it in 1963 and had it until 1996 when a student borrowed it and never returned it. The CD contains much more material than the book, and I am eagerly looking forward to rummaging through all of the articles. I have read every Scientific American magazine since 1898, and found them to be an invaluable resource. However, the current Scientific American magazine pales in comparison. The current incarnation of the magazine is void of useful information, and once they dropped the Amateur Scientist column it ceased being intereseting to me. The latest issue was pathetic. I think I will let my subscription run out and not renew it. But this treasure trove of Amateur Scientist columns on the CD will be a great welcome addition to my collection of truly USEFUL and entertaining items. Like Spehro, I HIGLY recommend this CD. At $39 it is a fantastic bargain!! Fr. Thomas McGahee {Original Message removed}