This is an old article, but it’s still very relevant. The June 2006 edition of Wired Magazine has this article detailing the rise and fall of the garage chemist: Don’t try This At Home (here it is all on one page, but without all the pretty pictures).
The reason you should read this:
Taking chemicals and lab equipment away from kids who love science is like taking crayons and paints away from a kid who may grow up to be an artist.
[Links and resources after the jump] Read the rest of this entry »
Bare main board, stuffed main board, and a microscope head board.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s radio interview, I’ve been working diligently on a DIY Scanning-Tunneling Microscope (STM).
The device I’m building will be significantly cheaper than the $15k a student level machine would cost, and will hopefully reach that range of performance. I’m certainly not expecting to build a device that can have the accuracy to do real research for only a few hundred dollars, but I’m hopeful that we can achieve modest results.
Right now, I’m basing the design on the work of John Alexander, but we (my electrical engineering and software gurus and I) will be extending and improving this design for microprocessor control and trace capture. I’m also contacting some of the recent builders of this class of device to hear their opinions and advice. I really am standing on the shoulders of giants here, and by basing my work on that of a lot of (very) brilliant people, I hope to be able to achieve success.
[Project goals, current, and future state after the jump...] Read the rest of this entry »
Last night, I had the honor of an interview with David Dolphin and Gareth Eason from ITFreely, an Irish radio show on science and technology. We discussed hackerspaces, my current experiments, and the current state of garage experimentation.
It was a lot of fun, but listening to myself, I really wish I was more erudite and less stuttery – the final question was especially bad on my part – he asked me about the effects of an STM on drug manufacture, and I gave a true, but somewhat lame answer – that an STM really isn’t helpful for making drugs. Here’s basically what I wish I had said (I came up with this hours later, of course):
The truth is that people like me have much more to fear from society than society has to fear from us basement chemistry tinkerers.
The irrational fear that everyone with a chemistry set is making methamphetamines or bombs has caused a lot of unfounded raids and arrests. This stifles innovation and experimentation. Every time I mention that I have a chemistry lab in my house to anyone, that person immediately jokes about drugs or bombs, and that’s a little scary considering my country’s raid first, ask questions later mentality for chemistry. Hence the tagline I use on my website: Chemistry is Not a Crime.
In my case not only do I not know how to make meth, I honestly have no desire to make pharmaceuticals. Or explosives – both are way too dangerous, not to mention illegal. Turning $1.50 of household chemicals into $30 worth of nanoparticles sounds more than lucrative enough to me, and it has a much lower legal risk.
IT Freely Season 2, Episode 15: Eating the Elephant
It’s an old poster gag – the periodic table of ____ (beer, chocolate, Chuck Norris, game controllers, etc). Well, via information is beautiful comes my new favorite periodic table of ____ : the Periodic Table of Periodic Tables. I can’t imagine how much research time this took, but it looks great, and I can’t wait for the flash implementation the author promises.
(update: changed the links to point to the new version)
I’m not even a quarter of the way through, but each link is completely delightful!
A followup on the post on 12 cheap chemicals from the Hardware Store:
The drug store isn’t just a place to grab a prescription or hang out with a soda jerk (are there any soda jerks left?), you can get a lot of decent chemicals and supplies there too! Heck, there’s a reason why the old term for “pharmacist” is “chemist.”
The list after the jump:
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In my current job, I don’t do research, and I miss it. This is partially why I started the chemhacker project – it’s a way for me to take some fun chemical projects, research them, develop my own processes for making a few things, and maybe even make some new things.
Over the past few months, I have been slowly working on a process for making ferrofluids by making magnetite nanoparticles, then adding surfactants, and suspending them in a liquid. Starting only from (mostly) readily available household chemicals.
I started with a process that I know works, but has a lot of problems – the end product isn’t very good, and there are unnecessarily dangerous intermediate steps, but it works. I successfully ran through the bad process, listed all the problems I found, and prepared to move onto my new, safer, more efficient, better process.
And then it happened.
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Billing the videos as “real experiments, real science” Nurd Rage is my new favorite chemical YouTube Channel. I like the attitude of the narrator and I appreciate that this is real chemistry done by a real researcher. An easy indicator is that they are using vials (scintillation vials, actually) instead of test tubes.
Pro tip: many chemists refuse to use test tubes for their reactions unless they absolutely have to – they’re just too fragile and fiddly for everyday work, are hard to seal, and tip over when you set them down.
Nurd Rage Website
Nurd Rage YouTube Channel
Ahh, the friendly neighborhood hardware store, purveyor of bits and bobs, nuts and bolts, rat traps and… high quality chemicals for next to nothing?
While we certainly recommend online stores like United Nuclear or Make’s Science Room for obscure, specialty, or high-purity chemicals, your local hardware store is brimming with loads of industrial-grade chemicals for surprisingly low prices.
First, a few quick pro tips:
- We have noticed that the big box stores (Home Depot and Lowes) often don’t have many or all of these chemicals, while the smaller mom-and-pop (or Ace) stores generally do. So don’t be shy, go introduce yourself to your local hardware store.
- In general, we have found that the more expensive, mainstream, or consumer-oriented an item’s packaging is, the more likely that there are dyes and fragrances added. Look for store brands, plain packaging, or items intended for commercial or professional use.
12 Cheap Chemicals From Your Local Hardware Store:
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Copernicium Cn112
Time to throw away all your old periodic tables – there’s a new element in town…
First discovered in 1986, copernicium (the longest-lived isotope, Cn 285b has a half-life of 8.9 minutes), IUPAC officially recognized the discovery on February 19 of this year.
Here is the wikipedia article with all the details on the various isotopes and naming and symbolic conventions.
And here is a Universe Today article pre-announcing the IUPAC’s decision.
(image is CC BY-SA – click the image for more information)
I have a confession:
I <3 aluminum foil and can’t do chemistry without it.
When I first saw researcher friends using it, I was dumbfounded: what’s up with all the aluminum foil in your labs?
I’ve since become a convert: it’s a cheap, clean, impervious to spills, versatile, multitasking material that no lab should be without. Go out and buy a few rolls right now. You’ll save money and frustration after only one use.
Here are only a few reasons why you should have a roll at hand in your chemistry lab:
- Need a smooth, clean, spill-proof surface? Hey, presto! Just roll some out onto your workbench. When you’re done working, cleanup is a snap! Crumple it up, and toss it into the recycling bin. A sheet of aluminum foil won’t let spills touch your bench, is clean, and is a nice smooth surface.
- Weigh boats.
- Temporary container. (mine look exactly like my weigh boats)
- A quick funnel.
- A smooth surface to pour out a material for setting into a sheet.
- A place to rest a stirring rod or magnetic stir bar without contaminating your entire work area. Read the rest of this entry »
