This bestselling DIY handbook now features new and expanded projects, enabling ordinary folks to construct 16 awesome ballistic devices in their garage or basement workshops using inexpensive household or hardware store materials and this step-by-step guide. Clear instructions, diagrams, and photographs show how to build projects ranging from the simple match-powered rocket to the more complex tabletop catapult and the offbeat Cincinnati fire kite. The classic potato cannon has a new evil twin--the piezo-electric spud gun and the electromagnetic pipe gun has joined the company of such favorites as the tennis ball mortar. With a strong emphasis on safety, the book also gives tips on troubleshooting, explains the physics behind the projects, and profiles scientists and extraordinary experimenters such as Alfred Nobel, Robert Goddard, and Isaac Newton. This book will be indispensable for the legions of backyard toy-rocket launchers and fireworks fanatics who wish every day was the fourth of July.

Memorable and thoroughly understandable science lessons, liberally sprinkled with humor, will fascinate beginning physics students as well as other readers in such chapters as On a Clear Day You Can't See Forever, Physics on a Manure Heap, A Murder in Ceylon, and Multiple Scattering at the Breakfast Table.

Beautifully illustrated collection of naturalist projects anyone can do at home

• Features 20 projects with clear descriptions of materials and tools, plus a few bonus activities
• Includes step-by-step instructions with charming, informative illustrations
• Tips for troubleshooting and taking the project to the next level

The Naturalist at Home emphasizes hands-on exploration with easy outdoor projects designed to help naturalists observe and study everything from invertebrates to mushrooms to mammals. Critically-acclaimed writer and naturalist Kelly Brenner developed these projects based on real techniques used by naturalists and scientists in the field. Easy to adapt, they are suitable for naturalists at all levels of experience and expertise.

These projects bridge the gap between sophisticated science experiments and easy nature activities and between reading about nature and experiencing it in a real and tangible way. They are simple to carry out, and naturalists can repurpose items they have at home, find them at a thrift store, or purchase inexpensive tools and materials. Detailed descriptions of organisms, along with the author's hand-drawn illustrations, help naturalists visualize what they may discover.

To become a ninja master, you need discipline, a silent footstep, and an impressive personal arsenal. Author and toy designer John Austin provides step-by-step instructions on how to turn everyday household and office items into 37 different ninja weapons for the modern era, including: the Crouching Tiger Catapult, Paper Clip Grappling Hook, Origami Boomerang, Magazine Nunchucks, Craft Stick Katana, Pencil Top Eraser Dart, and more

Once you've assembled an armory, the author provides several targets to practice your shooting skills--nested paper cups become a dragon; chopsticks and a paper plate form a tripod bulls-eye, and more. Armed, trained, and shrouded in black, you are now prepared for missions of reconnaissance and sabotage and other grim errands.

If you're a budding spy, what better way to conceal your clandestine activities than to miniaturize your secret agent arsenal? MiniWeapons of Mass Destruction 2 provides fully illustrated step-by-step instructions for building 30 different spy weapons and surveillance tools, including:

* Paper Dart Watch * Pen Blowgun

* Rubber Band Derringer * Mint Tin Catapult

* Pushpin Dart * Cotton Swab .38 Special

* Toothpaste Periscope * Paper Throwing Star

* Bionic Ear * And more

Once you've assembled your weaponry, the author provides a number of ideas on how to hide your stash--inside a deck of cards, a false-bottom soda bottle, or a cereal box briefcase--and targets for practicing your spycraft, including a flip-down firing range, a fake security camera, and sharks with laser beams.

Utilizing easy-to-find and inexpensive materials, this handy resource teaches desktop warriors how to build a multitude of medieval siege weapons for the modern era. Novice combatants will learn to build 35 defense weapons, including a marshmallow catapult, a chopstick bow, a bottle cap crossbow, and a clothespin ballista. In addition to beefing up their Dark Age arsenal, would-be warriors are provided with a number of targets on which to practice their shooting skills. Clear diagrams, instructions, and safety tips for each project are included, making construction of each of these weapons simple, safe, and fun.

Million-copy bestselling author of The Elements, Molecules, and Reactions Theodore Gray applies his trademark mix of engaging stories, real-time experiments, and stunning photography to the inner workings of machines, big and small, revealing the extraordinary science, beauty, and rich history of everyday things.
Theodore Gray has become a household name among fans, both young and old, of popular science and mechanics. He's an incorrigible tinkerer with a constant curiosity for how things work. Gray's readers love how he always brings the perfect combination of know-how, humor, and daring-do to every project or demonstration, be it scientific or mechanical.In How Things Work he explores the mechanical underpinnings of dozens of types of machines and mechanisms, from the cotton gin to the wristwatch to an industrial loom. Filled with stunning original photographs in Gray's inimitable style, How Things Work is a must-have exploration of stuff--large and small--for any builder, maker or lover of mechanical things.

Learn how monitoring the night sky, mapping trees, photographing dragonflies, and identifying mushrooms can help save the world.

Citizen science is the public involvement in the discovery of new scientific knowledge. A citizen science project can involve one person or millions of people collaborating towards a common goal. It is an excellent option for anyone looking for ways to get involved and make a difference. The Field Guide to Citizen Science, from the expert team at SciStarter, provides everything you need to get started. You'll learn what citizen science is, how to succeed and stay motivated when you're participating in a project, and how the data is used. The fifty included projects, ranging from climate change to Alzheimer's disease, endangered species to space exploration, mean sure-fire matches for your interests and time. Join the citizen science brigade now and start making a real difference!

Do you dream an eco-friendly home even if you are not expert in electrical systems? If you want to live off-grid you are in the right place.

If what has always stopped you is the worry of initial investments, put these thoughts aside. With this pocket manual you will discover how to save thousands of dollars in the long run by having a smart home.

Our planet is suffering, it will be explained why solar energy is the most beneficial and renewable energy source to get you excited about incorporating it into your life.

Solar Power for Beginners is the complete guide that will allow you to achieve all this, from the necessary supplies to the connection of all the tools. The step-by-step solution illustrated and written in a simple and direct way to effectively help anyone who wants to approach this technique.

In details you'll find:

• Why you should avoid other sources of energy in favor of solar power.
• Buying guide for the equipment (batteries, panels, inverter) and sizing requirements
• Longevity of materials and how to protect them
• The quick and safely technique to design, install and connect all the necessary tools
• Tips and tricks for the better set up
• Advantages and disadvantages of the best products available on the market
• What happens if you move taking the equipment with you?
• Specific environments that are most conducive to solar

... and much more

Even if you have failed until no trying with complex manuals and impractical instructions, this DIY book will finally allow you to hit the target without pain.

Everyone can live greener, scroll to the top and get your copy right now.

Author of the best-selling book The Elements Theodore Gray demonstrates essential scientific principles through thrilling daredevil experiments.

In Mad Science, Theodore Gray launches a toy rocket using the energy released from an Oreo cookie, ignites a phosphorus sun by suspending half a gram of white phosphorus in a globe filled with pure oxygen and creates a homemade hot tub by adding 500 pounds of quicklime to water. These are just a few of the 54 experiments included in this astonishing book that demonstrates essential scientific principles in ways you were likely never exposed to in school.

Every experiment in Mad Science is accompanied by full-color photographs that provide a front-row seat to rarely seen chemical reactions and glorious subatomic activity. To further enhance the hands-on experience, Gray includes step-by-step instructions for nearly every experiment. Following all of the safety guidelines, readers can even re-create some of the experiments in the book.

Mad Science is the perfect book for anyone fascinated by all things chemical, electrical, or explosive, and who loves a vicarious thrill.

Experience the magic of biology in your own home lab. This hands-on introduction includes more than 30 educational (and fun) experiments that help you explore this fascinating field on your own. Perfect for middle- and high-school students and DIY enthusiasts, this full-color guide teaches you the basics of biology lab work and shows you how to set up a safe lab at home.

The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments is also written with the needs of homeschoolers firmly in mind, as well as adults who are eager to explore the science of nature as a life-long hobby. To get the most from the experiments, we recommend using this guide in conjunction with a standard biology text, such as the freely downloadable CK-12 Biology (ck-12.org).

• Master the use of the microscope, including sectioning and staining
• Build and observe microcosms, soda-bottle worlds of pond life
• Investigate the chemistry of life from simple acids, bases, and buffers to complex carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, enzymes, and DNA
• Extract, isolate, and observe DNA
• Explore photosynthesis, osmosis, nitrogen fixation, and other life processes
• Investigate the cell cycle (mitosis and cytokinesis)
• Observe populations and ecosystems, and perform air and water pollution tests
• Investigate genetics and inheritance
• Do hands-on microbiology, from simple culturing to micro-evolution of bacteria by forced selection
• Gain hands-on lab experience to prepare for the AP Biology exam

Through their company, The Home Scientist, LLC (thehomescientist.com/biology), the authors also offer inexpensive custom kits that provide specialized equipment and supplies you'll need to complete the experiments. Add a microscope and some common household items and you're good to go.

For students, DIY hobbyists, and science buffs, who can no longer get real chemistry sets, this one-of-a-kind guide explains how to set up and use a home chemistry lab, with step-by-step instructions for conducting experiments in basic chemistry -- not just to make pretty colors and stinky smells, but to learn how to do real lab work:

• Purify alcohol by distillation
• Produce hydrogen and oxygen gas by electrolysis
• Smelt metallic copper from copper ore you make yourself
• Analyze the makeup of seawater, bone, and other common substances
• Synthesize oil of wintergreen from aspirin and rayon fiber from paper
• Perform forensics tests for fingerprints, blood, drugs, and poisons
• and much more

From the 1930s through the 1970s, chemistry sets were among the most popular Christmas gifts, selling in the millions. But two decades ago, real chemistry sets began to disappear as manufacturers and retailers became concerned about liability., em>The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments steps up to the plate with lessons on how to equip your home chemistry lab, master laboratory skills, and work safely in your lab. The bulk of this book consists of 17 hands-on chapters that include multiple laboratory sessions on the following topics:

• Separating Mixtures
• Solubility and Solutions
• Colligative Properties of Solutions
• Introduction to Chemical Reactions & Stoichiometry
• Reduction-Oxidation (Redox) Reactions
• Acid-Base Chemistry
• Chemical Kinetics
• Chemical Equilibrium and Le Chatelier's Principle
• Gas Chemistry
• Thermochemistry and Calorimetry
• Electrochemistry
• Photochemistry
• Colloids and Suspensions
• Qualitative Analysis
• Quantitative Analysis
• Synthesis of Useful Compounds
• Forensic Chemistry

With plenty of full-color illustrations and photos, Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments offers introductory level sessions suitable for a middle school or first-year high school chemistry laboratory course, and more advanced sessions suitable for students who intend to take the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam. A student who completes all of the laboratories in this book will have done the equivalent of two full years of high school chemistry lab work or a first-year college general chemistry laboratory course.

This hands-on introduction to real chemistry -- using real equipment, real chemicals, and real quantitative experiments -- is ideal for the many thousands of young people and adults who want to experience the magic of chemistry.

THOUSANDS OF COPIES SOLD

This is my 2nd collection of 50 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) challenges for kids. This is recommended for ALL GRADES These projects support the engineering-design process and provide learning in technical fields in a fun, hands-on, and sometimes competitive way. Keep kids engaged and learning creatively

Each challenge has a snappy mission title, a brief description of the task required, the rules for the mission, and optional grading rubrics. These are very adjustable for your classroom, home, camp, science lab, or homeschooling needs. With minor tweaks, these projects could easily be used from grades K to 12

Each project is a critical thinking challenge and experiment. Students will have to figure out how to defeat each task. Children will learn by planning, designing, testing, and measuring. Then, they will have to reflect upon their work. Often, students will have to go back and redesign their projects to make them work better. It is highly recommended that students keep journals, blogs, or video reports of their projects

Challenge projects are tagged with categories so you can search for other similar labs. Types of labs included are: paper airplanes, bridge building, roller coasters, weight lifting projects, tower construction, cars, strength tests, crash tests, egg tests, and many, many more

Russian popular-science writer Yakov Perelman makes physics fun in his classic book, offering real-world applications, demonstrations, and fascinating phenomena that remain relevant-and educational-to modern readers. This book explains many of the most entertaining aspects of the physical world and its principles, including optical illusions, light tricks and mirages, watermelon force, gravity and flight, travel to the moon, brain teasers, heat, boomerangs, perpetual motion machines, echoes, and feats of strength.

Presented by Quid Pro Books as a Digitally Remastered Book, (TM) this edition is unlike vintage republications that repeat printer errors or copying artifacts from the original. Instead, the process markedly reduces underlines, blotches, stray marks, and broken words. The effect retains and preserves the original presentation and its accuracy (unlike all-new renderings which introduce scan/OCR error), while offering a more complete and pleasant reading experience . . . to a new generation of students and curious readers.

For folks who wonder why they keep tossing odds and ends in that junk drawer in the kitchen, Sneakiest Uses for Everyday Things offers evidence that technology doesn't always have to come from Best Buy, Amazon.com, or Microsoft. --U.S. News and World Report

* Putterers, would-be inventers, and science-fair parents rejoice as Cy Tymony offers fifty new projects to bring out your inner MacGyver.

In the third book in Cy Tymony's Sneaky Uses series you will learn how to turn a piece of paper into a Frisbee, a business card into a boomerang, a TV tray into a robot, and more.

* Beginning with a complete list of materials and continuing through easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions paired with helpful illustrations, most projects will be completed in just minutes using common items found around the house.

* Teachers, parents, scout leaders, and enterprising youngsters will use their ingenuity to turn ordinary, everyday objects into something extraordinary, like a pencil into a microphone, Walkman ear buds into an intercom, or a telephone cord into a motor. The book also includes bonus alternative-energy projects and a foreword by NPR's Science Friday host Ira Flatow.

The ultimate Theodore Gray collection, Theodore Gray's Completely Mad Science collects every one of Gray's dramatic, visually spectacular, and enlightening scientific experiments into one complete volume.

Bestselling author Theodore Gray has spent more than a decade dreaming up, executing, photographing, and writing about extreme scientific experiments, which he then published between 2009 and 2014 in his monthly Popular Science column Gray Matter. Previously published in book form by Black Dog in two separate volumes (Mad Science and Mad Science 2), these experiments, plus an additional 5, are available now in one complete book.Completely Mad Science is 432 pages of dazzling chemical demonstrations, illustrated in spectacular full-color photographs. Experiments include: Casting a model fish out of mercury (demonstrating how this element behaves very differently depending upon temperature); the famous Flaming Bacon Lance that can cut through steel (demonstrating the amount of energy contained in fatty foods like bacon); creating nylon thread out of pure liquid by combining molecules of hexamethylenediamine and sebacoyl chloride; making homemade ice cream using a fire extinguisher and a pillow case; powering your iPhone using 150 pennies and an apple, and many, many more.

Theodore Gray is the author of The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe; Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything; Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home, But Probably Shouldn't; and Mad Science 2: Experiments You Can Do at Home, but Still Probably Shouldn't. He lives in Urbana, Illinois.