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The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

arvindguptatoys.com

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Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#21

Post by pvitz »

Stratoscope wrote: post #8

These are wonderful. Let me add one of my own to the collection. This is a true story from that same era, maybe a couple of years later when I got kicked out of my third grade class for being a troublemaker and had to go to a special ed class called Mrs. Spencer's Workshop. 199. Make your own printed circuit board You will need: a common kitchen cutting board, a sheet of copper, a roll of electrical tape, a fish tank…

Thanks for your story! I am wondering why your teacher would use nitric acid. Wouldn't iron(III) chloride have been much safer in a workshop with children?

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#22

Post by JackFr »

> You will need: group of cigarette smokers, piece of ice, knife.

OK. Curious where this is going.

> Where there is a group of people most of whom have a burning cigarette in their hand or mouth, you can play a smart little trick which shows how unreliable our senses are. Without letting anyone see, make a point on a piece of ice with a knife. Dry it well, then press it firmly against the neck of one of your friends. He will be startled and perhaps angry because you, according to him, have held the burning end of a cigarette against his neck.

Yikes! Legitimately so I would think. On the other hand, while finding a gaggle of smokers is harder than it used to be, the subset of adolescent and post adolescent boys who find it amusing to injure, inflict pain and confuse their friends still seems limitless.

> Then it is your turn to be surprised and show him the piece of ice.

Still might get punched.

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#23

Post by abecedarius »

zabzonk wrote: post #2

Some good stuff, but also stuff like this, from the Cartesian Diver": > Air is easily compressible, water is not. Not significantly compressible, in the sense of reducing volume, but it is pressurisable (think of pressure at the bottom of the ocean), which is what this experiment depends on. > The water is not compressed by your called ions) and the chlorine atoms (chlorine ions) of which the salt in solution consist…

The cartesian diver mishmash is clearly a transcription error: it ends with some lines from the next entry on dissolving salt.

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#24

Post by GrumpyNl »

jerome-jh wrote: post #17

I do not see Arvind Gupta marvelous website mentioned so here it is: http://arvindguptatoys.com/toys.html It is called "Toys from trash". From time to time we go there with my younger daughter and we randomly pick an activity. Compared to the book there is little text, explanations being mostly visual. That makes it accessible to non English speaking children.

My anti virus software wont let me see any images on that site, any idea whats going on?

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#25

Post by jhgb »

samizdis wrote: post #4

This is just priceless. I admire the breezy dismissal of potential harm/injury, and the confident reliance on exercising "reasonable care". Favourite (so far, that is): 26. A flour bomb as a noisy finale to our air experiments ... If you tried to set fire to a small heap of flour you would not succeed. But finely divided flour in a cloud—that can make a completely harmless bomb! ... With a great BANG! off flies the l…

I'm surprised by the writer completely ignoring the possibility of blast injury to the lungs...? Blowing into a hose connected to a space in which an explosion takes place would worry me much more than what the lid might do.

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#26

Post by 13of40 »

zabzonk wrote: post #7
daniel-cussen wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think playing with fire is a basic part of being human. Humans, fire. The fire primate, why we don't have hair or fat for body heat, we have fire and clothes. Like how else are you going to learn but seeing what happens if you eg play with the gauge on a lighter (for education, playing is mostly about learning), more flame, less flame, look at it, marvel at it. Doesn't mean getting burned though for sure there will…

My own worst experience with fire was with a Primus stove ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primus_stove ) when I was about 14. I'd squirted the priming meths alcohol from a squeezy bottle on to the stove and lit it. But then (because alcohol burns with a near-invisible flame I thought it had gone out, so I squirted more on, then ... boom! Squeezy blew open, sending burning meths everywhere. Luckily alcohol doesn't bur…

When I was about 13 years old, a retired engineer (slash wizard) who was friends with my mom gave me a 25,000 volt step-up transformer. Why any adult would do that is beyond me, but I was always very safe with it and managed to do a lot of cool experiments without killing myself. I let my friend borrow it, though, and his brain was calibrated a little bit differently as far as risk behavior, etc. He ended up shocking himself multiple times just because he'd do things like reach over and reposition the leads when the (freaking two inch) plasma arc died out.

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#27

Post by samizdis »

gdsimoes wrote: post #20
samizdis wrote: post #6

Has anyone tried this? 131. Cut glass with. .. scissors! You will need: bowl of water, pair of scissors, piece of glass. It is possible to cut glass with ordinary scissors in any shape you wish, provided that while cutting you hold the glass and the scissors as well as your hands completely under water. The water deadens the vibrations which make the glass crack. Yes, under water, glass can be cut almost as easily as…

I found this video of some guy doing it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tEAxhMECluM

V informative, thanks. Nice to have a better explanation of what's happening (ie the water molecule interaction with glass and the propagation speed of cracks) than the original 1958 document's claim that it was due to water absorbing vibrations.

Re: The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]

#28

Post by TigeriusKirk »

There were lots of books like this in the 1950s, some of which survived to my own childhood in the 70s. I was thinking for various reasons they probably don't exist now and that's a shame.

But then I realized this is just a Book Of Potential TikTok Videos and felt better about it.

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