Wimshurst whimsy?

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned "The Boy Electrician" yet. I've got the

This book ensured that only moderately competent and lucky boys survived to manhood: there isn't a safety warning in it, and the construction of an open potential divider across the mains (AC or DC) was encouraged.

And there are plans for a Wimshurst machine.

I've just spotted the safety warning in it. After telling you how to buy an X-ray tube and a platinum-barium-cyanide screen, you are warned to be careful not to over-expose any part of the body.

-- Kevin Poole

I think that particular design was discredited when it was found that you could only receive Gardener's Question Time on such a set...

-- Richard Sampson

email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk

"Autolycus" wrote in news:bthvja$bsh$1 @news.freedom2surf.net:

Gives Darwin a chance

mike r

In message , Autolycus writes

Available from here

Steve

No, but Scientific American used to have a regular feature with practical things to do- there was a water drop spark generator that I set as a Christmas A-level exercise when I taught physics. Made about 90V to ignite a neon bulb. They also had a 'partly-baked ideas' column. Not nuuty enough to be half-baked but not quite finished.

You might find back-numbers. This would be 70s and 80s I guess.

Peter Scott

The amateur Scientist colmuns are available on CD from

Steve

"The Practical Scientist", IIRC.

The articles were published as a book. I have the CO2 laser one here somewhere. Never built it, needless to say.