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Have you ever wanted to tour Bletchley Park, the headquarters of Britain's WWII codebreaking efforts? How about the Gutenberg Museum, dedicated to the invention of movable type? The Geek Atlas by John Graham-Cumming collects 128 of those "dream destinations" every one an important aspect of our geek heritage. In the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, you can view such famous vehicles as the Wright Brothers' plane, the Apollo 11 command module, the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne, and many others. So many famous airplanes and spacecraft cram this museum, any geek visiting the nation's capital has got to make a stop.

Like any proper geek, however, Graham-Cumming doesn't just want to view the site, but learn about the science that made the place famous. Therefore, for every entry, there's a corresponding scientific principle that relates to the site. For the Air & Space Museum, Graham-Cumming discusses pressure suits; famous suits worn by such luminaries as John Glenn and Sally Ride may be viewed at the museum. However, he quickly segues into the question of the temperature of space. He begins with an easy-to-understand explanation of why space is cold: it's a vacuum, and there aren't enough particles around to transmit heat. However, the author explains, space isn't at absolute zero because leftover heat from the Big Bang fills the universe. Graham-Cumming's explanation continues with Isaac Newton's and Gustav Kirchoff's explorations of the nature of heat and light, before arriving at the answer: the temperature of space is 2.7 kelvin. Not absolute zero, but super cold! Read the rest of this entry »

Ross Hershberger is an audiophile and maker who has contributed two projects to the pages of MAKE: the Econowave Speakers in Volume 20 and Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier in the current issue, Volume 23. Other than being talented and passionate, Ross is a really nice guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him and working alongside him at Maker Faire Detroit a couple of weeks ago, where he tirelessly volunteered to help us at the MAKE booth for the entire weekend (thanks, Ross!). I interviewed Ross earlier this week to gain insight on what inspires him, how he comes up with project ideas, his advice for makers, what's great about Detroit, and how awesome his wife is.

1. Tell us about yourself. How did you get started making things?
I probably took apart my cradle as soon as I could get both hands on it. DIY is in our family DNA and culture. The Amish side of the family line probably has a large influence in this. We all make, fix, mod, create, design, and tinker as a way of life. I have five siblings, and they're all adept at various crafts and technologies. Middle sister is a painter with an MFA from University of Michigan. Little sister creates gorgeous woven beaded jewelry and decorations. Our youngest brother had two research patents issued this year, for a thermoelectric device and a metal hardening technique. Middle brother is a skilled carpenter restoring building interiors for Michigan State.

To some extent learning maker skills is just expedient. A jar of pickles or a tuneup on the car is a periodic expense. Learning canning or auto repair is an asset forever. I went to electronics school half days my junior and senior years in high school. In the 70s computer programming looked like a rising field so electronics became a hobby and I was a mainframer for about 20 years. I loved IBM mainframe systems and got to work with some genuine geniuses. Seeing someone's brilliant ideas elegantly implemented is still a great pleasure. Later I returned to electronics repair, then custom design and build. An eight month stint as a tooling machinist sort of jump-started my urge to create.

2. Who are your inspirations?
So many. Especially Norman Crowhurst in electronics and horologst Dr. George Daniels, MBE CBE, in mechanics. Both mastered their fields completely. They have broad, deep comprehension and write clearly. I particularly recommend to makers Dr. Daniels' book Watchmaking. He describes the creation of a complete mechanical watch all the way from initial paper sketches and calculations to fabricating the pivot jewels, case, hands, and crystal. The result is a timepiece of uncompromising quality made entirely by hand with simple tools. Despite the unfamiliar subject and complexity of the work, every page is a model of clarity. I'll never make a watch, but Dr. Daniels' thoroughness and methodology set standards that I strive for. Study the masters of the craft. You may never equal them but some of the smarts may rub off on you.

3. How did you go about coming up with and designing the Squelette?
This project was designed especially for MAKE readers. After MAKE published my Econowave Speakers project in Volume 20, I proposed several audio-related ideas to MAKE Projects Editor Paul Spinrad. He liked the idea of a cheap, simple, high-performance audio amp so I started making prototypes. The aluminum and plexiglass version is more elaborate than my usual screwed-to-a-board chip amp builds, but I agree with Paul that it has visual panache. Chip-based amplifiers are all over the internet in hobby electronics discussion groups. Google "Gainclone" and you'll find thousands. With the high performance/cost ratio of these audio chips and the low parts count it's a no-brainer. The name "Squelette the Bare Bones Amp" is a bilingual pun that nobody seems to have gotten. Squelette is French for skeleton, a reference to 'skeleton' wristwatches with exposed workings and also to bare bones. Too subtle?

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Ross Hershberger is an audiophile and maker who has contributed two projects to the pages of MAKE: the Econowave Speakers in Volume 20 and Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier in the current issue, Volume 23. Other than being talented and passionate, Ross is a really nice guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him and working alongside him at Maker Faire Detroit a couple of weeks ago, where he tirelessly volunteered to help us at the MAKE booth for the entire weekend (thanks, Ross!). I interviewed Ross earlier this week to gain insight on what inspires him, how he comes up with project ideas, his advice for makers, what's great about Detroit, and how awesome his wife is.

1. Tell us about yourself. How did you get started making things?
I probably took apart my cradle as soon as I could get both hands on it. DIY is in our family DNA and culture. The Amish side of the family line probably has a large influence in this. We all make, fix, mod, create, design, and tinker as a way of life. I have five siblings, and they're all adept at various crafts and technologies. Middle sister is a painter with an MFA from University of Michigan. Little sister creates gorgeous woven beaded jewelry and decorations. Our youngest brother had two research patents issued this year, for a thermoelectric device and a metal hardening technique. Middle brother is a skilled carpenter restoring building interiors for Michigan State.

To some extent learning maker skills is just expedient. A jar of pickles or a tuneup on the car is a periodic expense. Learning canning or auto repair is an asset forever. I went to electronics school half days my junior and senior years in high school. In the 70s computer programming looked like a rising field so electronics became a hobby and I was a mainframer for about 20 years. I loved IBM mainframe systems and got to work with some genuine geniuses. Seeing someone's brilliant ideas elegantly implemented is still a great pleasure. Later I returned to electronics repair, then custom design and build. An eight month stint as a tooling machinist sort of jump-started my urge to create.

2. Who are your inspirations?
So many. Especially Norman Crowhurst in electronics and horologst Dr. George Daniels, MBE CBE, in mechanics. Both mastered their fields completely. They have broad, deep comprehension and write clearly. I particularly recommend to makers Dr. Daniels' book Watchmaking. He describes the creation of a complete mechanical watch all the way from initial paper sketches and calculations to fabricating the pivot jewels, case, hands, and crystal. The result is a timepiece of uncompromising quality made entirely by hand with simple tools. Despite the unfamiliar subject and complexity of the work, every page is a model of clarity. I'll never make a watch, but Dr. Daniels' thoroughness and methodology set standards that I strive for. Study the masters of the craft. You may never equal them but some of the smarts may rub off on you.

3. How did you go about coming up with and designing the Squelette?
This project was designed especially for MAKE readers. After MAKE published my Econowave Speakers project in Volume 20, I proposed several audio-related ideas to MAKE Projects Editor Paul Spinrad. He liked the idea of a cheap, simple, high-performance audio amp so I started making prototypes. The aluminum and plexiglass version is more elaborate than my usual screwed-to-a-board chip amp builds, but I agree with Paul that it has visual panache. Chip-based amplifiers are all over the internet in hobby electronics discussion groups. Google "Gainclone" and you'll find thousands. With the high performance/cost ratio of these audio chips and the low parts count it's a no-brainer. The name "Squelette the Bare Bones Amp" is a bilingual pun that nobody seems to have gotten. Squelette is French for skeleton, a reference to 'skeleton' wristwatches with exposed workings and also to bare bones. Too subtle?

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Interviews | Digg this!

Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

We're happy to announce that Make: Online's very own editor-in-chief, Gareth Branwyn, was recently interviewed by SyFy for their Eureka Idea Lab. Here's a snippet:

Pick one: personal jetpack, warp drive, or Lee Majors-level bionic implants?

Well, I already have an artificial hip, a rebuilt heart, and get shot up six times a year with tweaked mice proteins (Infliximab) for my arthritic disease. I'm a human/machine/mouse hybrid! So, the whole Lee Majors thing? Old news for me. As William Gibson said: "The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed yet." I get the Joint Journal from my orthopedic clinic and I lust after the new hardware. Time for an upgrade.

If I had to choose, it'd be warp drive, without question. It's not that I don't love my Mother Earth, but if I had a choice, I would leave her in a smear of light in my rear-view mirror in a (bionic) heartbeat.

Gareth also discusses what it truly means to be a maker, how to get started on the way to becoming a maker (open stuff up!), and some of the most inspiring scientific advancements of his lifetime. He also mentions Jimi Hendrix and quotes both Steven Roberts and Arthur Koestler. And if you know Gareth, you'll notice a surprising lack of quotes from William Blake.

To sum up, this SyFy interview is a must read!

Read the whole thing here.

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Interviews | Digg this!