AmSci 2.0 Project List

The complete collection of articles from "The Amateur Scientist" column published in "Scientific American" magazine

When we say that The Amateur Scientist 2.0 is the ULTIMATE resource for hands-on science projects, we really mean it.

There's no way we could list all of the projects on this CD, not to mention the additional technical info. and bonus features. There are just too many of them. What's below is just a small sampling of the 1,100 projects you'll find fully explained on this remarkable CD-ROM.

Also included on the second CD is a Science Software Library with dozens of shareware and freeware programs.

Here's a short list of the some projects you'll be able to try.

• Learn six different ways to build a laser at home • Study variable stars like a pro. •Build a seismograph to study earthquakes • Make soap bubbles that last for months (or even years!) • Monitor the health of local streams • Preserve biological specimens • Grow bacteria cultures safely at home • Grind a telescope mirror • Search for titanic galactic explosions • Build a ripple tank to study wave phenomena • Discover how plants grow in low gravity • Investigate the chemistry of Béarnaise sauce • Build a hyper-accurate thermometer • Study the physics of amusement park rides • Do strange experiments with sound • Experiment with films only one molecule thick • Use a hot wire to study the crystal structure of steel • Extract and purify DNA in your kitchen • Create a laser hologram • Run computer programs that simulate living systems • Investigate vortexes in water • Measure the energy drain on your car • Study the effect of ultrasonics on plant growth • Cultivate slime molds • Study the flight efficiency of soaring birds • Raise butterflies as experimental animals • Study the physics of spinning tops • Build an apparatus for studying chaotic systems • Detect metals in air, liquids, or solids • Photograph an ant's brain and nervous system • Use magnets to make fluids into solids • Measure the metabolism of an insect • Lean about the physics of martial arts • Rear a plankton menagerie • Build an electrostatic generator • Study the dynamics of cracks in a surface • Photograph a comet • Construct equipment to study the formation of crystals • Build a hydrophone and record underwater sounds • Determine the Gravitational Constant • Build a video microscope		• Directly observe the moon's gravity on earth • Observe cosmic rays from outer space • Test the color vision of pigeons • Construct a particle accelerator at home • Grow animal tissue cultures • Build a working Stirling Engine in your backyard • Collect and preserve spider webs • Keep reptiles alive and healthy • Study radioactivity with a diffusion cloud chamber • Build a gas chromatograph for analyzing substances • Construct a working camera with a lens made of ice • Record bird songs • Measure the charge of a single electron • Spy on fledglings in their nest • Build a working electrocardiogram to monitor your own heartbeat • Study the metabolism of small animals, even individual insects! • Build an osmotic pump • Measure the electric charge on raindrops • Monitor atmospheric haze • Discover rainfall patterns in a storm • Study fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field • Build a wind tunnel to study aerodynamics • Preserve snowflakes in plastic • Build a pendulum that detects the earth's rotation • Map a watershed • Simulate the process of stream and river erosion • Build a spectrograph to determine the chemical structure of materials • Use a kite as an experimental platform • Build an underwater observatory • Identify minerals found in clay • Build and maintain a saltwater aquarium • Build a research-quality telescope at home • Demonstrate the basic principles of enzyme action • Make your own electrochemical cell • Measure the strengh of chemical bonds • Synthesize organic molecules • Simulate the geology of beaches with a wave machine • Build a device that draws "harmonograms"

Here's a short list of the some projects you'll be able to try.

Plus over one thousand other projects and features, and SPECIAL HELP for Science Fair Students!