Homemade Hybrid Rocket Engine
Ben Krasnow gives a walkthrough on building a hybrid rocket engine by combining clear acrylic with gaseous oxygen.
Posted by Nick Normal | Thursday October 11th, 2012 1:30 PM
Categories: Fun & Games | 9 Comments
Ben Krasnow Projects
Ben Krasnow’s Homemade Electron Scanning Microscope and Liquid Lens Coming to Maker Faire
From his backyard lab in Redwood City (a stone's throw away from Maker Faire -- well, maybe with the aid of a trebuchet) Ben makes things that usually require a...
Posted by Mark Frauenfelder | Friday May 11th, 2012 10:30 AM
Categories: Science | No Comments
How-To: Homemade Astronaut Ice Cream
Inspired by Chris Gammell’s post about “trickle down techonomy,” Ben Krasnow posted this how-to video on making your own Astronaut Ice Cream. He used a vacuum pump, dry ice, and...
Posted by Matt Richardson | Sunday February 5th, 2012 6:00 AM
Categories: Food & Beverage, Science | 9 Comments
Homemade Silica Aerogel
Aerogels are fascinating materials, with lots of interesting and, frankly, amazing properties, but they are not easy to make. These days, industrial manufacture with an eye towards commercial applications, primarily...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Tuesday November 15th, 2011 6:00 AM
Categories: Science | 3 Comments
How-To: Get a Liquid Lens Module to Play With
A liquid lens is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The really cool thing about them is that, though they have no moving parts (unless you count the liquid...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Monday October 24th, 2011 6:00 AM
Categories: Art & Design, Electronics, Science | No Comments
What Carbonated Acrylic Plastic Looks Like
As I wrote about a month ago, one of the many unusual phenomena Ben Krasnow has produced in his garage is supercritical CO2. As you may recall, Ben machined a...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Wednesday October 5th, 2011 9:00 AM
Categories: Science | No Comments
What Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Looks Like
At extremes of temperature and pressure above a substance's so-called "critical point," the distinction between liquid and gas phases of that substance stops being meaningful, and the substance enters a...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Tuesday September 6th, 2011 6:00 AM
Categories: Science | 3 Comments
CNC Milling Plate Glass and Mirrors
Ben Krasnow - of DIY electron microscope fame, among other impressive projects - has posted some useful notes on an unusual cutting process. Normally, of course, the recommended practice for...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Thursday August 25th, 2011 6:04 AM
Categories: Craft, Tools, Workshop | 3 Comments
Thermite BBQ
"I ignited four pounds of thermite made with aluminum / iron (III) oxide in a flower pot. The thermite reaction quickly formed liquid iron which dripped down out of the...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Friday August 5th, 2011 9:00 AM
Categories: Food & Beverage, Science | 4 Comments
How-To: Operate a Homemade Scanning Electron Microscope
When we last checked in on Ben Krasnow's homemade SEM, he had just achieved his first successful image with the device. As his latest video shows, the project has come...
Posted by Sean Michael Ragan | Monday June 6th, 2011 6:00 AM
Categories: Electronics, Science | 1 Comment
Streaming Demos Live from Maker Faire Bay Area 2011
The demo stages in the MAKE and CRAFT booths in the center of Expo Hall at Maker Faire this weekend are packed with back-to-back demos all weekend long. We’ll be...
Posted by Becky Stern | Tuesday May 17th, 2011 10:30 AM
Categories: General, Makers | 15 Comments
DIY Scanning Electron Microscope
We’ve covered Ben Krasnow’s awesome work here before. At last year’s Maker Faire, he showed off his liquid nitrogen generator (for which he won at least one Editor’s Blue Ribbon)....
Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Thursday March 24th, 2011 9:00 PM
Categories: Science | 3 Comments
