[OT] free classic Scientific American magazines

[phiscock-g851W1bGYuGnS0EtXVNi6w at public.gmane.org]

A collection of the older Amateur Scientist columns is still available in
the book by the same name. It makes fascinating reading.

Dunno if this is in the book, but in one of the Amateur Scientist columns
there was a description of a home-made cyclotron. (Just the thing for a
relaxing evening of generating rare-earth molecules!) The vacuum pump was
adapted from a refrigerator compressor. As a teenager at the time, it
impressed me with the idea that ingenuity makes almost anything possible.

Logic enthusiasts will want to check out column describing a mechanical
mouse that solved a maze - with the logic implemented by relays.

P.


> | From: Daniel Armstrong <dwarmstrong-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org>
>
> | SciAm published a column (since discontinued) called "Amateur
> | Scientist", detailing DIY experiments.
>
> Yes.  I remember being inspired by the one on building a laser (in one
> of the copies I am getting rid of).  Never did buid one though.
>
> | One cool thing I discovered
> | this week is that all the columns from the 1920s to the late 1990s
> | have been put on CD - and its available at the public library.
>
> So: the one on building a laser was probably from 1966.  I could still
> read it 40 years later.  What are the chances you can read this CD in
> 40 years?  (I cannot read my 9 track tapes from 20 years ago; I can
> read my punch cards and paper tape, using my eyes.)
>
> Case in point: I bought a DVD with all New Yorker magazine issues on
> it.  But it has some kind of "security" that prevents me using it
> under Linux.  I wonder how long such fragile software will continue to
> function.  For example, will it work in MS Vista?
> --
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-- 
Peter Hiscocks
Syscomp Electronic Design Limited, Toronto
http://www.syscompdesign.com
USB Oscilloscope and Waveform Generator
647-839-0325

--
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TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
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