Windows, macOS, and Linux are the three major desktop OSs in today’s world. However, there could soon be a new contender, with Google stepping up to the plate (via The Verge). You’ve probably used Google’s operating systems before. Android holds a dominant market share in the smartphone space, and ChromeOS is readily available on a […]
Although Charles Hall conducted his first successful run of the Hall-Héroult aluminium smelting process in the woodshed behind his house, it has ever since remained mostly out of reach of home chemists. It does involve electrolysis at temperatures above 1000 ℃, and can involve some frighteningly toxic chemicals, but as [Maurycy Z] demonstrates, an amateur […]
[Mikey Sklar] had a problem—namely, running low on the brass material typically used for making PCB stencils. Thankfully, a replacement material was not hard to find. It turns out you can use aluminum business card blanks to make viable PCB stencils. Why business card blanks? They’re cheap, for a start—maybe 15 cents each in quantity. […]
Sometimes you come across a purported scientific paper that makes you do a triple-check, just to be sure that you didn’t overlook something, as maybe the claims do make sense after all. Such is the case with a recent publication in the Langmuir journal by [Budlayan] and colleagues titled Droplet-Scale Conversion of Aluminum into Transparent Aluminum […]
[MakeFailRepeat] was heading to MakerCentral in Birmingham, an event to which many makers were bringing coins to swap and trade. Wanting to get in on the action, he decided to etch some coins of his very own. Etching aluminium is a simple process, readily accessible to the average maker. [MakeFailRepeat] started with an aluminium bar, […]
Though much of it is hidden from view, welding is a vital part of society. It’s the glue that holds together the framework of the cars we drive, the buildings we occupy, the appliances we use, and the heavy machinery that keeps us moving forward. Every year, the tireless search continues for stronger and lighter […]
Aluminium is a useful material, both for its light weight and resistance to corrosion. This resistance can be improved further with various treatments, one of the more popular being anodizing. This is the process behind the fancy colored metal bling on your cousin’s BMX bike. It’s possible to perform this in the home lab, when […]