Electronics Sensors for the Evil Genius: 54 Electrifying Projects [Paperback]

Thomas Petruzzellis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071470360 | ISBN-13: 978-0071470360 | Publication Date: January 20, 2006 | Edition: 1

54 super-entertaining projects offer insights into the sights, sounds, and smells of nature

Nature meets the Evil Genius via 54 fun, safe, and inexpensive projects that allow you to explore the fascinating and often mysterious world of natural phenomena using your own home-built sensors. Each project includes a list of materials, sources for parts, schematics, and lots of clear, well-illustrated instructions.

• Projects include: rain detector, air pressure sensor, cloud chamber, lightning detector, electronic gas sniffer, seismograph, radiation detector, and more

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

54 ELECTRONICS PROJECTS THAT VOYAGE BEYOND HUMAN SENSES!

Reach beyond the limits of your own eyes, ears, nose, and sense of touch with these 54 exciting projects that enlist the uncanny talents of electronic sensors to probe dimensions beyond mere human powers of perception. With the help of popular electronics author Tom Petruzzellis, you can build your own fantastic projects that measure, touch, and explore the limits of the known natural world -- and the leading edges of the future of science and robotics! All 54 projects are fun, easy, and inexpensive to make at home and -- best of all -- seriously exciting and impressive!

Petruzzellis takes the stuff of science fiction and science future, and brings it down to size for the home hobbyist or science fair project creator. With easy-to-follow plans, clear diagrams and schematics, and respect for your wallet, his Electronic Sensors for the Evil Genius gives you:

• Illustrated instructions and plans for amazing pretested projects advanced enough for sophisticated electronics enthusiasts but described in sufficient detail to be built even by newcomers.
• Explanations of the science and math behind each project. For instance, you can explore the technologies of vibration detection from intrusion to earthquakes
• Frustration -- factor removal -- needed parts are listed, along with sources -- and many of these projects can be built for $20 or less

AN IDEA BONANZA
With this book, you can build and explore sensing equipment that parallels devices used in today's most advanced robots, machine controls, and tools of scientific measurement. The mind-boggling possibilities for combining these sensors with other electronic and mechanical devices are literally endless! If these projects don't get your creative and inventive ideas cooking, nothing will!

EXPLORE ELECTRONIC PERCEPTION
This awesome book equips you with complete plans, instructions, parts lists, and sources for these wonderful projects:

• Jupiter radio telescope
• Research seismograph for monitoring tectonic plate movement
• Geiger counter for detecting atomic radiation
• Electronic stethoscope for hearing detailed heart and lung sounds
• Cloud chamber
• Combustible gas sniffer
• Earth field magnetometer
• Atmospheric charge (lightning potential) monitor
• Cloud charge monitor
• Low-cost ion chamber
• Advanced ion chamber
• Electromagnetic field detector
• Vibration alarm
• Infrared motion detector
• Flame detector
• Shortwave receiver
• Static tube
• pH meter
• Fluid/water level indicator
• Electronic temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure gauges
• Analog data logger
• Many, many more!

EXPLORE THE BOUNDARIES OF NATURE WITH THE POWER OF ELECTRONICS

About the Author

Tom Petruzzellis is an electronics engineer with 30 years’ experience currently working with the geophysical field equipment department at the State University of New York—Binghamton. He is also an instructor at Binghamton. He has written extensively for industry publications, including Electronics Now, Modern Electronics, QST, Microcomputer Journal, and Nuts & Volts, and is the author of four earlier books: Build Your Own Electronics Workshop; STAMP 2 Communications and Control Projects; Optoelectronics, Fiber Optics, and Laser Cookbook; and Alarm, Sensor, and Security Circuit Cookbook, all from McGraw-Hill. Mr. Petruzzellis lives in Vestal, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 1 edition (January 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071470360
• ISBN-13: 978-0071470360
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good hobbyist book on sensors, March 26, 2006

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Electronics Sensors for the Evil Genius: 54 Electrifying Projects (Paperback)

I own several books by the author, and like his other books, this one is focused on construction details and how each particular circuit works, along with datasheets, as opposed to theory. So if you are looking for the theory of operation on individual sensors, I think you will be disappointed. However, if you are just looking for interesting projects to build, this book is full of good ideas for circuits. The projects range from the more simple and inexpensive, such as the overtemperature alarm, to the more complex and costly advanced electronic ion chamber. If you want a good book on sensors and the theory behind them you might try Fraden's recent edition of "Handbook of Modern Sensors". I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents so I do that here:
Chapter 1: Audio Projects
Electronic stethoscope
Underwater hydrophone
Ultrasonic listener
Chapter 2: Light Detection & Measurement
Opto Listener
Basic radiometer
Digital ultraviolet radiometer
Digital ozone-meter
Sensitive optical tachometer
Chapter 3: Heat Sensing
Infrared flame detector
Freeze alarm
Over-temperature alarm
Analog data-logger system
LCD thermometer
Infrared motion detector
Chapter 4: Fluid Sensing
Rain detector
Fluid sensor
Fluid/water level indicator
Humidity monitor
pH meter
Chapter 5: Gas Sensing
Air pressure switch
Electronic sniffer
Combustible gas sensor
Electronic barometer
Chapter 6: Vibration Monitoring
Vibration hour monitor
Vibration alarm
Piezo seismic alarm
Research seismograph
Chapter 7: Magnetic Detection
Mag-Ear amplifier
ELF monitor
Electronic compass
Earth field magnetometer
Chapter 8: Sensing Electric Fields
Electroscope
Static tube
Simple electronic electroscope
Atmospheric electricity monitor
Cloud charge monitor
Chapter 9: Radio Projects
Lightning detector
ELF natural radio
Shortwave receiver
Jupiter radio telescope
Chapter 10: Radiation Detection
Cloud chamber
Low cost electronic ion chamber I
Advanced electronic ion chamber II
Geiger Counter
Appendix A: Helpful Contact Information
Appendix B: Data Sheets

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And I thought Electronic Projects Were Dead, March 25, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Electronics Sensors for the Evil Genius: 54 Electrifying Projects (Paperback)

Back many, many years ago, when the earth was flat and the sun went around the earth, I built a whole series of crystal radios. It seemed to me that something was lost when everything electronic became a chip and nearly everything you could imagine was made in Japan.

Now all of a sudden comes along this book. No, alas, there's not a crystal radio in it, but there's a short wave radio that's made with three chips. The complexity of the circuits is about the same as the old crystal sets. And the thrill of listening to WWV tell you the time as to be about the same as listening to the local radio station on the crystal set the first time.

There are quite a number of projects suitable for science fairs and the like. Come to think of it, building one of those electronic compasses from page 178 might be a good project even for an old kid of my advanced age.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice collection of sensor projects, May 6, 2007

By 

Michael Gasperi - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Electronics Sensors for the Evil Genius: 54 Electrifying Projects (Paperback)

Interesting collection of projects that require more than a simple trip to the Radio Shack to build. Each project has considerable scientific background information not just an electrical schematic and parts list. Many of the projects would make worthwhile science fair projects or other amateur science pursuits.