Gonzo Gizmos: Projects & Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek [Paperback]

Simon Quellen Field (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1556525206 | ISBN-13: 978-1556525209 | Publication Date: December 1, 2003

Step-by-step instructions to building more than 30 fascinating devices are included in this book for workbench warriors and grown-up geeks. Detailed illustrations and diagrams explain how to construct a simple radio with a soldering iron, a few basic circuits, and three shiny pennies. Instructions are included for a rotary steam engine that requires a candle, a soda can, a length of copper tubing, and just 15 minutes. To use optics to roast a hot dog, no electricity or stove is required, just a flexible plastic mirror, a wooden box, a little algebra, and a sunny day. Also included are experiments most science teachers probably never demonstrated, such as magnets that levitate in midair, metals that melt in hot water, a Van de Graaff generator made from a pair of empty soda cans, and lasers that transmit radio signals. Every experiment is followed by an explanation of the applicable physics or chemistry.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's possible to use optics to roast a hot dog without electricity or a stove; to make a simple radio with just an iron, a few basic circuits and three shiny pennies; and to assemble a simple steam-powered boat with a plastic bottle, a candle, copper tubing and a nail. Of course, only die-hard science nerds would attempt these projects. But information systems specialist Field knows he's a geek, which is part of the charm of his science manual-cum-survival guide. Like Cy Tymony's recent Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things, Field's book does not depend on high-tech equipment. Most of the "shopping lists" he includes for each gizmo consist of items that can be found in hardware stores. His experiments range from the disarming (e.g., a plastic hydrogen bomb which, he admits, "sounds a bit dangerous" but can also function as "a high-tech squirt gun") to the useful (such as a "quicky electric motor"). Throughout, Field shares explanations of each process, with sidebars entitled "Why does it do that?"
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Review

"A fine selection of his best stuff and is great for an introductory gift."  —Kevin Kelly, former editor of Wired magazine

"Excellent."  —Science Books & Films 
 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556525206
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525209
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Experiments & Projects

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How kids can have fun with parents and get educated too!, March 25, 2004

By 

Alexander Brown (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gonzo Gizmos: Projects & Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek (Paperback)

I have looked at a number of similar books that provide interesting science activities that are cool enough to hold a childs interest. However, most of them have moderately good things to create that take a lot of hands on time from parents. By the time the fun science project is done, the kids have lost interest. Not so with Simon Field's "Gonzo Gizmos".

The first project I attempted was a simple candle powered steamboat with my 6 y.o. daughter. After purchasing a bit of flexible 1/8 inch copper tubing at the hardware store (the hard part) we created a great working steamboat in about 15 minutes, and my daughter did most of the work. She took several baths with it putting around the tub, brought it to school for her "Show and Tell", and can even tell you how it works. I then went onto the "Gauss Rifle" with my 9 y.o. son. Wow!!!

Most of the projects take only a little time, and if you can't find the materials, he gives you a nice website to purchase them. This is a really fun book that you can dive into and get kids engaged in a few minutes with a project that will teach them real science, and will be cool enough to brag about with their friends. Moreover the layout is great. A description of the project and what it does, including great titles; then a cookbook list of materials, and where to get them; a recipe; and then a darn good description of the science behind the project. Believe me, with project titles like "The Hydrogen Bomb" (A battery powered H2O dialysis machine that after separating the Oxygen and Hydrogen is ignited with a piezo electric sparker, causes a small explosion that squirts water several feet into the air!), how could any kid resist! Moreover, how could a parent resist. Buy this and try it. It is really great.

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect idle fun, with real science behind it, March 5, 2005

By 

Andrew D. (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Gonzo Gizmos: Projects & Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek (Paperback)

I stumbled upon the author's website, scitoys.com, and have since constructed a number of the projects that are also described in this book, not just for my kids and my older son's 3rd grade class, but also for (ahem) myself. I *love* that many are projects I'd never heard of yet rely on *very* ordinary parts and very little effort to get going. Some of these, such as the "Beakman motor," are covered elsewhere on the web, but I prefer his treatment of it. The author's strikes a delightful bemused tone rather than the bombast of the usual science popularizer, and although he sells many of the parts there is no pressure to buy (he frequently simply gives the Radio Shack part # for the ordinary stuff). I have also corresponded with him by email, and will be suggesting some of the projects for a local school outreach program planned by a reputable nearby museum (Washington, DC). His work has influenced me, reviving a childhood interest and sparking a new path. Thanks, this book will make a great gift. :)

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, May 12, 2007

By 

Joshua M. Levine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gonzo Gizmos: Projects & Devices to Channel Your Inner Geek (Paperback)

From the cover design, I thought this would be another impractical "How to build a laser" book with advice like "just get a laser-grade ruby and connect it to a 10Kv power supply".

Instead everyhting in this book is simple and practical. I think any 13 year old who put his or her mind to it could build most of the projects in this book.

Even more importantly, the book offers explainations for *why* things work. These explainations are surprisingly good. I've read a lot of science books in the past 30 years and I got some insight from the great expaination for why iron filings line up the way they do in a magnetic field. Think about it- do you REALLY understand why they form lines rather than just all piling up at the poles?

Highly recommended for a science-interested kid. Even recommended for a science-interested adult. Even if you don't build any of the projects you'll probably learn something.