Original article (Creative Commons BY/NC/SA): http://www.intellectualpornography.com/2009/10/one-oclock-daily—a-prize-for-layman-science.html.
Science today is rapidly approaching a new crossroads. The past hundred years have increasingly seen science become the domain of specialists cloistered in ivory towers and government laboratories. And the result of this is that science is falling from grace. Gone are the days when engineers were heroes, and when setting fire to the living room rug with his chemistry set was a child’s god given right. Instead, we live in an age where science is to be avoided, and where those who pursue it spend an extra decade in school, only to be paid worse than construction workers until they secure an ever-elusive professorship (and most PhDs do not).
Let’s face it. Science today fails to capture the public’s imagination, and as.a result, science, and the public both, suffer. No other human endeavor brings with it such possibilities and promises—that the future actually can be better than today—and so no other human endeavor should be so cared for. And all because science has grown divorced from the lives of people.
There is a painting of a horribly cruel thing that illustrates my point. The painting is from the 19th century, and depicts a family at home with a bell jar. Inside the jar is a bird, and the apparatus is connected to a primitive vacuum pump. The father and son watch to observe what is about to happen as the mother covers her eyes. Now, I’m not condoning the wanton killing of animals, but instead I’d like to point out that this painting, of a family in the 19th century depicts them as owning both a bell jar and a vacuum pump. Seriously. How many families today can say the same thing?
Instead we live in sanitized houses and cities, where fireworks are banned for their danger and the closest thing to science that happens in most households is putting mentos into bottles of diet coke. How many people today have shattered a hot dog after dipping it into liquid nitrogen? How many people today have zapped themselves with a home made battery? Hell, how many people today have ever performed an experiment, just to see what happens? It’s no wonder that most people don’t care about science at all—they don’t even know what science is!
The solution, then, must be to reintroduce the tools of science to people’s lives. If we can make the tools of scientific inquiry sufficiently widely available, then people will have the chance, and the means, to be curious. They will explore the world they live in, and so doing, discover for themselves what science is.
To this end, I’d like to propose four vital pieces of technology that, if they were made available in a cheap form—say, less than $100 each—would make all manner of scientific experimentation available to the layman.
First, we require a device capable of producing liquid nitrogen at the rate of at least 100mL an hour.
Secondly, we require a vacuum system capable of pumping down a volume of at least 10cm x 10cm x 10cm to, and holding a vacuum at, 0.01 atm (with pressure measurement).
Thirdly, we require the ability to view objects of small scale with up to 1000x magnification.
Finally, we require a functioning oscilloscope, capable of measuring at least two signals at once, and with multimeter capability, accurate in all measurements to within 1%.
If each of these pieces of technology could be made available for a total cost of $100, or less, a piece, then all manner of modern science could be conducted in garages. An interested person would be capable of doping his own semiconductors, of experimenting with crystal lattices, of examining all manner of things. I would even go so far as to say that alongside an alcohol lamp or Bunsen burner, there are no more important pieces of technology for layman experimentation than those I have described here today.
To bring science back into people’s lives, we must give them the ability to once again do science. To this end, I’d like to establish a $100 prize for each of the above technologies. If someone can demonstrate and provide a complete set of instructions (sufficient to allow another to duplicate the effort for $100 or less) for any of the technologies above, contact me, and upon verification, I’ll write you a check. It’s that simple. Now, let’s bring science back into living rooms and garages.
Edit (10-11-09):
Hey guys, I’m really surprised at the attention this has gotten, and so I’d like to clarify some good points that were brought up in the comments.
First, there were some questions about the specifications. I’ve updated all of those below to hopefully clarify any missing points (my apologies for the lack of specificity in the original post, I wrote it from my android phone on a bus to Boston…). After that, some people have expressed interest in contributing money to the prizes. I’m currently on the road to Portland, OR (set to arrive later this week), but I’ll look into setting that up ASAP when I arrive. I think it’s a great idea, and I’d love to see it happen. Finally, there were some suggestions for other pieces of scientific equipment. Once I get the donations set up, I’d like to open some of the suggestions up for people to donate prize money to if they’d like, to help create incentives for work.
Before I get into the specifications, though, I’d like to say a word about the philosophy behind this competition. I’m a big believer in open source work, and I really suspect that for many of these things, the only way to get them in at $100 or less is by “donating” your own time to build them. I think that there are a lot of clever ideas out there for repurposing different forms of existing equipment in pursuit of amateur science, and I’m really hoping that we’ll see some very clever ideas that people can implement on their own to construct these devices for themselves.
Now, on to the specifications!
The Terms of the Layman Science Contest 2009:
When: Entries will be accepted until the last moment of the year 2009, PST (that’s December 31, 11:59:59pm, PST, though I reserve the right to stretch the deadline by fifteen minutes or so if necessary). Any prizes not claimed this year will be made available again for entries into the 2010 contest (possibly augmented by more technological goals).
What: Right now, four technologies are being requested. Each request comes with a $100 prize. (This will be updated when I set up a system to accept donations). The requested technologies, and their requirements, are specified below. I’m not responsible for any injuries you may sustain while pursuing one of these described devices (you do so at your own risk). Please be safe, and don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with!
Technology #1 – Liquid Nitrogen Production Device
Requirements – We require a device capable of producing liquid nitrogen at a rate of 100mL in an hour. This should be measured by final produced volume (boil off from initial liquid contacting a warm vessel is not counted).
Technology #2 – Vacuum System
Requirements – We require a vacuum system capable of pumping down a volume of at least 10cm x 10cm x 10cm to, and holding a vacuum at, 0.01 atm. This system should include a pressure measurement gauge capable of measuring all pressures between 1 atm and the desired 0.01 atm.
Technology #3 – High Power Magnification
Requirements – We require the ability to view objects of small scale with up to 1000x magnification.
Technology #4 – Oscilloscope
Requirements – We require a functioning oscilloscope. The oscilloscope must be able to measure at least two channels, with provision for an external ground. The oscilloscope must have a bandwidth of at least 100MHz. The oscilloscope must allow for an external trigger. Finally, the oscilloscope must also allow for the measurement of voltages, currents, resistances, capacitances, and inductances with +/-1% accuracy.
Of course, all designs must be designed to be constructed for $100 or less. In the case of multiple submissions by the Dec 31 deadline, one solution will be chosen to win, on the basis of simplicity of design, reliability, and ease of construction/implementation/use.
I also want to clarify that I do not construe this competition as a transfer of IP of any sort. I’m not interested in anything except helping make decent scientific instruments cheaply available. If this competition inspires you to come up with a patentable design that has the potential to change the world and make you a millionaire, please go patent it, enter production, and make a ton of money. The world will be a better place with your invention out there, one way or another. Otherwise, leave a link in the comments, or send me an email with details of your idea. You should include enough detail for someone else to duplicate the device for $100 or less. Let’s make real science more accessible to everyone!