Cheap Motors, LED's, Wires, and Gears

Here are a couple of things that I got out of my old printer.

James Bond Style Exploding Pen

I just bought a shocking pen, like those novelty ones that you use to shock people, and had a great thought go through my head. I saw that when you click the button that shocks you it makes a constant spark inside of the pen. That spark would probably be hot enough to light the fuse of a firecracker. So I would cover the metalic part at the end with a peice of rubber so that you won't get shocked when you press it, then place the fuse near the area of the spark, then empty the powder from the firecracker and pour it into the pen and put enough in so that the fuse could reach it. Obviously, i wouldn't give this pen to anyone but, it would be cool to be able to say that I made it. I would test it by placing it on the ground and by pressing the button with a long stick. I will post a link to the final result once I finish it!

A Simple Way to Make Things Motorized

One fast and simple way to transmit power from a motor to a wheel or object is to move is to simply wrap duct tape (or even better, find a round peice of rubber that will fit around the end of the motor) around the moving part of the motor then attatch the motor to something near to the object that will be turned (such as a wheel) so that the moving end of the motor applies some pressure against the wheel (but don't make it apply to much pressure). Once your ready just turn on the motor and it should be working. This isn't nearly as effective as gears however, it provides a quick and cheap alternative.

Simple Diet Coke and Mentos Nozzle

This is an idea that I haven't found anywhere on the internet so I thought that it would be a good idea to share. All that it involves is simply drilling a hole in the middle of the cap of a diet coke bottle and screwing the cap on directly after the mentos are deposited into the coke.

POTATO Cannon!

This is a cool thing that I saw my neighbors use one. It is AMAZING and can be built for less than $25.00 (It's way worth the money). There are also some videos on Youtube that will help you understand how to build this if this isn't sufficient enough.

Assembly:
Get all your parts ready for assembly.
Cut all your pipes to the correct length using a saw.
Glue the end cap holder onto the end combustion chamber pipe (Fatter, shorter one) Make sure you don't get glue into the threads.
Take the 3" to 1.5" reducer and glue the 3" end to the other side of the combustion chamber.
Glue the barrel to the other end of the reducer.
Put two 3-inch nails into the 3" section on either side so there about 1 cm apart.
Put small alligator clips on the leads to your BBQ sparker.
Let it dry for a day, then you're ready to fire.

Loading:
Ensure a tight seal around the projectile. This prevents the combustion gasses from escaping around the projectile instead of pushing it forward and will result in inefficient shots.
Cut each potato in half and put it on a board or hard ground. Use the barrel as a cookie-cutter to force a perfect circle of potato into the muzzle and force it down with a ramrod.

Firing:
Open the end cap.
Spray propellant (almost all hairspray will do) inside the chamber and close end cap tightly. Seven seconds of spraying is plenty.
Connect the alligator clips to the nails in the chamber.
Aim away from all people and click the sparker (it may take a few sparks so don't be discouraged if it doesn't work).

Instructions Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Potato-Launcher

Frozen Computer Prank

This is an older technological prank that anyone can do. You will need to get access on someones computer (a coworker, family member, ect.) and they will need to have PowerPoint. When you get on their computer press the "Prnt Scrn" button on their keyboard then open PowerPoint and rightclick and click on "paste" then adjust the picture to fit the powerpoint screen. Next, adjust the settings so that it is in "kiosik" mode. Then, just start the slideshow and whenever they click anywhere on the screen the computer will act like it is "frozen".
TIP: You can also add a couple text boxes containing messages and use custom animation to make it so that whenever they click somewhere the messages pop up
DOWNSIDE: If you aim your mouse at the "start" button the slide advancement settings will show and most people will then know what has happened

Automatic Room Door Opener

This is a creative idea that would add a nice touch to your DIY home. The basic princible is to have a garage door opener in your attic to open the regular door of your choice. You would probably need to cut the door across in about 1 1/2 foot sections horizontaly and add some door hinges so that it would resemble a garage door. The door would also need a piece of wood connected to the top so that it'll go into the attic. The remote openers could then be placed the the walls on each side of the door in order to open and close the door. Obviously, there is alot more that would be involved in doing this but, its just an idea. Please comment on this if you plan to or have done this.

*UPDATE*
Video of the door in action.

Alka- Seltzer and Film Canister Rocket

This is a fun project that kids (or adults) of any age can do. You will need:

• 1 Alka- Seltzer tablet
  
• A film canister with the lid
• A tiny bit of water

First you will need to fill the film canister with about 1/3 water. After that just put the tablet in, put the lid on the film canister, flip the canister upside down, and watch the canister shoot up about 20- 30 feet in the air!

How To Build A Motion Alarm Instructions

*NOTE* Check step 1 for abbreviations that will be used throughout the rest of the instructions.

1.Go to your local RadioShack and purchase the following:
2 - Cds Cells (Photocells)
1 - 741 Op Amp, 1 buzzer or alarm
1 - 9 volt battery breadboard
1 - 10K potentiometer

2.Take the bread board and put the 741 Op Amp in the middle, as shown in the picture below.




3. The next steps can be seen in photo above.


4. The nodes, if looking at the breadboard vertically, are horizontal and do not continue beyond the break in the middle. So, there are two different nodes horizontally across each row of the breadboard.

5. The 741 Op Amp has 8 pins that will be called 1 through 8. Pin number 1 will be the one closest to the little circle in the corner and 2 through 8 will be counterclockwise from there.

6. After placing the Op Amp on the breadboard, put one pin on a Cds cell in the node connected to pin two of the op amp and the other Cds pin in the seventh pin of the op amp. The other cds cell likewise connects to pins two and four of the op amp.

7. Connect the middle pin of the potentiometer to pin three of the op amp (the right pin of the pot), to pin seven of the op amp (the left pin of the pot), and to pin four of the op amp.

8. Connect the negative of the battery to pin 4 of the op amp

9. Connect the negative end of the buzzer to pin six of the op amp.

10. Connect the other wire of the buzzer to pin seven of the op amp.

11. Connect the positive battery wire to pin seven of the op amp.
All that is left to do is connect the battery, and adjust the pot as needed.

Via- wikiHow