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541 results for “rent”
Electromagnetic Induction Demonstration Kit
Magnets, copper wire coils, galvanometer, and iron rings. I will show you how moving a magnet through a coil generates electricity -- the experiment that powers civilization. On August 29, 1831, I wrapped two coils around an iron ring and discovered that changing the current in one coil induced current in the other.
Violin (German Make, 1920s, Concert Quality)
My violin. Well, a replica of my favorite one. I named the original Lina. Mozart and Bach -- that's what I play when I'm stuck on a physics problem. The music reorganizes my thinking. If you can play, borrow it. If you can't, I'll give you a beginner lesson. Badly. I'm a better physicist than violinist.
Relativity Explained -- Thought Experiments for Everyone
Two-hour session. No equations (well, one equation). I'll explain special and general relativity using the same thought experiments I used to discover them. Riding a beam of light. Trains and lightning strikes. Falling elevators. If you can imagine it, you can understand it. Tip: Relativity is not abstract. Your GPS uses it. Without relativistic corrections, your navigation would be off by 10 kilometers per day.
Physics Problem-Solving Tutoring
One-on-one tutoring in physics. Any level, any topic. I spent 10 years as a professor. The secret to teaching physics is this: never start with the formula. Start with the question. Why does this happen? What would you expect? Now let's check. The formula is just the shorthand for the understanding.
Electricity & Magnetism Workshop -- Fields You Cannot See
Hands-on session. Iron filings on paper over magnets -- watch the field lines appear. Compass needles deflected by current-carrying wires. Electromagnets lifting iron. I will explain how electricity and magnetism are two faces of the same force. James Clerk Maxwell later wrote the math. I gave him the experiments.
Glass Armonica (Working Replica, 37 Bowls)
My most beautiful invention. 37 glass bowls mounted on a spindle, turned by a foot pedal, played with wet fingers. Mozart and Beethoven both composed for it. The sound is unearthly -- people fainted at performances. Some thought it caused madness. It doesn't. It causes wonder. Handle with extreme care.
Electricity Demonstration -- Kite, Key & Leyden Jar
Safe indoor demonstration of static electricity, Leyden jars, and electrical conduction. We will NOT be flying kites in thunderstorms. I did that once and it was phenomenally reckless. Instead, we'll use friction machines and Leyden jars to generate sparks, charge objects, and understand positive vs negative charge. I named those, by the way.
Bifocal Lens Demonstration & Fitting
I got tired of switching between two pairs of glasses -- one for reading, one for distance. So I cut the lenses in half and combined them. Revolutionary? No. Practical? Enormously. This workshop covers basic optics, lens grinding principles, and why bifocals work. Tip: The best inventions solve annoyances, not emergencies.
Tabletop Printing Press (Working Replica)
Working replica of a 15th-century screw press, scaled to tabletop size. Wooden frame, iron screw, leather ink balls. Comes with a starter set of lead type (Textura blackletter) and oil-based ink. Print your own pages. The same mechanism that ended the Dark Ages, now in your kitchen.
Letterpress Printing Workshop -- Set Type, Pull Prints
Hands-on letterpress session. Pick individual lead type from the case, compose a line, lock it in the chase, ink the form, and pull a print. You'll leave with a hand-printed broadside. Tip: Set type mirror-image, left to right becomes right to left. The first time everyone gets it backwards. That's why we call it 'mind your p's and q's' -- they're mirror images in the type case.
Ink Making Workshop -- Oil-Based, From Scratch
Make your own oil-based printing ink from linseed oil, soot, and pigments. Water-based ink was fine for stamps but terrible for type -- it beaded up on metal. I had to invent a new ink. You'll leave with a jar of ink good enough to print with. Wear old clothes.
Franklin Stove (Cast Iron, Working Replica)
Cast iron replica of the Pennsylvania Fireplace. More efficient than an open fireplace -- the baffle system circulates warm air into the room instead of up the chimney. I refused to patent it. Some things should be free. The Governor of Pennsylvania offered me a patent; I said no. Heat is a public good.
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