Remember your first "experiment"?
Brad Thompson, Contributing Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 8/1/2005 2:00:00 AM
The test and measurement profession owes much to the scientific method of observing, devising a theory to explain the observation, experimenting to test the theory, and publishing the results—unless you're nine years old, in which case you proceed directly to the experimental phase just to see what the hell will happen.
As a recent amateur-radio newsgroup thread shows, the latter method inspired many careers in electronics. I won't embarrass anyone by using names, but the next time a would-be engineer sets fire to your garage, remember the following contributors who survived to become skilled technical professionals:
| Also read: Don't try these at home (unless accompanied by a nine year old) |
"I was four years old, and was playing 'motorboat'. Mine had two imaginary engines. Stuck a metal key into one outlet slot—revved it up. Now to fire up engine No. 2. . . bam! Blue lights flashing across the darkness of my clenched eyes. I don't recall the jolt, but boy, do I remember the 'blue lights'."
"I tried recharging a 9-V alkaline battery. I thought I was successful, but the battery made a loud bang three days later, inside a clock on the wall."
"Mine was a 150-V electrolytic capacitor at the age of 14 or so. Put it across a 275-V power supply that I had built on a round cake tin. The explosion was very loud and it took hours to clean up all the paper and electrolyte that had sprayed all over the shed walls, floor, and ceiling!"
"My earliest battery experiment was not as sophisticated: "D" cell with a nail driven into each end. Lamp cord twisted around nails and then plugged in. I can still recall the very loud resulting bang. My mother, who was out at the time, was very impressed by the strange smell hanging around when she returned home."
"I'm sitting at the kitchen table talking with my wife. Suddenly over her shoulder I see a major flash come from the hall that leads to the kid's rooms. There's my youngest (eight years old) standing with eyes wide open. On the ground next to him is a line cord [with] alligator clips. Attached to the alligator clips is the carcass of a 9-V battery. Surrounding the whole mess is a black powder coating the floor. Smoke hovers over the scene. As soon as I got out of the room, I couldn't help laughing to myself. That could easily have been me decades earlier. Maybe he's ready for some lessons in electricity."
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