Volume 09
Make: technology on your time™
Shock and Awe Journey to the outer limits of belief in our special fringe technology section.
ON THE COVER: Kirlian Photo of a Coin
Jasper Nance, who took the cover photo, writes that “the light you see during a Kirlian discharge comes from an electric field ionizing the air and parts of your Kirlian subject. The charged air gives off intense heat and ultraviolet radiation as well as visible light.” (See page 66.)
Special Fringe Section
Physicist Tom Valone looks at technologies most scientists consider junk. By Charles Platt
A boy and his Hieronymus Machine. By Charles Platt
Roger Nelson’s Global Consciousness Project searches for meaning in random numbers. By Bob Parks
Shooting auras without film. By John Iovine
Unlimited allure: the perennial search for perpetual motion. By Donald E. Simanek
When engineering culture detaches from reality. By Paul Spinrad
KIRCHER’S CLOCK As if by magic, a floating fish points at the current hour on a rotating globe of the Earth.
The Essential Strangeness of Time
Reconstructing Athanasius Kircher’s magnetic clock. By Jonah Peretti
Columns
Why it sometimes pays to look beyond the limits. By Mark Frauenfelder
The future of media is the future of thinking. By Tim O’Reilly
In order to “protect intellectual property,” bandits are willing to take away your rights to your property. By Cory Doctorow
How Mark Twain couldn’t make it as a venture angel. By Bruce Sterling
The joy of YDKEWYGUYGI. By Douglas Repetto
Make your own hammock in less time than it takes to read this article. By Tim Anderson
Don’t worry, no one is going to steal your secrets. By Saul Griffith
Detect cosmic rays in a basketball case. By Dr. Shawn
Emulate an Apple II on a Palm device. By Tom Owad
High-tensile fastenings stand the test of time. By George Dyson
Vol. 09, March 2007. MAKE (ISSN 1556-2336) is published quarterly by O’Reilly Media, Inc. in the months of March, May, August, and November. O’Reilly Media is located at 1005 Gravenstein Hwy. North, Sebastopol, CA 95472, (707) 827-7000. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Send all subscription requests to MAKE, P.O. Box 17046, North Hollywood, CA 91615-9588 or subscribe online at makezine.com/offer or via phone at (866) 289-8847 (U.S. and Canada), all other countries call (818) 487-2037. Subscriptions are available for $34.95 for 1 year (4 quarterly issues) in the United States; in Canada: $39.95 USD; all other countries: $49.95 USD. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sebastopol, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MAKE, P.O. Box 17046, North Hollywood, CA 91615-9588.