mr wizard

02.13.12
DIY

PopSci's Back at Maker Faire

By popsci Posted 10.19.2007 at 4:59 pm 0 Comments

PopSci is is back at the now twice-annual travelling DIY circus that is Maker Faire. The Bay Area iteration was a blast earlier this year (see our coverage here) but this time, not only is the sweet smell of BBQ mingling with the solder fumes here in Austin, TX, we've also brought along some of PopSci's finest makers—staff photographer John Carnett, who has brought along his amazing all-in-one beer-brewing Device as well as the welded-steel vintage Arcade Table, and Theodore Gray, author of our PopSci-meets-Mr. Wizard "Gray Matter" column (check out his latest work here). We'll also be raffling off some original creations from our main project man Dave Prochnow.

Stay tuned right here for the best of Maker Faire Austin, starting Saturday, October 20. —John Mahoney

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read more about > john carnett, mr wizard, popsci, solder fumes, vintage arcade

Alive; Frozen Dead

By Dave Prochnow Posted 10.09.2007 at 12:06 pm 3 Comments

Battery_on_ice

Our good friends at lifehacker spotted this suspicious tip for reviving a dead laptop battery over at Metacafe. According to the posted video, freezing the battery can help to rejuvenate it.

PopSci's Mr. Wizard-in-residence Theodore Gray weighs in:

I think it's pretty unlikely this has much effect one way or the other, and of course "dead" comes in different flavors.

I have a battery right now that was practically new and suddenly it's totally and completely dead, like it blew a fuse or something.  A freezer isn't going to make any difference for that problem.

But if it's just not holding its charge as long as it used to, as all such batteries eventually do after a year or so, then there is at least the theoretical possibility that freezing it might have an effect.

As fas as what I've read on battery technologies, though, I've never seen the freezing recommendation mentioned as a possible method for increasing the life of different battery systems."

Anyone had any luck with this personally? Let us know in the comments —Dave Prochnow

Revive A Dead Laptop Battery

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