In this article, I'll show you how to build a coil gun. A coil gun is a device that fires magnetic projectiles at high velocities, using electricity. Coil guns require no explosive propellant, therefor can be fired an infinite amount of time, providing that there is ammunition ...more
Tesla coils are totally insane, yet undeniably captivating. And they can be used for many things, from electric painting to dueling musical battles. But one trigger happy fellow has a different use for Tesla's lightning shooting coil. A weapon. After being inspired by the ste ...more
In this video, we learn how to pick a door lock with an electric pick gun. First you will need to have a locked door and an electric pick with you. Once you have these, push the electric pick into the door and turn it on as you twist the knob. Continue to do this for several t ...more
Just what the world wants... more things to do while in jail! Make your at-home tattoo gun for under $10 and quite quickly. Try tattooing a banana or a dog. Not yourself. Video: .
Back in 2007, YouTube user HouseholdHacker posted a parody video on how to make a high-def speaker for under a buck. MythBusters took on the challenge and busted it. Although that particular method doesn't seem to work, that doesn't mean you can't make your own speaker for le ...more
Single coil pick ups are notorious for being noisy and for having a lot of buzz. One way that you can get rid of the buzz and save yourself from sounding annoying and unprofessional on stage without messing with your volume knob or buying expensive noise gates is putting in co ...more
In this article, I'll show you how to create a simple yet effective way of scaring off intruders. Of course, there are methods around this approach, but it's great for office pranks and general fun. The project requires a little background knowledge in electronics and circuitr ...more
Learn To Hack a Glue Gun and turn it into a Small Electric Stove to heat up your food. Its cheap to make and very helpful for when you don't have anything to cook you food with. Find out how by watching this video. All you need is a hot glue gun and some paper clips. Watch thi ...more
This video will show you the steps to wire in a humbucker and coil into a Fender Telecaster electric guitar. And you'll get to learn how to paint it as well! What's humbucker? Well, it's a type of electric guitar pickup, that'll help you improve your rocking out. What are you ...more
This is the third part of my electromagnetic pulse series (see Part One and Part Two). By now, I've covered the hardware and general concept of electromagnetic pulse generators, but how exactly do they disable electronics? How can an invisible field of energy have such a catas ...more
In this series, I'll be exploring electromagnetic weapons, how to build them, their function and application to the future, and the amazing possibilities electromagnetism has to offer. First, the electromagnetic pulse generator, or EMP. You've probably heard of these before, a ...more
The Stun-Gun In this article, I'll show you how to make a small, weaponized highlighter. Before I get into how to built this device, let me warn you. This device is harmful! When used, it can cause burns and/or serious muscle spasms. The voltage is potentially deadly! DO NOT ...more
This video is about how to tattoo. Once you make your choice of design, the tattoo artist traces the image. Next, he places the image on carbon paper and traces the image again to create a reverse image. He cleans the persons skin then firmly presses on the blueprint. Now its ...more
A British prisoner was recently caught with a tattoo gun rigged from a Sony Playstation. The crafty D.I.Y.er broke down the Playstation and attached the console motor to a finely sharpened ballpoint pen. The Sun reports: "A source said: 'It was a truly bizarre piece of DIY, ...more
In this video, we learn how to build a magnetic stirring device. First you will need: a block of 1 inch thick Styrofoam, a piece of cardboard, 2 magnets, a small electric motor, a piece of non-magnetic metal, a hot glue gun, and a soldering iron. First, draw the shape of your ...more
Congrats to WonderHowTo Jackass 3D prank contest winner Grayson Robison! His winning idea: Connect Knoxville to a real life Operation game with shocking devices. Every time a player screws up and the buzzer goes off, the "patient" gets a burning shock to the correlating body ...more
Nikola Tesla. He was the man behind some of the greatest inventions of all time, including radio and alternating current. But perhaps his most visually fascinating invention is the Tesla coil. While maintaining a low current, it can produce dangerous high frequencies and volta ...more
Around the world, X-People (yes... there are X-Women, too) are under attack from an intolerant sapiencentric ruling class. Integration without equality is a farce. Autonomy is denied outright. Human prejudice cannot abide a mutant state. Human fear, born to hate, imposes itsel ...more
Try running through fire, swimming in freezing water, wading through mud tunnels, and crawling across barbed wire, all the while being distracted by fire machine-gun blanks, thunder flashes and smoke bombs. (Possible injuries you may sustain: barbed wire cuts, burns, hypother ...more
See the assembly and run of a very basic electric motor. Just get all that you need and put it together, just like in this video. The battery, the coil, the magnets -- they're all just waiting for you to make a motor out of them.
There is nothing more annoying than a greedy roommate. It's absolutely infuriating to wake up and find the cookies your mother just made for you gone without a trace. Your favorite drink is empty and the homemade meal you worked so hard on the night before is nowhere to be fou ...more
So, when Christopher brought up Nikola Tesla in his very first post on Fear of Lightning, it got me interested in learning more about the man behind alternating current. There is plenty of info out there on the Internet, widely available for free, but sometimes it's just nice ...more
...his easy laugh and southern charm. Pull this trigger...it is just so electric. Not just the spark, but the 50,000 volts cursing through the tumid chamber, filled with liquid soluble polydimethalsiloxane. Okay. Okay. Maybe it did not go exactly like that. Maybe all the ...more
In this article, I'll show you how to make a high-powered, long-range, air-powered rocket gun. This launcher is based on a sprinkler valve, a modified propane tank, and a few other components. Though not hard to make, this device is VERY dangerous! The rocket can seriously har ...more
Just because you have a cathedral ceiling in your home, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the beautiful decorative texture of wood beams. Faux wood ceiling beams are a great way to add character and warmth to a plain room. Compared to real wood, they're cheaper, lightweight and eas ...more
Let's face it— we'd all like to have some decorative wooden beams on our ceilings in our living rooms. It's a great way to add character and warmth to a plain room. But you don't need real wood to get this look. There's a lightweight and cheaper alternative— faux wood ceiling ...more
If you already have basic faux wood ceiling beams installed in your home, then you may still want to go a bit further, and suspended faux wood beams is the way to go. It's decorative, cheaper than real wood, lightweight and can add character and warmth to a plain room. This vi ...more
WTF. If you're going to mark yourself for life... ...why not venture into the absurd. Weird Al, Brangelina's kid, In-N-Out, Gollum and Google all get human real estate. If only we had the courage. This video will either induce inspiration or horror. WTF. If you're going to ma ...more
Video: . I made this Tesla Coil using the myRIO and LabVIEW. It uses electricity to play the music, which can be Star Wars, Harry Potter or even Hunger Games! The music is played by the spark heating the surrounding air (causing it to expand) then the spark turning off (causin ...more
We've featured Temporary Services before, but we thought they deserved a full spread. In this post, we've included some of their How-To drawings and examples of recreated prison art. Temporary Services is: "... a project in collaboration with Angelo, an incarcerated artist. ...more
With the microwave oven transformer (M.O.T.) salvaged in a previous project, a simple electrical circuit can be rigged to get high voltage arcs to fly outward and upward along a "V" shaped spark gap. You can look, but don't touch! These arcs of plasma are lethal enough to kil ...more
A typical resistance spot welder can range in price from about $200-$800, but with a little resourcefulness and a bit of free time, you can make one like this for about $10 or less. Before starting on this project, there are a couple of videos you should check out, because yo ...more
Learn how to clean the dirty electric coils on your kitchen stove with aluminum foil. Video: .
Remember the arcades? Were you saddened when they closed up one by one, leaving no outlet to actually go out and socialize while you played video games? With all the home consoles and internet connectivity, gaming has evolved, but the social factor has been eliminated. Sure we ...more
This is a great video for learning how to play one the most awesome songs in history - Sweet Child O' Mine from Guns N' Roses. It shows you nice and slow the proper finger placement.
If you're a musician in need of some lessons, there's no better way to learn than with MusicRadar's so-called "Tuition" instructions. Although the title tuition is misleading, this video class is anything but costly, because it's free, right here. Whether you're looking for he ...more
This is a step-by-step instructional on how to make a potato gun, otherwise known as the spud gun, potato launcher, potato cannon, etc. Although this can be a fun activity, it is still dangerous, just like a real weapon. The tools needed for this spud cannon are a drill, saw, ...more
When it comes to winter weather, the garage should not be neglected, especially if you have a room directly above it. Neglecting to properly insulate and seal your garage doors will create a constant rush of cold air inside, making the garage really cold, in turn making the fl ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to prevent frozen pipes. Steps: 1. Seal air-leaking holes and cracks around home with expanding foam sealant or silicone caulk. 2. Use foam-rubber pipe insulation to protect exposed pipes from cold. 3. Slip foam-rubber insulat ...more
Want to make a simple electric motor at home? Andy and Mike show you how in just a few easy steps, using a block of wood, two paperclips, a AA battery, some insulated copper wire, and a magnet. This is a fun and simple science experiment that anyone can do at home. Wrap the wi ...more
Learn how to play this fairly easy riff from "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns n Roses on the electric guitar with this music tutorial. This step by step video is for the intermediate guitar player.
David Taub explains how to get the same tone as Slash from Guns N Roses on an electric guitar. Part 1 of 2 - How to Sound like Slash from Guns N Roses. Part 2 of 2 - How to Sound like Slash from Guns N Roses.
This guitar lesson shows how to play Guns and Roses' "November Rain" from the album "Use Your Illusion" . In this three part lesson you'll learn how to play the chords in the verses, bridge and chorus. Soon enough you'll be playing just like Slash himself on the electric guita ...more
In this four-part song tutorial, you'll learn how to play "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns N' Roses in its entirety on electric guitar. While this tutorial is best suited for intermediate and advanced guitarists, players of all skill levels can play along. Watch this lesson to ge ...more
Grab your electric guitar, strap, amp, and your pick and check out this free guitar lesson. This video tutorial will teach you country guitarists how to play a Johnny Cash song. Not just any Johnny Cash song, but one of his most famous: "Folsom Prison Blues." The solo for this ...more
I'm back with the third part to my laser weapon series (see part one and two), and I'll be explaining the function, application, and potential of semiconductor lasers, aka laser diodes. Surely, most of you have used a laser pointer at some point. Whether purchased at a dollar ...more
In this article, I'll be covering Triggers and Coils, part two of the series (see part one here). Generally, a simple EMP generator consists of four components; a capacitor, a transformer, a trigger and a coil of copper wire. The transformer component can be varied, but the co ...more
Valentine's Day is almost here, and if you're like me, you're scurrying to do something special for your mate. The standard chocolates and flowers just isn't cutting it anymore, and you can only make so many homemade cards before it becomes banal and meaningless. So, what can ...more
Building a DIY Alarm System: The Concept So, you want to protect your property, or maybe a room, car, or even your backyard. The concept of an alarm system is to notify the "alarm administrator" that there is an intruder entering the previously designated boundaries. The trig ...more
Banksy, Cope2, Invader, Retna, Mr.cartoon, They all have a few things in common. Firstly, they are all extremely talented and well known urban artists. Secondly, they all have very memorable and very, very cool names. Banksy is the most well known of the bunch, and in my opin ...more
I have an absolutely wonderful time making projects and writing articles for all of you mad scientists! Today, I will bring you behind the scenes for a look at the workbench, tools, and software that make the Mad Science World possible. Above is my beautiful workbench! My who ...more
Indoor electric grills are nothing new; George Foreman grills have been around for over 20 years now, providing healthy, smokeless grilling options for indoor use. Yet as nifty and fun as George Foreman grills are, indoor grills have never been considered a hot item for passio ...more
An experiment was carried out at our laborataries to investigate the flow through two pipes of same diameter fitted at the same height from water level inside of a water tank as shown. It is found the longer pipe line inside the water tank generates a higher speed resulting mo ...more
Helping to prove that science is way awesome, an 18-year old electrical engineering student has successfully made a light bulb float. His name is Chris Rieger, and he's been working on his "LevLight" project for about six months now, with pretty amazing results. This feat of i ...more
Before I really get into this article, it's important to note that you do not need a Steampunk persona (or "steamsona") in order to be a Steampunk, or wear Steampunk clothes. Some people like to pretend to be a different person when dressed up in Steampunk clothing, but that i ...more
Hello again, faithful readers. For today's lesson, we will be learning the correct way to restring and tune an electric guitar. I almost wasn't going to post this because it is so basic. But, as with many basic tasks, there are a lot of people who know how to do it, but can't ...more
Aluminum foil is one of those things that every cook, experienced or just starting out, has in their kitchen. And while we may think we know how useful this handy material can be, there are hundreds of ways we could be utilizing tinfoil to make our lives a whole lot easier. 1 ...more
We see Steampunk props all the time and wonder where the maker found all their pieces. In fact, for some people it's almost like a game to examine each prop and see if they can name all of the original parts. However, for a newcomer (or a novice at prop-making), it may be rea ...more
I don't know how many of you had this experience in your youth, but when I was a kid, I used to actively think about what would happen if I suddenly woke up in a fantasy land, or were to pass through a portal into another space and time. I knew it wouldn't really happen, but w ...more
One of the best things about Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is how realistic he makes the caped crusader feel. Unlike the Joel Schumacher or even the Tim Burton versions, Nolan's world seems grounded in some level of scientific fact. But just how close is science to actual ...more