The Amateur Scientist is supplied on a single CD, with all of its resources accessible from within a web browser. This means that the product does not need to be installed on your hard drive. You simply insert the CD, fire up your browser software (Internet Explorer or Netscape) and you’re ready to begin exploring. Think of it as huge web site on CD!

Being web-based, it can be used on Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Unix platforms. This delivery method also means that the CD can travel with you, so you can continue your exploration on the road, in the library or wherever a PC is available.

As well as specific project material, The Amateur Scientist also includes the following:

• Tips and hints by other experienced amateur scientists.
• Details on building science apparatus from vacuum techniques to glass-blowing.
• A large database of chemicals, their properties, and safety requirements
• Links to companies and organisations that can help you in your research.
• A select library of science-related demos, shareware, and public domain software (supplied on a second CD).
• Full text search capability.
• Indexes for browsing by year or subject.
• Project ratings for cost, difficulty, possible hazards, and usefulness.

Browsing the CD

The Amateur Scientist includes all sorts of chemistry experiments together with detailed sketches.

The opening page acts as the blasting-off point. There you can browse the CD by date, by subject and by key-word. Windows users should find that this page opens automatically when the CD is inserted. Macintosh users will need to open the "home.html" file in the root directory of the CD.

Project layouts include all of the information from the original article, in many cases complete with hand-drawn sketches and photographs. A scrollable window appears on the left side of most pages, providing convenient access to basic information about the chosen subject.

Instant access to various charts, tables and databases is made possible via the "Ready References" link at the head of the window. There you’ll find information such as the atomic weight of Helium, Norton’s Theorem and the brightness of Sirius.

Project ratings

Each project has been reviewed by the editors and rated by "difficulty", "danger", "utility" and "cost". These ratings are displayed at the top of each project as well as in the search list, enabling you to quickly ascertain the suitability of a project for the intended audience.

Here's how a typical project appears in the browser window. All follow this basic, functional layout style.

The "difficulty" indicator ranges from 1 to 5. This is an estimate of the time, experience and skill needed to successfully complete the project. According to the editors, most projects with a rating of 1 or 2 should be accessible by younger students, although adult supervision may be required. At the other end of the scale, we find projects such as gas-charged lasers and proton accelerators. Obviously, advanced skills and significant time investments are required to construct these.

Above is an illustration from the same project, showing how to construct a "field mill" instrument for detecting the Earth's electric field. Apparently, it shouldn't take more than a weekend to assemble!

Parents and teachers will also find the "danger" indicator useful when searching for suitable content. A rating of 1 indicates relative safety, with minimal supervision required. Ratings 2 & 3 indicate increased supervision is required, whereas projects that score a high 4 are definitely not for children (or inexperienced adults), as slip-ups could be fatal!

The "utility" indicator is a nice addition that gives you a feel for the relevance of the material to today’s science and its possible application in your project. It uses a graphical icon to indicate one of these four categories:

(1). Cool project – a good contender for science fairs and home experiments.

(2). Uses obsolete technology but could be updated.

(3). Explores a problem that is now well-understood but might still be fun or educational to do.

(4). Historical interest.

You might not want to build your own laser but you can learn how they work from the detailed sketches.

Finally, a "cost" rating of above or below $100 (US) is given for the project. As stressed by the editors, the real cost will vary enormously, dependent on the availability of materials or the ingenuity of the experimenter. We’d take it with a grain of sodium chloride!

Practicalities

Some projects use simple techniques to achieve outstanding results. Even younger experimenters can "get inside an ant's head", as depicted here, using a microscope and a simple procedure.

Many of the projects presented in The Amateur Scientist will require significant resourcefulness on the part of the experimenter. This applies particularly to the sourcing of project materials, as most of the suppliers mentioned on the CD will not ship their products outside of the United States.

However, we expect that many of these materials will be available though educational institutions here in Australia.

Summary

To quote from the editors, "this product is an archive, a slice of history, a gallery of uncommon ingenuity. But most of all, it is a tool". We agree wholeheartedly.

The Amateur Scientist is published by Bright Science, LLC, situated in Coventry, Rhode Island. You can contact them at info@brightscience.com, or browse to www.brightscience.com. The CD is available from the SILICON CHIP Bookshop at $49 plus $7 postage and packing.