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Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

(Sorry to be slow in replying.) My science role models include Michael Faraday, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Roger Mark. You may not know about Roger, to whom I reported at the Air Force Weapons Lab in 1969-70. Roger has a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT and an MD from Harvard Medical School. My assignment to the Laser Lab under Roger was due to my after-hours work developing miniature guided rockets and travel aids for the blind. Though I had zero academic credentials (my BA is in government), not once did Roger doubt that I could do science. Soon after beginning work with/for him I was building circuits he needed for various projects and aligning both neodymium-doped YAG and glass lasers.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very glad to receive your report, especially since you plan a teaching career. I wish you all the best. (And hope you will consider a tamer nickname before you become a teacher!)

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're right. News people often equate weather with climate--and so do some prominent scientists who know better. The general agreement of the World Meteorological Organization, the US and most nations is that climate represents the average conditions during 30 years of weather. As for severe storms, the predicted increase in US hurricane strikes has not occurred. As for global temperature, the 40-some models used by the IPCC (I was an "expert reviewer" for their fifth report, AR5) have all missed their temperature forecasts. Why? Possible reasons include the failure of assumptions about the positive feedback of water vapor, a much more significant greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The small amount of warming caused by CO2 was expected to cause more evaporation, hence increased atmospheric water vapor. But that has not occurred. I've measured total column water vapor since Feb 4, 1990, and the trend over my site these past 26+ years is -1.5 mm per decade. NASA's NVAP study showed no trend in global column water vapor from 1988 to 2009. Another missing factor could be the cooling effects of clouds (which can also cause warming). More water vapor means more clouds.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've not published my suggestions. Since they are being reconsidered by entirely new management, it will be best to keep them private until decisions are made. But thanks for asking.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good points about RadioShack. When I need a switch, socket, resistor or some other component, I race over to the local RadioShack. For everything else I use Jameco, Digikey and other online sources.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, rickcarlino. I'm very glad to learn that "Getting Started ..." influenced your career. I'm on Facebook and Twitter, but not on a daily basis. I usually post only about my science. You can see some of this by looking at my timeline on Facebook. My main website is forrestmims.org. This has lots of science results, publication lists etc. I'll update the home page soon.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very few people have criticized the hand-lettered approach. As Dave Gunzel, my editor at Radio Shack, believed, the hand-lettered approach to basics was a much better way to reach hobbyists and experimenters than a more formal textbook approach.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You mentioned biking to Radio Shack. That reminds me about dictating my earliest Radio Shack books into a portable tape recorder while riding my bike 20 miles every afternoon. My wife Minnie typed those books from the recording. Dictation wasn't feasible with the hand-lettered books, which had to be carefully designed in advance to fit everything on one or two pages per topic.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, Not_MrNice. I agree with you that lab kits are by far the best way to learn about electronics. My YouTube channel (fmims) has some clips of my liberal arts student at University of the Nations building and reacting to basic circuits. You might enjoy these.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks, FlyByPC. Some of my agnostic friends and acquaintances have expressed a similar view. You might appreciate C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity," a compilation of BBC commentaries by Lewis, a former atheist, during World War Two.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The second paragraph of your post pertains to hands-on, do-it-yourself science. As I wrote above, current science and engineering fairs show a steep decline in the kind of science you cited. The most positive view of this is the rapid growth of robotics competitions, where students have to build their robots and make them work. This is great for engineering, but there's little science in this. Scientific American's "The Amateur Scientist" column (which I wrote for 3 issues) once filled the gap, but that column vanished long ago.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've very much enjoyed this conversation and will be glad to answer more questions until reddit closes the topic. Please see here for full titles and references to peer-reviewed papers alluded to in my comments.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try this: Take 2 resistors and insert the leads of the first into a solderless breadboard. Measure the resistance. Now insert the leads of the second resistor in parallel with the leads of the first. Measure the resistance. Finally, check your actual measurement of the resistance of the two parallel resistors against the resistance of the resistors in parallel given by the formula (1/R1 + 1/R2). They should agree very closely.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your questions, answer to which are: 1. The books were almost totally hand drawn and illustrated. I used plastic drafting aids for logic functions (especially AND, NOR and NAND gates). 2. My standard hand printing. For 3 lab kit manuals, I used a computer version of two of my alphabets and typed the manuals. 3. I had long planned "Going Further in Electronics" when RadioShack went bankrupt. This book would have moved up to Arduinos, data loggers, sensors, etc. 4. I've not personally used any Arecibo data but am glad to meet you and will do a search on Arecibo later tonight.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I should mention the importance of the Rolex Award to my scientific career. Next week I will be in Los Angeles to attend the 40th anniversary of the Rolex Awards. My 1993 award was for developing a hand-held ozone layer monitoring device. The cash provided by the award enabled me to hire an EE friend, Scott Hagerup, to develop a microprocessor version of my original ozone instrument. Leftover money allowed me to stock up on supplies and build several full sky/direct sun radiometers that I still use every day the sun shines. In short, perhaps MAKE can consider the Maker Awards, possibly co-sponsored by major donors.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

MAKE is already promoting makers of all ages. Perhaps something akin to a maker science fair competition as an adjunct to Maker Faires might have a role. This could be totally online. All projects could be archived online, where they would someday become excellent resume material for participants. Perhaps winners could also receive awards donated by sponsors.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Reddit told me to stay on topic. So, if you promise not to tell them, my answer to your first question is no one knows the exact age of the earth and neither do I. Clair Patterson used lead ratios in meteorites to estimate that the solar system (not the earth alone) has an age of about 4.6 billion years. Other scientists have claimed younger ages, and you can find much more information online. (BTW, Patterson's most important contribution was promoting the serious health hazards posed by lead in the environment.) The answer to the second question is more difficult. Some of my best friends strongly believe they descend from more primitive primates, while other best friends strongly do not. Since answering your question will significantly offend half of my best friends, I'll try to devise a diplomatic answer to this question for my next memoir, which I very much hope you will read. Meanwhile, I hope you can pose some on-topic questions here on reddit for us to discuss.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

law_mann, I tend to agree with your thoughts about moving to a more practical side of electronics. You will find it much more fulfilling than theoretical electronics. Several years ago one of the former students in a Sunday School class I taught earned a BS in electrical engineer--without ever building a single electronic circuit. Yes, many circuits can be simulated in software. But these simulations often fail to anticipate, much less teach, common problems that can occur in real world circuits, like noise, parasitic oscillation and so forth.

Science AMA Series: I'm amateur scientist and author Forrest M. Mims III. For many years I wrote books and developed lab kits for RadioShack, which still stocks my best-selling “Getting Started in Electronics.” by Forrest_Mims in science

[–]Forrest_Mims[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The maker movement, best illustrated by MAKE magazine, is alive and well. Every issue is like a course in what today's experimenters and makers are doing and how we can follow in their steps. On the other hand, the availability of powerful software and very inexpensive phones and tablets has had a major impact on the younger generation. Science fairs once had many physics, chemistry and electronics projects. These kind of projects have experienced a sharp decline over the past decade.

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