Scientific discoveries aren't only made by professionals. Amateur scientists and citizen scientists have made many discoveries that working scientists are glad to use. In fact, many institutions — including NASA — rely upon the work that amateurs do and the discoveries that they make. Amateur scientists have discovered significant dinosaur fossils, found new species of plants, and identified many new comets and asteroids. Their discoveries have been published in scientific journals and books.

Written by the foremost amateur scientist practicing in the U.S. today, this book covers some of the many ways you can enter the world of amateur science. You'll learn the essential skills, methods, and procedures that you need to begin working, thinking, inquiring, and recording like a real scientist.

Projects Included

• How to study tree rings
• To consider all of the many different things that snow can do
• How to modify and mount temperature sensors
• Different ways to sense and record movement as with an optical fiber seismometer
• Construct automatic sunshine recorders
• Build your own essential tool, the infrared thermometer
• To capture and study airborne particles with your own air sampler
• Track the most important greenhouse gas
• Build a Twilight Photometer that can measure to the top of the stratosphere
• Extract scientific data from digital images — and make music from it, too
• Use a digital scanner to assist you with essential scientific inquiries
• The basics of data mining to most efficiently glean the online info you need
• Best practices for recording your scientific inquiries — and discoveries!
• How to organize your own space-themed Mars-Bot competition
• Photograph the solar aureole that you can't see with your bare eyes
• To use LEDs to detect light and track nighttime projectiles

                    And those are only some of the projects in this book!

Meet the Author

Forrest M. Mims III, an amateur scientist and Rolex Award winner, is the most widely read electronics author in the world, and was named one of the “50 Best Brains in Science” by Discover magazine. His 60 books have sold over 7.5 million copies and have twice been honored for excellence by the Computer Press Association.