Let Paper Dolls Teach You Science

Remember how fun it was studying chemistry and physics in high school? Well we guess your recollection depends on the person who taught the class. Why not have another go at it by learning the A-to-Z of electronics from one of our favorite teachers, [Jeri Ellsworth].

You know, the person who whips up chemistry experiments and makes her own semiconductors? The first link in this post will send you to her video playlist. So far she’s posted A is for Ampere and B is for Battery, both of which you’ll find embedded after the break. Her combination of no-nonsense technical explanation, and all-nonsense paper-doll history reenactment make for a fun viewing whether you retain any of the information or not.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSj1SH5Zpqg&w=470]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOxMUZUJUS4&w=470]

[Thanks PT]

21 thoughts on “Let Paper Dolls Teach You Science

  1. I am a big fan of Jeri.
    I stop into her chat and stream, often.
    good community of DIY folks in there.

    her recent “paper doll” video takes me back the the always excellent “secret life of machines”.
    great stuff Jeri.

  2. Nice video. I watched your “don’t be afraid to fail” vid also. It has a really great message for everyone, of every age. Most of us try to hide our failures, or don’t try if we think we might flop. Thanks for sharing.

  3. @Min you’re obviously not familiar with Jeri’s work. She’s got to be one of the best DIY electronic engineers out there right now, and I’ve found her videos to be INCREDIBLY informative (she needs her own “Jeri Ellsworth Certification” online course…)

    Jeri’s videos should be on DVD, and need to accompany the “Getting Started in Electronics” textbook by Forrest M. Mims III.

    Awesome work, Jeri — keep up the excellent work!

  4. @min If an economics professor posted an insightful video explaining the financial system (and you were interested in that sort of thing) would you choose to miss out simply because a screenshot has a drawing of an “ATM machine”? Sure it’s redundant, but it’s common parlance.
    Besides which, certainly when you first flip the circuit on, ∂j/∂t = -Δj ≠0, so it certainly makes sense to define a “current flow” as the current propagates back along the wire.

  5. My roommate did the whole massive stack of 9V batteries thing not too long ago. I don’t know where he got them, but he found a pack of 40 or so 9Vs that were dirt cheap. Blew up wires, did some pretty significant electrolysis, and managed to light up his desk lamp with them.

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