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RBT
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Need images for new home chemistry book
I've just started work on a new book for O'Reilly Media, who are best known for their computer books. The working title of the new book is _Home
Chemistry Lab Handbook_. It will be published by the Make division, which also does Make Magazine.
I'm building my own full-scale home chemistry lab, having gotten planning permission from my wife to convert the kitchen in our guest suite into a
full-time lab. Obviously, that lab will be used for most of the images in the book, but I'd also like to include images of other home chem labs from
the most basic setup in the corner to the labs of those of you who are seriously into home chemistry.
The images don't need to be professional-quality, but they do need to be sharp and well-lit. Ideally, I'd like images that show the overall lab rather
than particular equipment setups and so on. In particular, I'd like images that show clever ways of dealing with limited space and so on. (If your
"lab" consists of storage boxes that you set up in the kitchen or wherever when needed, that would be of interest.)
If we choose to use your image, you decide how it will be credited--by your actual name, your handle, or anonymous. We can't offer direct payment for
images, but anyone whose image(s) is/are used in the book will receive a free copy of the book.
If you'd like us to consider using your images, please email them to me at thompson (at) homechemlab (decimal point) com. For now, I don't even need
to know who you are. If we decide to use the image, we will need a signed release that grants O'Reilly the non-exclusive right to use the image. If an
identifiable person is visible in the image, we'll also need a model release signed by that person. If the person is under 18 years old, we'll also
need the signature of a parent or guardian.
If you want to verify my credentials, just search oreilly.com or amazon.com for the many books I've written as Robert Bruce Thompson. You can also
visit my daily journal page, which I've been keeping since 1998, at < http://www.ttgnet.com/thisweek.html >.
Robert Bruce Thompson
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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vulture
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Hi there Robert.
Sounds very interesting. I must warn you though that you'll be under severe scrutiny on this board, as we've got quite some people here who are pretty
paranoid about this kind of stuff (that includes me). Don't take it personal. It's just that when there's a witchhunt and you're looking for
witches...you get the idea.
Maybe you could tell something about why a computer enthousiast (or blogger) like you suddenly gets interested in home chemistry?
[Edited on 31-1-2007 by vulture]
One shouldn't accept or resort to the mutilation of science to appease the mentally impaired.
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Waffles
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| Quote: | Originally posted by RBT
I'm building my own full-scale home chemistry lab, having gotten planning permission from my wife to convert the kitchen in our guest suite into a
full-time lab.
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Isn't this sort of like saying 'even though I've never actually played basketball in my life, I decided to install a full-sized court in the front
yard to see what its like.'
Maybe he doesn't realize- there's only two people two do a lot of the chemistry we discuss. Namely, people who are insane and willing to go to any
length to make a buck, despite the hazards to life, limb, and genetic potential involved, and people are who insane and do it because they love it.
\"…\'tis man\'s perdition to be safe, when for the truth he ought to die.\"
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RBT
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I understand, and I told my editors that many or most of the folks here would be leery, and rightly so.
Home chemistry isn't a new thing for me. I'm 53 years old, and I built my first home chem lab more than 40 years ago in my parent's basement. I did
all the traditional stuff like making nitroglycerine, RDX, and so on. I also had a home darkroom, where I worked with most obsolete photographic
processes, including Daguerreotype and platinum printing. I majored in chemistry in college and made it most of the way through a masters in
photographic chemistry at RIT, although I didn't get my masters degree.
This book isn't targeted at insane people. It's targeted at hobbyists who want to learn chemistry, home schoolers, and public schoolers whose schools
have a poor chemistry program or none at all, which is to say most of them.
O'Reilly, with its hacks series and Make Magazine, is expanding beyond its traditional focus on computer books to encompass the hands-on hacking
culture. This book, along with many others on other hacking-related topics, is a part of that expansion.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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Levi
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I don't believe there is a need for suspicion provided that the person posting is, indeed, Robert Bruce Thompson. His registration date and online
notes--which document his interest in setting up a home chemlab for the purposes of publishing a book and date back to Nov of last year--lend
credibility to his story. A quick google search for "robert bruce thompson" yields some 155,000 hits and from the results, it's obvious he's a well
published author. If this is some sort of ruse it's quite elaborate.
Chemcrime does not entail death. Chemcrime is death.
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Magpie
lab constructor
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Mr Thompson:
I find it exciting and a bit incredible that an established publisher would take on home chemistry. I say this because of all the negative prejudice
the media and general public have shown for some time now. If you read through the several threads in this forum dealing with this prejudice,
restriction of chemicals & supplies, etc, you will see why.
I would very much like to see our hobby get favorable acceptance in the media and general public. At the same time I am wary of too much exposure of
this forum, and me in particular, because of the aforementioned prejudice.
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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franklyn
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you're not the first
you won't be the last
http://www.destructve.com/bromicacid/bookprogress.htm
.
[Edited on 31-1-2007 by franklyn]
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Fleaker
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Ah, but that's more for us here, and more so for free distribution. I'm not sure which direction Mr. Thompson plans on pursuing, but I think that he
will not likely discuss some of the topics we do (i.e. oleum production, sodium electrolysis). In Bromic_acid's method, it's geared more towards the
people here who are, well mad scientists. I'm keen to hear more about it Mr. Thompson and delighted that you'd take on such a project.
Perhaps we could even be consulted as reference for various setups 
I suppose I could send some photos your way, as I'm not involved in anything nefarious and merely do this because, to quote iamthewaffler, I "am
insane and do it because I love it."
What type of photos are you looking for? Woelen might be the person to ask if you want to do a section on microscale chemistry, as his website is
superb.
http://www.oelen.net/science
[Edited on 1-2-2007 by Fleaker]
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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Levi
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Fleaker.
I suppose I could send some photos your way, as I'm not involved in anything nefarious and merely do this because, to quote iamthewaffler, I "am
insane and do it because I love it."
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Not even nefarious possession of glassware? You don't have to do something "wrong" to be guilty of a crime...
"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong"--Voltaire
Perhaps you can devote a chapter in your book to the persecution of chemists, RBT. It would be great to get a little positive exposure although I
must say that I'm against the mention of this forum by name.
Chemcrime does not entail death. Chemcrime is death.
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woelen
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Don't worry about mentioning this forum by name. Of course it is known by all official agencies and without doubt they will be lurking it on a regular
basis. But this forum is not illegal and nothing unlawful or criminal is discussed over here.
So, let them please keep on lurking, that is the best way to see that most home chemists are just interested in chemistry and/or science in general
and have nothing to do with criminal affairs, drug-making, bomb-making or terrorism.
The only thing they could bring in against some of us are the chemical storage and disposal regulations. That is something which we have to take care
of in a responsible and safe way, nothing more, nothing less.
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RBT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Magpie
I find it exciting and a bit incredible that an established publisher would take on home chemistry. I say this because of all the negative prejudice
the media and general public have shown for some time now. If you read through the several threads in this forum dealing with this prejudice,
restriction of chemicals & supplies, etc, you will see why. |
O'Reilly is definitely a mainstream publisher, but its corporate culture from Tim O'Reilly on down is definitely oriented towards hands-on hacking.
I'd be willing to bet that more that a few employees at corporate headquarters had chem labs in the basement when they were teenagers. In fact, it
wouldn't surprise me a bit if some still do.
| Quote: | | I would very much like to see our hobby get favorable acceptance in the media and general public. At the same time I am wary of too much exposure of
this forum, and me in particular, because of the aforementioned prejudice. |
You and me both. As I wrote on my journal page this morning, this persecution of home chemists has to stop, or we'll eventually realize that we have
no new generation of chemists. And without chemists, we're sunk.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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RBT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Fleaker
Ah, but that's more for us here, and more so for free distribution. I'm not sure which direction Mr. Thompson plans on pursuing, but I think that he
will not likely discuss some of the topics we do (i.e. oleum production, sodium electrolysis). In Bromic_acid's method, it's geared more towards the
people here who are, well mad scientists. I'm keen to hear more about it Mr. Thompson and delighted that you'd take on such a project.
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You're right. Much of what goes on here is much more advanced than the topics I plan to cover in the book (although there's always a possibility of a
second volume to cover more advanced stuff.) I plan to cover the range from basic stuff suitable for early middle school students through more
advanced stuff like what is covered in a high school AP chem lab course.
As far as images, I'm really just looking for a few images that show overall views of other people's home labs. In particular, any clever workarounds
to deal with limited workspace and storage, lack of running water, etc.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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RBT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Levi
Perhaps you can devote a chapter in your book to the persecution of chemists, RBT. It would be great to get a little positive exposure although I
must say that I'm against the mention of this forum by name. |
Not a chapter, but it'll certainly appear in the book. I completely understand why most home chemists maintain as low a profile as possible, but there
is strength in numbers. This book is just my small effort to "mainstream" home chemistry, to make it a "normal" thing to do. It may end up being just
a drop in the ocean, but all any of us can do is the best we can do.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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RBT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woelen
Don't worry about mentioning this forum by name. Of course it is known by all official agencies and without doubt they will be lurking it on a regular
basis. But this forum is not illegal and nothing unlawful or criminal is discussed over here.
So, let them please keep on lurking, that is the best way to see that most home chemists are just interested in chemistry and/or science in general
and have nothing to do with criminal affairs, drug-making, bomb-making or terrorism.
The only thing they could bring in against some of us are the chemical storage and disposal regulations. That is something which we have to take care
of in a responsible and safe way, nothing more, nothing less. |
Absolutely. When I built my first home chem lab back in about 1963, everybody just dumped waste chemicals down the drain. I'm writing the chapter on
chemicals right now, and I'm placing a great deal of emphasis on general safety, safe storage, and proper disposal.
In fact, although there are some really neat things one can do with them, I've pretty much ruled out using mercury or cadmium compounds because of the
disposal issue. I was going to use them anyway, but two of my technical advisors, both Ph.D. chemists, convinced me not to do it.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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RBT
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It's taken longer than expected--I had to stop what I was doing and write another astronomy book in the interim--but the Illustrated Guide to Home
Chemistry Experiments book is scheduled for publication this month.
< http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514921/ >
It's a bit elementary for most of the participants on these forums, but it's intended for beginning hobbyists and home school students at the late
middle school through high school level, including coverage of the recommended labs for AP chemistry.
No stuff that goes boom, although I did manage to sneak in a lab session on making super napalm in the chapter on colloids and suspensions.
And now I'm hard at work on the next book in the MAKE Magazine DIY Science series: Illustrated Guide to Home Forensics Experiments.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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Jor
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Looks nice!
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microcosmicus
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Good luck with the book --- I hope it succeeds in putting more
people onto home chemistry. As I said in another thread, it
would be good for home chemists to reach out to the hacker
types who hang out around Make magazine and such places,
a book by O'Reilly looks like exactly the way to do this.
[Edited on 1-4-2008 by microcosmicus]
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RBT
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Thanks. We hope to pull a lot of people into the hobby. I'll be at Maker Faire in California over the weekend of May 3/4, doing chemistry
demonstrations and speaking about home chemistry in general. Not to mention astronomy, which is the book I did in the middle of writing this one.
As far as the cover, they haven't shot it yet, but instead of an animal it'll be a lab setup of some sort with beakers and flasks and test tubes and
colored water. I'm pretty sure they already used the vulture for another title, anyway. Sorry.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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Magpie
lab constructor
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Yes, good luck RBT with your new book and I also hope it helps a lot of young people get hooked on home chemistry. We really need a broad base of
support to re-legitimize this hobby in the eyes of the media and the public.
Below is a copy your book's contents from the above website:
Separating Mixtures
Solubility and Solutions
Colligative Properties of Solutions
Introduction to Chemical Reactions & Stoichiometry
Reduction-Oxidation (Redox) Reactions
Acid-Base Chemistry
Chemical Kinetics
Chemical Equilibrium and Le Chatelier's Principle
Gas Chemistry
Thermochemistry and Calorimetry
Electrochemistry
Photochemistry
Colloids and Suspensions
Qualitative Analysis
Quantitative Analysis
Synthesis of Useful Compounds
Forensic Chemistry
This is all good fundamental chemistry and very interesting in it's own right. I'm just curious to know if there is anyting truly exciting
(pulse-racing) in it. Say like making bromine or nitric acid? (With due safety instructions, of course.) Or would this be too much of a liability for
your publisher? Maybe you are considering such experiments for a future book on "AP home chemistry." 
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RBT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Magpie
This is all good fundamental chemistry and very interesting in it's own right. I'm just curious to know if there is anyting truly exciting
(pulse-racing) in it. Say like making bromine or nitric acid? (With due safety instructions, of course.) Or would this be too much of a liability for
your publisher? Maybe you are considering such experiments for a future book on "AP home chemistry." |
I think we have some pretty neat stuff in there, but nothing that'll get the readers of these forums pulses racing. No dangerous syntheses, for
example. We do use concentrated nitric acid in two or three lab sessions, including one on presumptive drug testing with Marquis Reagent, ferric
chloride, and nitric acid.
As to a follow-on chem lab book, it'll depend largely on how well this one sells. If it sells in big numbers, I think O'Reilly will be interested in
doing a more advanced chem lab book. If I do that one, it'll probably focus on organic synthesis, coordination chemistry, and similar stuff. But I
have to get the home forensics lab book finished first.
Robert Bruce Thompson
thompson (at) homechemlab (dawt) com
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The_Davster
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What, you never updated us?
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/07/robert_bruce_thomps...
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Jdurg
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Hehe. I'd be interested in a book that describes the basic elements on our periodic table, but also describes experiments to isolate them outside of
the chemical industry. E.G. how to extract sodium metal at home. How to create bromine liquid, etc. etc. That would be a neat little book to have
by the bedside.
\"A real fart is beefy, has a density greater than or equal to the air surrounding it, consists of the unmistakable scent of broccoli, and usually
requires wiping afterwards.\"
http://maddox.xmission.com. |
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Magpie
lab constructor
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Thanks Davster for posting this. I needed something to boost my spirits after hearing of the apparently random raids on home chemists in Europe.
With more of this kind of publicity we just might make progress toward convincing the general public that just because you have a home lab you should
not be under suspicion for doing something iilegal.
I hope Robert's book sells millions of copies and that he gets a presentation on "Book TV."
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YT2095
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Fantastic! way to go RBT! 
\"In a world full of wonders mankind has managed to invent boredom\" - Death
Twinkies don\'t have a shelf life. They have a half-life! -Caine (a friend of mine)
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woelen
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I missed this thread, but I've read chapter 4 of this book (free online, see link above) and it is amazing to see that such good stuff is written in
this era of paranoia.
Robert, keep up the good work!
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