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Air What is Air? At sea level, dry air is made of 78.03% Nitrogen, 20.99% Oxygen, 0.94% Argon, 0.03% Carbon Dioxide, 0.01% Hydrogen, 0.00123% Neon, 0.0004% Helium, 0.00005% Krypton, 0.000006% Xenon, and a trace of Argon. It exerts a pressure of 29.921 inches of mercury. When air contains water vapor, the amount of water in it is expressed as "relative humidity," which is the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor in air to the vapor pressure of water at the temperature of the air, written as a percentage. The behavior of gases (and air, a mixture of gases) is covered by the Gas Laws...a series of equations that cover the intricate relationship between the volume, pressure and temperature of a gas. What's great is that the equations are all very simple...the Perfect Gas Law, Boyle's Law, Dalton's Law, Avogadro's Law (and more) need only simple 7th grade algebra to use! Check out an excellent, very entertaining Gas Law tutorial site HERE! In our opinion, the two coolest things in the world having to do with air and gases are music (waves which propagate through air)and wind generators (which make "free energy" from moving air). Close in second place are weather and airplanes. That's why we have so many experiments involving these topics! Please send us your own experiments by Email if you're willing to share. Global air movement patterns as viewed from the GOES-8 satellite We've chosen these experiments to be in the 'Air' section of this site since they all involve gases. Experiments with Air Build a Wooden Windmill A 100-watt windmill built entirely from wood, magnets, and wire. Power from scratch! No machine tools needed. A great demonstration unit that makes real power...not a toy. Homebrew Windmill Made from scratch, with a standard induction motor converted to a permanent-magnet alternator. Cool Windmill Test Platform Using a 1930 Model A Ford! Video included. Homebrew Lightning Detector Watch the electrical potential rise as the storm move in, and flash when the lightning does. Build a Washtub Bass A very cool instrument to build and play. Have it working and learn to play it less than an hour! Be an accomplished expert in 2 hours. Homemade Musical Instruments Check out home-built guitars, banjos, and mandolins...links for builders. Build a Didjeridoo A simple, weird-sounding Australian instrument. Check out DanF's 4-barrel Didj. Musical Saws See and hear how to play a saw! Homemade Anemometer Build it from scratch from plastic Easter eggs to measure wind speed! Simple project, lots of fun. Build a Bomb! A very safe, NON-flammable "bomb" that demonstrates the Gas Laws. Make a Fly-Powered Airplane Fun for kids 6-100 years old...but not fun for the fly. PETA types don't click here! Excellent Paper Airplane Designs With links and fun historical information! Crush a Can with Air! A simple, classic demonstration of the power of air pressure...the Gas Laws in action! Theramins Check out THE WEIRDEST musical instrument ever! Do Trailer Parks Attract Tornados? It could be true.... We will gladly accept, review and consider your science experiment submissions for inclusion on this site, whether you are age 6 or age 100! Email us for details. Every experiment on these pages must be done with adult supervision only!!! If you are already an adult, we recommend getting a friend to help so you don't do anything childish and hurt yourself. We'll try to provide safety warnings, but cannot be held responsible for your own safety. Many of these experiments and many of the books we sell are from another era when safety was not a consideration, so PAY ATTENTION to the hazards of what you are doing! Wear safety goggles and gloves. Don't be stupid--YOU are supposed to be the adult here!

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THIS PAGE LAST UPDATED 1/23/02