Micronics SLS nylon 3D printer makes electronic circuits

A new desktop SLS nylon 3D printer can make printed electronic circuits with the addition of a powdered catalyst and electroless copper plating bath. The printer is available here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/micronics3d/micron-a-desktop-sls-3d-printer







Applied Science video on SLA printed circuits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z228xymQYho

Favorite copper plating bath recipe: 

Heat 250ml deionized water to 60*C in a 300ml beaker, stirring at 350 RPM 

Add 2.5g CuSO4*5H2O, wait until dissolved Add 4.6g EDTA disodium dihydrate, wait until dissolved

 Add 0.84ml of 1% Triton-X 100 solution in water Dissolve 5.8g NaOH in 30ml DI water, stir until clear, then add to bath Add 4ml Formaldehyde (37% HCHO) 

Lower stirring to 100 RPM and begin filtration with 0.5 micron syringe filter and peristaltic pump. 

No intentional oxygenation or bubbling. 

Filter return is below surface for minimal splashing.

I experimented a little with PEG and 2 2' Bipyridine, but didn't find them impactful enough to discuss in this video.

  LED rectenna designs: https://josepheoff.github.io/posts/1-hatband https://www.nrl.navy.mil/STEM/LEctenna-Challenge/ Electroless copper references: https://www.nmfrc.org/pdf/p0295g.pdf Copper chromite catalyst: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/product/aldrich/209317 Possibly available here: https://www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/shop/pigments/pigments-of-modern-age/spinel-similar-pigments/47420-spinel-black-no-42.html It's been backordered for a month, so I wasn't able to test it. Open Sauce 2024: https://opensauce.com/Support Applied Science on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AppliedScience

Photosynthesis photography: Making images with living plant leaves

How to make photographs using plant leaves: the technique, examples, f/0.5 camera lens construction, and tips & tricks that I learned along the way.

Inspiration for this project came from a 1970's video made by The Royal Institution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2JTiAASdyw

Starch formation refs: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/329993

https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/50820500/GPRG/2022PulicationsandSummaries/2022_Photosynthetic%20responses%20of%20greenhouse%20ornamentals%20to%20interaction%20of%20irradiance%20CO2%20and%20temperature.pdf

Video describing inkjet printed photomasks: https://youtu.be/bR9EN3kUlfg?si=k9RU6EwM5-pKx2tr&t=643

A different technique to make leaf prints: https://www.alternativephotography.com/chlorophyll-prints/

Video from Alpha Phoenix on making photos with cyanotype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewQQX3fxQKk&t=85s

Ray optics simulator: https://phydemo.app/ray-optics/

Giant tweezers: https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Tweezers-Anti-slip-Aquascape-Maintenance/dp/B07LDLWJMM/

Anhydrous ethanol: https://www.extractohol.net/1gal-200-proof-pure-food-grade-ethyl-alcohol

Hanging basket geranium plant: https://www.lowes.com/pd/2-Gallon-Multicolor-Geranium-in-Hanging-Basket-L5450/1000151713

Methanol toxicity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_toxicity https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccc.2012.07.002  Skin absorption in a quantity high enough to be a problem is rare, according to this.

Support Applied Science on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AppliedScience

Measuring the amount of lead (Pb) consumed when drinking from lead crystal glassware. Is it safe?

I show a "DIY" chemical color-based method to determine the amount of lead in water, and then use the method to measure the amount of lead extracted from various types of lead crystal glassware.










Skip to 27:05 to see the detailed results 

Code, analysis, raw data, more references: https://github.com/benkrasnow/LeadCrystal 

Average daily lead consumption: 50ug in early 1980s, about 2/3 of this came from food and water https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18340799W/Food_contamination_from_environmental_sources?edition=unset0000unse_z0t6 

The FDA established a maximum daily intake for Pb called the Interim Reference Level (IRL). The IRL for children and adults is 3 μg/day and 12.5 μg/day, respectively. In 2022, FDA tightened its Interim Reference Levels (IRLs) for lead to 2.2 µg/day for children and 8.8 µg/day for females of childbearing age—a drop of 27% from the original IRLs it established in 2018. 

(2011) The estimated average daily dietary exposure of the French population to lead was 18 μg for adults aged 15 years or more https://apps.who.int/food-additives-contaminants-jecfa-database/Home/Chemical/3511 

ChatGPT on cloudy lead acetate solutions https://chat.openai.com/share/b24593ea-e467-4c41-ac79-55a4c0546a63 

Support the production of future videos on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AppliedScience

Multi-layer reactive foil: no fuel, no oxygen, tons of heat

This unusual sheet metal is made of hundreds of nano scale layers of aluminum and nickel. A spark initiates a self-propagating reaction that creates NiAl compound, and lots of heat! This material is used to solder items so fast that the base material doesn't have time to draw heat away from the joint. The technical data sheet indicates that this process is fluxless, and I suspect trying to include flux would cause rapid gas expansion that would blow the solder joint apart. I'm not sure how the solder wets the surface without flux. 

https://sci-hub.se/10.1063/1.1629390 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_aluminide 

https://www.indium.com/products/nanofoil/#documents 

https://www.patreon.com/AppliedScience

Temperature-sensing RFID tag in magnetic stir bar

I describe an old project in which a few friends and I designed an RFID tag that fits into a magnetic stir bar and measures temperature wirelessly.  We decided to open-source the project, and you can see the PCB design and tag firmware at the github repo below.  I don't think I have the firmware for the base station, unfortunately.

https://www.ti.com/product/TMS37157

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/texas-instruments/EZ430-TMS37157/2183733

https://github.com/benkrasnow/Temperature_sensing_stirbar

https://www.patreon.com/AppliedScience