A few months ago, Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash, PhD, and graduate student George Korir were recognized for an ingenious (to me) contraption built from a music box that creates a simple way of doing very small scale chemistry experiments.
That award, from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Society for Science & the Public, recognized the device for its possible use as a chemistry set for kids, but Prakash and Korir also see it as useful for scientists in a lab or out in the field.
They’ve now published the device in PLoS ONE , describing its functionality for scientists as well as kids.
The general idea is that this 100 gram device uses a hand crank to wind a long punch card through metal prongs. In its original state, those metal prongs then each played a note on queue. In their reconfiguration, each metal prong releases a droplet of a chemical or controls pumps and valves.
At only two inches in length, Prakash and Korir say the device is easy to carry and could be programmed to carry out chemistry experiments outside the lab – testing water quality or soil samples, for example.
“The platform is simple to use and its plug and play nature makes it accessible to both untrained health workers in the field and young children in classrooms,” Prakash wrote.
This device is part of Prakash’s ongoing focus on frugal science – devices that are inexpensive and functional enough to bring science out of the lab and into the world. He previously developed a 50 cent microscope called the Foldscope that is being used by groups worldwide to investigate their environment. Some of the images taken through the Foldscope can be viewed here.
Previously: Music box inspires a chemistry set for kids and scientists in developing countries and Foldscope beta testers share the wonders of the microcosmos
Photo by Kurt Hickman
