I am a studying physics at university right now and I wanted to build some projects during the winter and summer break. I am looking at projects that specifically use electromagnetic concepts like induction and magnetization and polarization. I do not want anything crazy; I just want to build some small experiments to demonstrate electromagnetic phenomena in real life. I am already planning to build a Van de Graaff generator as a first step. I am looking for books that can guide me through the process of building other small homemade projects (like a spherical capacitor or small antennae).
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The magazine Scientific American ran a column called "The Amateur Scientist" for many years, up until about 2001. Not all of the projects described were about physics, but many of them were. Many of them would be suitable for a dedicated undergraduate who wanted to learn more about building experimental apparatus.
As far as I can tell, the "Amateur Scientist" columns were only collected in print once, in 1960; and obviously a lot has changed since then, both in what scientific projects would be of interest, and what materials are readily available to the consumer. A CD-ROM containing the "complete columnns" was released in 2006, and can still be found via online resellers; if you can get it running, it would be a valuable resource. Alternately, your local library might have access to back issues of Scientific American, either electronically or old paper copies.
Michael Seifert
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