Suggested Experiment Equipment
OwnedTo buyOptional
Priority experiments
The threads I'm actively building or replicating.
01 · Sealed-jar carbon-cycling replication
PNAS 2021 · algae + soil
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass vials + sealing caps | 40 mL, ChemGlass CG-4902-08, plastisol-lined caps | Buy | £40–70 |
| Pressure / T / RH sensorReads the daily pressure oscillation | Bosch BME280 · Amazon B0118XCKTG | Buy | £8–15 |
| Logging computer | Raspberry Pi (I²C) + CircuitPython BME280 | Buy | £45–80 |
| Hermetic seal epoxyFeed sensor wires through the cap gas-tight | EPO-TEK H74 · cure 100 °C 1 hr + 2 days RT | Buy | £30–60 |
| Temperature controlPaper runs 30 °C; you hold 24 °C | Subcold fridge + Inkbird ITC-308 | Owned | — |
| Light source12h/12h, ~800 lux at the vial | LED + Buckpuck 3021 350 mA driver + steel mesh | Buy | £25–45 |
| Peltier temp feedbackIf not using the fridge enclosure | Peltier element + aluminium block + thermistor | Optional | £20–40 |
| Inoculum + medium | Soil sources ×2 + ½× Taub (carbon-limited) | Buy | £15–30 |
| Sterilisation | Pressure cooker → makeshift autoclave | Buy | £40–80 |
| Pipettes + tubes | Adjustable pipette + tips | Buy | £15–35 |
02 · Bioreactor — effective temperature & photosynthesis rate
David Jordan's reactor
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modular bioreactor | CO₂/O₂/temp/OD sensors + heater + LED + RPi | Owned | — |
| Laminar flow hood | HEPA-filtered workspace | Owned | — |
| Temperature enclosure | Subcold fridge + Inkbird ITC-308 | Owned | — |
| Optical dissolved-O₂ probeFluorescence — does NOT consume O₂ (avoid galvanic) | RS485 optical DO probe | Buy | £87–104 |
| Headspace CO₂ (NDIR)→ dissolved via Henry's law; guard vs condensation | Sensirion SCD41 module | Buy | £11–60 |
| pH sensor | Probe + EZO-pH amplifier board | Buy | £30–70 |
| In-liquid CO₂ probeOnly if headspace + Henry proves insufficient | Membrane / Severinghaus cell | Optional | £160–190 |
| Media pumpFeed / dilute without opening the vessel | Peristaltic pump | Optional | £20–40 |
| Algae culture | Chlorella vulgaris · Blades Biological | Owned | — |
| Growth media | Alga-Gro freshwater, 20 mL → 1 L spring water | Buy | £10–20 |
03 · Milk globule sizing
blog · microscopy
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microscope + C-mount camera40× + Python px→µm calibration | Existing scope + mounted camera | Owned | — |
| Hemocytometer | 50 µm grid (current calibration ref) | Owned | — |
| Stage micrometerTighter calibration than the hemocytometer grid | 0.01 mm graduation slide | Buy | £15–35 |
| 100× oil-immersion objectiveResolves the faded globules flagged as hard to pick up | 100×/1.25 achromat + immersion oil | Buy | £25–60 |
| Darkfield / phase contrastContrast for transparent globules; beats depth-of-field washout | Patch stop or phase-contrast condenser | Optional | £15–90 |
| Laser-diffraction rigWhole-sample sizing to cross-check the microscopy | Laser diode + photodiode + cuvette + screen | Optional | £20–50 |
04 · Brownian motion / diffusion
Boltzmann from tracings
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microscope + camera + tracking | Existing scope + Python particle tracking | Owned | — |
| Calibration slide | Stage micrometer (shared with §03) | Buy | £15–35 |
| Tracer particles£500 monodisperse set flagged as too much — source cheaper | Polystyrene microspheres or latex substitute | Optional | £20–80 |
05 · Rayleigh–Bénard convection
pattern formation
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convection cell | 50 cSt silicone fluid + mica powder + borosilicate petri dish | Owned | — |
| Heat source | Hot plate | Owned | — |
| ΔT measurementOn the to-do list | K-type thermocouple + spot-weld | Buy | £25–60 |
06 · Peltier / Seebeck heat-engine demo
thermoelectrics
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peltier moduleSeebeck voltage vs ΔT | Thermoelectric element (e.g. TEC1-12706) | Buy | £5–15 |
| Temperature difference | Hot plate + ice pack | Owned | — |
| Voltage / current readout | Bench multimeter | Buy | £25–60 |
07 · Air quality & positive-pressure
biosecurity · ventilation
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corsi–Rosenthal box | 20″ box fan + 4× MERV-13 filters + tape | Buy | £80–175 |
| Manometer | Fieldpiece SDMN5 dual-port | Owned | £150 |
| DIY pressure sensorCheaper route for room ΔP than the Fieldpiece | MPX5010DP + microcontroller | Optional | £10–25 |
| Sealing consumables | Sheeting + weather strip + reticulated foam + Gorilla tape | Buy | £40–60 |
| Particle counterm2000 PM meter owned; Kanomax is the upgrade | Second-hand Kanomax (from ~$800) | Optional | $800+ |
08 · Background-oriented schlieren — imaging sneezes & plumes
aerosols · airflow
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera + tripodFast shutter to freeze the sneeze/cough plume | DSLR / mirrorless (or phone) on rigid tripod | Optional | — |
| Speckle backgroundReference pattern that distorts as air density changes | Printed random-dot pattern on rigid board | Buy | £5–20 |
| Even background lighting | LED panel / softbox, flat and flicker-free | Buy | £20–50 |
| BOS analysis softwareCross-correlate distorted vs reference frames | Python + OpenCV / openpiv | Owned | — |
| Classic mirror schlierenSharper single-shot alternative to BOS | Concave mirror + point LED + knife edge | Optional | £60–150 |
09 · Shared bench tooling
buy once · serves many
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bench electronics kitFor the component-buying / tabletop builds | Breadboard + jumpers + resistor/cap/LED assortment | Buy | £25–45 |
| Soldering + prototyping | Temp-controlled iron + solder + helping hands + protoboard | Buy | £30–70 |
| Vacuum pumpLow-pressure demos (open question in notes) | Small rotary-vane pump | Optional | £60–120 |
Low-priority / wishlist experiments
Estimated kit for the wider list — mostly still to buy.
L01 · Galileo's ramp & timing
kinematics
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inclined track + ballTime the roll; phone slow-mo reads position | Aluminium track + steel ball bearing | Buy | £15–30 |
| Timing | Photogate pair (or phone at 240 fps) | Optional | £0–25 |
L02 · Lunar crater observation
astronomy
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telescope17th-C-style refractor is plenty for craters | 70–130 mm refractor + tripod | Buy | £70–150 |
| Phone/eyepiece adapter | Afocal smartphone mount | Optional | £10–20 |
L03 · Vacuum-tube drop test
air resistance
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drop tubeFeather vs coin fall together | Clear acrylic/PVC tube + end caps + valve | Buy | £15–30 |
| Evacuation | Vacuum pump (see §09) | Optional | — |
L04 · Crookes radiometer
radiometric force
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| RadiometerBuy ready-made or build in a flask | Vane radiometer bulb | Buy | £10–25 |
| Vacuum chamberOnly if building your own | Bell jar + pump (see §09) | Optional | £40–120 |
L05 · Desktop Foucault pendulum
Earth's rotation
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| PendulumHeavy bob + long fine wire | Brass bob + piano wire | Buy | £20–45 |
| Low-friction pivot + driveCharron ring / magnetic drive to sustain swing | Gimbal bearing + drive coil | Buy | £25–60 |
L06 · Boiling-point consistency (Kelvin)
thermometry
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precise thermometerWatch superheating / pressure effects | PT100 / digital probe, 0.1 °C | Buy | £10–25 |
| Heat source | Hot plate | Owned | — |
L07 · Thermal-equilibrium demo
heat transfer
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two thermometersLog both liquids to equilibrium | Dual thermocouple + logger | Buy | £15–35 |
| Insulated vessels | Calorimeter cups / vacuum flask | Buy | £10–25 |
L08 · Gas-piston Carnot cycle
thermodynamics
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| PistonLow-friction so PV work is measurable | Glass syringe / graphite piston | Buy | £20–40 |
| Pressure + hot/cold baths | Pressure sensor (BME280) + two water baths | Buy | £15–30 |
L09 · Taylor–Couette flow
hydrodynamic instability
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concentric cylindersInner rotates in viscous fluid | Two acrylic tubes + DC motor + speed controller | Buy | £40–90 |
| Working fluid + tracer | Glycerol/water + dye or mica flakes | Buy | £10–25 |
L10 · Whirlpools from flux
rotating flow
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ForcingDrive rotation in a fluid layer | Magnetic stirrer + beaker | Buy | £20–40 |
| Tracers | Dye or reflective flakes | Optional | £5–15 |
L11 · Salt-water conductivity
electrochemistry
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conductivity readoutvs concentration | EC/TDS meter or electrode pair + DMM | Buy | £10–30 |
| Reagents | NaCl + distilled water | Buy | £5 |
L12 · Amateur astrophotography
astronomy
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera | DSLR / mirrorless (or phone) | Optional | — |
| Star tracker mountCancels Earth's rotation for long exposure | Portable equatorial tracker + tripod | Buy | £120–250 |
L13 · Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction
oscillating chemistry
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReagentsBromine-free formulation | Malonic acid + NaBrO₃ + ferroin + H₂SO₄ | Buy | £30–60 |
| Vessel + capture | Petri dish + camera/phone | Optional | — |
L14 · Briggs–Rauscher reaction
oscillating chemistry
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReagentsDiluted H₂O₂ version | KIO₃ + malonic acid + H₂O₂ + MnSO₄ + starch | Buy | £30–60 |
L15 · Minimal chemical reaction network
reaction kinetics
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reagents | Simple reactant set (task-dependent) | Buy | £20–50 |
| Progress readoutTrack concentration over time | Colorimeter / photodiode + LED | Buy | £15–40 |
L16 · Genetic engineering — tobacco GUS staining
plant GE · check GMO rules
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant + transformation | Tobacco + Agrobacterium GUS kit | Buy | £100–250 |
| Staining | X-Gluc stain + buffers | Buy | £40–90 |
L17 · Genetic engineering — fluorescent yeast
yeast GE · check GMO rules
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transformation kit | Yeast + GFP plasmid transformation kit | Buy | £80–200 |
| Fluorescence readout | Blue LED + emission filter (or transilluminator) | Buy | £20–80 |
L18 · L-form bacteria cell division
membrane physics
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culture + osmotic mediaL-forms lack a wall — need osmotic protection | Bacterial culture + high-osmolarity media | Buy | £20–45 |
| Imaging | Microscope (owned) | Owned | — |
L19 · Lotka–Volterra with soil microbiomes
population dynamics
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| CulturesTwo competing populations | Soil isolates + defined media | Buy | £15–40 |
| Counting | Microscope / plate reader (owned scope) | Owned | — |
L20 · Thermophoresis in a gradient
origin-of-life clumping
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature gradientDrives molecules up/down the gradient | Peltier hot/cold pair + thin capillary/cell | Buy | £30–70 |
| Imaging | Fluorescent dye + microscope (owned) | Optional | £10–30 |
L21 · Liesegang rings
chemistry · pattern formation · insilico.hu
| Item | Spec / part | Status | ~Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reaction tubes | 300 mm × 12 mm glass tubes | Buy | £15–30 |
| Gel mediumHosts the diffusion front | Gelatin or agar | Buy | £5–15 |
| ElectrolytesMg(OH)₂ route — avoids carcinogenic dichromate | Magnesium chloride hexahydrate + NaOH | Buy | £15–35 |
| Deionised waterCan make at home | DI / distilled water | Owned | — |
| Temperature controlSteady diffusion needs a stable bath | Water bath | Buy | £30–70 |