I built a $40 theremin to annoy friends and learn circuitry fundamentals

There’s nothing spookier or more haunting than the soaring sounds of a theremin, an instrument that uses electromagnetic fields to produce various pitches when you move your hands around it. You’ve probably heard one in your favorite science fiction flick. It’s one of my favorite instruments of all time. I tend to gravitate towards the weirder things in life and the theremin is definitely one of the most bizarre instruments out there. That’s why I decided to put together a theremin on a breadboard. Not only did the high-pitched sounds annoy both my dog and husband (much to my wicked delight), but it also helped me better understand circuitry. If you’ve got little ones, this is a fantastic project to do with them. It’s easy to assemble and the price is surprisingly affordable. Read on to learn more. Like tinkering with your PC? You should pick up these 10 must-have items. Where the heck do you even get a breadboard theremin? I purchased the $39.95 Theremin Kit from MicroKits on a whim one evening. The price is reasonable, as it comes with all the bits and bobs you need. MicroKits is run by David Levi, an electrical engineer and toy designer who wants to inspire the next generation of engineers. I love finding affordable, accessible products and the small businesses that make it happen. The company also sells a tiny synthesizer that serves as a great introduction to analog sound synthesis. You can even hook the touchpad up to a couple of bananas... Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2023-02-24 17:00:00 UTC ]

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The Disturbing Case of the Disappearing Sci-Fi Story

A young writer wrote a controversial bit of military science fiction about sexual politics. The fallout was nuclear. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2020-01-17 14:00:00 UTC ]
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15 Science Fiction Short Stories To Take You Out of this World

We're in a new golden age of science fiction, especially science fiction short stories. These are some of the best stories you can read right now online. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-01-09 11:35:44 UTC ]
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For William Gibson, Seeing the Future Is Easy. But the Past?

“Alternate history, in my opinion, is a more demanding game,” says the author of “Agency” and other science fiction novels, “if only because conventional historical fiction, like history, is itself highly speculative.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-01-09 10:00:07 UTC ]
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Let’s talk about how science fiction has dealt with environmental change. It’s not all depressing.

Yes, much of it looks at how we will survive the apocalypse. But we also have the more hopeful genre of solarpunk Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-06 23:50:02 UTC ]
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15 Of The Best LGBTQ Science Fiction Books

If you're in the mood for a ragtag spaceship crew or queer superheroes living their best lives, check out this list of the best LGBT science fiction books. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-01-06 11:39:51 UTC ]
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Read Harder 2020: A Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novella

Get your science fiction and fantasy fix in short form with these excellent novellas -- perfect for the 2020 Read Harder challenge. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-01-03 11:32:42 UTC ]
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Foresight 2020: St. Louis CEOs give clarity to a year of big unknowns

This is a big year. Not just in the symmetry of the number – 2020, the futuristic subject period for so many science fiction writers – but in what we already know will happen. A presidential election, prefaced by a likely Senate impeachment trial, will add new layers to an already murky... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-01-03 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Roughing It in Science Fiction and Fantasy

Since I did a lot of camping in the last year, I've been noticing camping in sci-fi and fantasy all over the place! Let's take a tour. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-01-02 11:37:49 UTC ]
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The Best Novels of the 1890s

The 1890s saw pioneering works of science fiction, detective fiction, and Gothic horror all published, by some of the greatest English, Scottish, and Irish writers of the age. In the United States, too, novelists addressed social issues, sometimes in comic ways, while social realism continued to... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2019-12-31 15:00:10 UTC ]
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All of the Sci-Fi Stories We Published This Year

In a moment where the future seems impossibly turbulent, leaving us feeling powerless, science fiction can help us get our heads around the complexity. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2019-12-31 14:00:05 UTC ]
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Future present? How science fiction sees our world in 2050.

Science fiction writers, gazing into the future, envision space-based cargo movers and robots that may eliminate the need for humans to work. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-12-31 13:53:59 UTC ]
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Future present? How science fiction sees our world in 2050.

Science fiction writers, gazing into the future, envision space-based cargo movers and robots that may eliminate the need for humans to work. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-12-31 13:53:59 UTC ]
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Future present? How science fiction sees our world in 2050.

Science fiction writers, gazing into the future, envision space-based cargo movers and robots that may eliminate the need for humans to work. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2019-12-31 13:53:59 UTC ]
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Syd Mead, concept artist behind 'Blade Runner' and 'Tron,' dies at 86

Futurist and artist Syd Mead has passed away at 86 due to complications from lymphoma. Even if you don't know his name, you've probably felt his impact on Hollywood, especially on the science fiction genre. Mead designed Blade Runner's world and tech... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-12-31 13:01:00 UTC ]
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16 of the Best Standalone SFF Novels From 2019

We're visiting Book Riot's Swords & Spaceships newsletter to get recommendations of 2019 standalone science fiction and fantasy novels. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-30 11:31:11 UTC ]
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The 20 Best Books of a Decade That Unmade Genre Fiction

Two related events shaped the last 10 years in science fiction and fantasy—the most transformative we've seen in the history of the genres. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-12-29 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Read More Women Literary Trivia Returns!

Test your knowledge of women writers with a fun pop quiz. First Round Name the title and author of the first-ever science fiction novel. This Pulitzer-prize winner and Italian translator declared in 2015 that she is now only writing in Italian. Name this author. The 2018 Nobel laureate for... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-12-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Sunday Reading: The Allure of Science Fiction

From The New Yorker’s archive, pieces about science fiction and fantasy, by John Seabrook, Julie Phillips, Colson Whitehead, Margaret Atwood, and Joyce Carol Oates. Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2019-12-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Recommended Reading: The science fiction of William Gibson

How William Gibson keeps his science fiction real Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker While a lot of sci-fi is obsessed with the distant future, one of the best authors of the genre takes a different approach. The New Yorker explains how William Gibson... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-12-14 17:30:00 UTC ]
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A Year in Reading: Zoë Ruiz

I spent most of the year living in a small town in Oregon where I read a lot of student work and finished my MFA thesis. There I read my first but not last book by Octavia E. Butler, Kindred. I borrowed Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements, from a graduate... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-12-14 16:00:42 UTC ]
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