Science for Kids/Expert Profile


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Expertise

Though my experience is mostly in the fields of electricity, magnetism, and physics, I have a broad science background. My career is in the field of alternative power sources -- solar, wind, water and battery power. But any questions about electricity, magnetism, energy conservation, power generation, electric motors, and even general physics are very welcome--especially from kids. They ask the best questions of all! I pride myself in answering science questions accurately, with ideas for SAFE, easy experiments that kids can perform by themselves--and that let them prove the answers to their own satisfaction. I think science should be fun, and available to everyone, regardless of age.

Experience in the area

I have volunteered in our local public schools for 5 years. I currently make presentations at our schools about electricity and magnetism, with a focus on solar, wind, water and other alternative power sources. I try to demonstrate at our schools how easy it is to make electricity, with simple devices using spinning magnets and coils of wire--powered by wind, water, bicycles, gerbils...etc. And of course solar panels! I am the webmaster of Otherpower.com, an alternative energy website. I have lived 10 miles from the nearest power pole for 11 years--I make all my own electricity from scratch with sun, wind and water.

Publications

Otherpower.com
Wondermagnet.com
Co author of the book "Homebrew Wind Power" ISBN 978-0-9819201-0-8
My articles appear regularly in such magazines as Home Power and Back Home
Education/Credentials
BA Technical Journalism

Education/Credentials

BA Technical Journalism

Average Ratings

Recent Reviews from Users

Read More Comments

    K = Knowledgeability    C = Clarity of Response    T = Timeliness    P = Politeness
UserDateKCTPComments
Aatiqah11/20/0910101010Thank you for your advise.
sharon11/11/0910101010Thank you so much. That helped a .....
Anne11/09/0910101010Thank you so much Dan! The information .....
shelly11/04/0910101010I was shocked with a timely reply .....
Tanya Gupta11/04/09101010 

Recent Answers from Dan Fink

2009-11-18 light an LED or bulb:

Hello David -- It's not a daft question, but it won't work. There's not enough energy potential from skin electrodes to power anything...the voltage ranges from microvolts to millivolts, but the amount

2009-11-18 Evaporation:

Hello Kara -- The online Wikipedia is actually very reliable, at least with well-known science topics. When you move into fringe science, there are some nutty things on there. But the Evaporation article

2009-11-17 chemistry:

Hi John -- You want an LCD clock, *not* LED. LEDs use too much energy. You can get one at any K-mart, Walmart or supermarket. Pick one that runs on a single AA or AAA battery, so the voltage is 1.5v

2009-11-12 Dry Ice and Milk:

Hello Anne -- Bubbles are actually fairly complicated things, they are thin films of water. It's really the protein in milk that does it -- your other liquids don't have any. Protein is dissolved in

2009-11-12 The Big Bang:

Hello Georgina -- According to the theory, there was no dust, ice and rocks -- there were not even any atoms at all! -- at the time of the big bang. It was an explosion of space itself, and at that

 

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