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Reinventing Edison: Build your own Light BulbFAQ and Troubleshooting Tips

Reinventing Edison: Build your own Light Bulb is a science kit designed for use in schools, home schools, byscience fair participants, and by hobbyists. The included 28 page instruction manual contains detailedexperiment instructions that include troubleshooting tips and explanations for how the kit works and how tofix a few common problems and avoid a few common mistakes. This document contains a list of frequentlyasked questions about the kits as well as a set of troubleshooting tips that may help you fix any problemsyou are having with the kit. (much of this information is also covered in the instruction manual)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Where can I purchase this kit or other Reinventing Science Kits?A: Reinventing Science kits are sold through catalogs and stores that sell science educational products,hobby products, and science toys. A list of dealers can be found on our website and on our face book fanpage. We update the list as we add new dealers but some of our best sellers include (in Alphabetical Order)The All American Boy Adventure Catalog (by The Vision Forum)Edmund ScientificEducational InnovationsScience Kit/Boreal LabsIf you don't see your favorite store or catalog on this list, then ask your store to become a reseller, we arelooking for new dealers all the time!Q: How can I troubleshoot problems with this kit?A: Each kit contains detailed instructions in its experiment guide. The instructions contain troubleshootingtips and information about the most common mistakes or problems. In addition we also have moretroubleshooting tips posted on our website and in this document (see Troubleshooting below)Q: What is included with this kit?A: You can learn about each kit by going to our website and looking at its product page. You can also viewthis document:http://www.scribd.com/doc/17782720/Reinventing-Edison-Science-Kit-InfoThis kit includes: Safety Vacuum Chamber, Hand Vacuum Pump (with spare pump syringe), filamentmaterials including steel, brass, nichrome, copper, tungsten and carbon, test leads, 28 page full color instruction manual. Safety Vacuum Chamber also functions as miniature bell jar.

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Q: What makes this kit unique?A: This is the first science kit available that lets an experimenter build a working light bulb. Don't confusethis kit with other “light bulb” kits that are just simple circuit kits where students wire bulbs together in seriesor parallel with batteries. This kit also integrates science, technology, and math with concepts of history andinvention.Q: Can I use the kit for quantitative experiments?A: Yes this kit works well for quantitative experiments and suggestions and examples are included in theexperiment guide. It is possible to measure voltage and current and build a data table. It is also possible tocalculate filament resistance. This kit may also be used with data logging or probeware equipment to addcomputer technology to the experiments. With probeware it is also possible to measure light intensity andheat from the experiments.Q: Can I use the kit in a Science Fair?A: Yes this kit works well as a science fair experiment and instructions and tips for science fair use areincluded in the instruction manual. Do make sure to talk all science fair plans over with your teacher or thesponsor of the science fair before committing to any experiment. We are very proud that two high schoolstudents from California have used this kit to win their school, local, state, and regional science fair. Theythen went on to place in the Intel

national science fair!Q: How can I share my data?A: You can share your data in two ways. Firstly detail your experiments including pictures, descriptions, andany data you collect. Then:1)Post your data to your own blog or social media site such as Face Book (contact us and we'll link to it)2)Send your data to us and we'll post it to our blog/social media.We also encourage you to video tape your experiments and post the video to a site such as You Tube.Q: How is the classroom set different from the individual kit?A: The individual kit contains all the contents listed above. A classroom set contains 8 individual kits, minustheir experiment guides and instead includes a more detailed instructor manual that includes teacher tips.Q: Where can I find more experiments and ideas for my kit?A: Check out the “resources tab” on the product page for the kit. Also keep an eye on our social media.

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Troubleshooting

Our science kits when used under adult supervision, following the directions in the instruction manual aredesigned to work well the first time, and time and time again in the classroom. However, as with anyscience experiment you may run into problems or make mistakes that lead to results you don't expect. Thefollowing information is meant as a troubleshooting guide that will help you solve many common problemsand avoid many common mistakes. Much of this information is also already included in the instructionmanual that comes with the kit. If you purchased your science kit through an educational catalog or storethey may also be able to help you out if you are experiencing difficulties. We are proud that in the last fiveyears we've had fewer than 10 people referred directly to us with problems with our kits!This information is presented in Problem/Solution format. Please feel free to post questions or commentsthrough our website or our various social media outlets such as our Fan Page on Face Book.I can't get the bulb to light up?The most common reason for the light bulb kit not working properly is the use of the wrong power source.You should use 6-volt alkaline lantern batteries NOT carbon-zinc batteries. Carbon-zinc (the cheaper batteries) can not supply the high current needed by the filament. (this is detailed in the instruction guide)If you are using the proper batteries and they are wired properly then the next most common reason for bulbfailure is lack of a proper vacuum. See “I'm having trouble establishing a vacuum”The filament only glows red but does not incandesce (Glow brightly like a real light bulb)?The Carbon Filament and the Tungsten Filament should glow brightly. The Nichrome and Iron filamentsshould only turn a red hot color. Other filament materials may glow slightly or may just get hot or burnthrough. This is normal and a result of the materials themselves, illustrating the kind of materials choicesEdison himself made when trying to find the perfect material. If this is not your problem then please refer to“I can't get the bulb to light up” above.

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twitter:twitter.com/reinventor32youtube:www.youtube.com/reinventor32document:www.scribd.com/reinventor32phone: 336.506.6696 (9-5 est)fax: 866.306.3016 (toll free)