Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Electronics sub-forum??

m1tanker78 - 12-2-2015 at 18:38

I would like to see a sub forum (under special topics or non-chemistry) dedicated to circuit design and electronics in general. What do you think?

Zombie - 12-2-2015 at 18:43

I think it is a great idea, and I'm actually surprised it has not been implemented already.

Plus one on the petition!

Zephyr - 12-2-2015 at 19:55

Personally, I don't think there would be enough interest. Wouldn't most of the posts fit just as well in techno-chemistry or miscellaneous? i just don't think there are enough relevant posts to warrant a new sub forum. Despite my opinion on this sub forum, I am very interested in electronics and there uses in chemistry.

Zombie - 12-2-2015 at 21:07

Personally I think all the electronic doo dads ie: peristaltic pumps / stirrers / auto injector syringe / power supplies ect. made here on the forum would benefit from having a "home", and make them easier to search.

Just my newbie opinion.:)

Molecular Manipulations - 13-2-2015 at 12:31

I like the idea.
Electronics although not considered part of chemistry, can be explained nearly completely with chemistry (the rest being physics). Also an understanding of electronics is very important to really understand how electrons behave in atoms.
It may be used less than most sub-forums, but really technochemistry isn't the right place, that has more to due with applied chemistry and apparatus design.
I for one don't know nearly as much about electronics as I'd like to, and would use it for sure.

aga - 13-2-2015 at 14:00

The thing is that the people into electronics are also into chemistry, so splitting off into another forum specifically for Electronics would just cause, well, Sparks.

Edit:

Subdividing could also go on forever, e.g. people into electronics using PIC/AVR would need 2 prorammings groupings, and then there's higher level languages too, which morphs into programming in general.

Perhaps better to post specific Posts somewhere relating to a particular project.


[Edited on 13-2-2015 by aga]

Fulmen - 13-2-2015 at 14:36

I see both views. One topic or challenge often branches out into multiple fields, and I for one like to have one place to discuss them all. My interest in electronics is tied to solving other tasks, like equipment for machining or chemistry projects. Having one place to discuss them all is simpler than subscribing to a dozen forums, all devoted to different topics of which most doesn't interest me. But you can't make space for every topic we might branch into, as it is today we can discuss electronics in techno-chemistry and as long as it is connected to a topic that the forum is dedicated to I am happy with that. Discussions that doesn't fall into the realm of amateur science should go to a general electronics forum.

papaya - 13-2-2015 at 14:43

Good idea, we will see all kind of high voltage and other fascinating experiments from members.

Amos - 13-2-2015 at 17:16

Even though I'm not very interested in electronics and circuitry, more useful information on the web is always a good thing, and I'm sure there's some way even I can benefit from the fruits of your labor :D

m1tanker78 - 14-2-2015 at 20:14

I suppose a dedicated forum for electronics would be overkill on SM. What about using tags in the subject line of a reply and being able to filter a thread by the same? Using the subject line would equate to no change to the forum database format (good).

smaerd - 15-2-2015 at 06:39

I think having an electronics/engineering portion to sciencemadness is a great idea. Not so much for "here is a circuit", but a lot of us improvise our own equipment. It would be really nice to consolidate a lot of the thing's we've made into a different subforum rather then making threads in "Reagents and Apparatus Acquisition" where they get lost forever.

Electrochemistry would belong in there as well. All of us know how nifty electrochem is :). Electrons are probably the most DIY reagents available to us anyways.

Chemosynthesis - 15-2-2015 at 18:32

I am just curious, what do you all have in mind that wouldn't be a fit in technochemistry?

I have no real opinion on the matter, being ignorant, but it would be interesting to try and learn more electronics. I know the basics of RC circuits, can ID a transistor if it's not microscopic (three wires!), know about diodes, band gaps, Wheatstone bridges, Schmidt triggers and op amps. I feel I have a good introductory basis for electronics... But for some reason, I never quite figured how to use any of it practically for anything. It would be very interesting to see some electronics step by step and try to pick up something. At least I could get my soldering iron out of the package. Are you guys etching your own PCB boards? That's chemistry, right ;).

Magpie - 15-2-2015 at 19:23

I don't have much instrinsic interest in electronics but have constructed 3 circuits to help support my chemistry habit: 1 for a tube furnace, 1 for an overhead stirrer, and 1 for a peristaltic pump. I have also assembled a PID controller/readout for heating an oil bath. I enjoyed these projects and they helped refresh my rudimentary understanding of electronics and my soldering skills. Because I can do them in my kitchen they make a nice wintertime sub-hobby.

This is a chemistry forum and my projects were in support of my chemistry. An electronics forum would include all kinds of projects that don't necessarily relate to or involve chemistry. So, like geology, astronomy, mathematics, etc I'm not sure it needs its own forum.

Chemosynthesis - 15-2-2015 at 23:32

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
I don't have much instrinsic interest in electronics but have constructed 3 circuits to help support my chemistry habit: 1 for a tube furnace, 1 for an overhead stirrer, and 1 for a peristaltic pump. I have also assembled a PID controller/readout for heating an oil bath. I enjoyed these projects and they helped refresh my rudimentary understanding of electronics and my soldering skills. Because I can do them in my kitchen they make a nice wintertime sub-hobby.

These types of projects are of great interest to me. Did you post them in technochemistry? If so, I'll know where to start looking!

j_sum1 - 16-2-2015 at 03:10

At the moment I simply hit "Today's Posts" and read everything that seems interesting whatever forum it is in. I log in regularly and so I don't think I miss too much that is current. And I search on the site in general and not in specific sub forums if I am looking for stuff. In other words, the division into sub forums is pretty much lost on me at the moment. When I dial back my addiction a bit then they will serve a purpose.

Reading this thread, I am not sure what the intent is. Is the electronics subforum supposed to be for
(a) electronics projects that support chemistry such as described by Magpie. (Nice projects btw.)
(b) other kinds of electronics projects (build your own robot anyone?)
(c) the theory of electronics design (logic, programming, chips, circuit board architecture)
(d) electrical materials (semiconductors, their acquisition, preparation and processing into useful items)

(a) fits well within technochemistry as it stands at the moment.
(b) and (c) really extend the scope of this whole message board and push it in a new direction. I haven't seen a whole lot of need for it. I guess there are other message boards around cater to these. If there is a real need and it fits then a new subforum is warranted (IMO)
(d) I haven't seen much on this and I have forgotten most of what I learned (a long time ago). Always interested. I submit this belongs under general chemistry though to attract a wide range of knowledgeable parties to the discussion.

Magpie - 16-2-2015 at 14:00

Quote: Originally posted by Chemosynthesis  
Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
... but have constructed 3 circuits to help support my chemistry habit: 1 for a tube furnace, 1 for an overhead stirrer, and 1 for a peristaltic pump. I have also assembled a PID controller/readout for heating an oil bath....

These types of projects are of great interest to me. Did you post them in technochemistry? If so, I'll know where to start looking!


No. I described them in the posts of others. I'll dig up some links for you and post them in the Technochemistry forum.

[Edited on 16-2-2015 by Magpie]

The Volatile Chemist - 16-2-2015 at 15:00

I still think subdividing isn't a good idea. There still aren't many things in the radiochemistry forum. Questions in whimsey are fine on electronics, but that's where they should stay.

m1tanker78 - 16-2-2015 at 21:06

I thought (mistakenly?) that a lot of amateur chemists and science junkies would naturally be attracted to the various fields of electronics. From useful contraptions like Magpie mentioned to embedded logic, microcontrollers, FPGA design, simple circuitry to control a homemade stir plate, general theory and discussion, too much to cover in one post.

All of you bring up good points but I still don't think it should be totally swept under the rug or relegated to whimsy(!). SM FAQ says this is a science forum dedicated mostly, but not limited to, chemistry -- paraphrasing, of course. I do agree that an electronics subtopic might not be all that active at all times but I don't consider that to be detrimental to those who have no interest in electronics.

Chemosynthesis - 16-2-2015 at 21:08

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  

No. I described them in the posts of others. I'll dig up some links for you and post them in the Technochemistry forum.

Many thanks!

MrHomeScientist - 18-2-2015 at 11:19

I agree with TVC (and others). There seems to have been a surge in calls for more subforums lately, and I don't believe our current forums are too bloated to warrant them. Some subforums see just a few posts a day. Electronics stuff, which I assume would be related to chemistry apparatus, appropriately falls under the Technochemistry heading. I'd think if you want more basic electronics learning, there are plenty of other forums around that discuss that sort of thing way more in depth than most of us can here. Of course I'm not saying post your stuff elsewhere, I just mean that our structure works just fine as it is. j_sum1 makes a good point that I think a lot of people might miss - the Today's Posts feature lets you know where the action is, regardless of where on the site it resides!

The Volatile Chemist - 18-2-2015 at 13:33

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist  
I agree with TVC (and others). There seems to have been a surge in calls for more subforums lately, and I don't believe our current forums are too bloated to warrant them. Some subforums see just a few posts a day. Electronics stuff, which I assume would be related to chemistry apparatus, appropriately falls under the Technochemistry heading. I'd think if you want more basic electronics learning, there are plenty of other forums around that discuss that sort of thing way more in depth than most of us can here. Of course I'm not saying post your stuff elsewhere, I just mean that our structure works just fine as it is. j_sum1 makes a good point that I think a lot of people might miss - the Today's Posts feature lets you know where the action is, regardless of where on the site it resides!

Right. Electronics theory could also fall under the computing chemistry subforum. I'm pretty lonely over there :)

In response to m1tanker78:
I like electronics, and I think there should be more of it here at 'the SM' (Yes, we should start calling it that!), but it can fit under existing subtopics just fine. Maybe that means you have to check all the subtopics for new threads, but I think that's fine.

100PercentChemistry - 24-3-2016 at 17:52

I don't know if there would be a lot of interest. Personally I like electronics but there are already better established electronic forums.


Edit-woah I didn't see the last post date.

[Edited on 25-3-2016 by 100PercentChemistry]