hemyd wrote:

"John Bachman" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:50:25 -0500, "momwithtools"
wrote:

For an elementary school project, I'd like the children to take apart
some
old electronics to get an idea of how things work, what goes into each
product, etc. My question is: Are there certain electronics or
appliances
we should stay away from because of chemicals or something else that
would
be unsafe for the children? Please advise.
Thank you!
Mom With Tools

The answer to your subject question: No! It is not a safe project.

That being said, there are many of us who did exactly that in the
basements of our homes, spawning interesting and lucrative careers.
It was not a safe activity there either, but who would be at fault?
Us that is who.

In your situation who?

My advice is to find another way to introduce your students to
electronics. How about a hands on description of how video games
work?

JMHO

John

There are also electronic kits for children. A discussiob on a circuit board
is (in my opinion) woth more than pulling it apart. Pulling a component
apart will usually not indicate to a child how it works.

I recall as a 6 year old 'dismatling' an old capacitor. I expected to find
some magic mechanism inside. All I found was strips of some metallic foil
and yucky stuff. Didn't teach me anything about electronics - until I was
'bitten by the bug' 15 years later.

Henry.

I remember when i was 16 in HS sourcing a single large TO3 power transistor and
trying to build a car stereo amplifier out of a single one.
Of course at the time, i had no clue on class A, B or circuit topology and
such. I figured a couple of resistors and i was good to go. Needless to say, it
never made it off the bench and into my car. But the 8 track tapes back then
were sure cool!

Bob


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