www.powerlabs.org

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http://www.powerlabs.org/index.html

"Internet's number one experimental science page!" As seen on MTV, The Discovery Channel, USA Today, Fortune Magazine and more!
Thank you for visiting! Please be sure to bookmark this page as new content is added almost daily.

Welcome to Sam Barros' PowerLabs!

Welcome! My name is Sam Barros and I am currently studying my senior year of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Technological University. This webpage represents a 7 year effort at documenting some of the various experiments and research I have worked on in different fields of science and technology. Here you will find detailed reports including descriptions, pictures, videos, diagrams, schematics and technical data on experiments and devices designed and built by myself over the years, including Tesla coils and other various types of high voltage generators, plasma globes, electromagnetic experiments, coil guns, rail guns, lasers, rockets, turbines, electromagnetic propulsion, EMP, HERF, cryogenics, chemistry and much more! Please follow the links above and below to access all the sub pages. There are currently 79 sub pages in this web.

Current Updates:

April: What a show!

The KVA Effects stunt for the Mercedes Benz Premiere at the New York International Auto Show was spectacular! Congratulations to Jeff and all the KVA crew who made this possible; it was an honor working with you guys!

Sam's Schedule continued:
April 21 - 26th is my final exams week.
April 27th - May7th: I will be going to London after that to see my parents and sister.
New car page: What do you do when your engine blows up... For the 2nd time? Swap in a better one of course!

January: More Electromagnetic Acceleration Research...
If you've e-mailed me recently and I haven't gotten back to you, your e-mail has probably been lost. I switched computers and was away from my e-mail for several weeks so now I have over one thousand e-mail messages, a lot of which are spam. If I haven't replied to you please write again.

Work continues on the PowerLabs Electro-Thermal Gun, the only one of its kind online!
Railgun2: I have decided to hold off on the first firing videos until the Discovery Channel episode about it airs.
Car page updates: My Subaru ran 0 - 60MPH in 4.07 seconds and did a 1/4 mile in 12.6 @113MPH with a full tank of gas and a passenger. Click the link to find out how. Make sure to watch the swap video.
More to come!


The generous donations of some of you have made it possible for me to begin the all-new ETC research. Thank you! Your money makes these projects possible, so please keep on donating and I will continue to update PowerLabs with new and exciting content! I will also try and be a little more regular with the updates this semester, since I won't have as much work to do as I'm nearing graduation.


Updated my Resume (more engineering work done). I will be graduating soon... I know you want me working for you. Why not offer me a job? :)
Valveless Pulsejet powered boat coming soon (project completed, waiting for test videos)

Donations?

I would like to say a big THANK YOU for all of you who generously donated money to support PowerLabs. I have my hosting paid for another year and a little money left over to start work on new and very exciting projects such as the laser above. I'm still paying off credit card bills, but as promised, any money donated to this page will be put to work on new projects. Do you like what I've done so far? Why not donate so I can continue to do more? Paypal donations are encrypted and secure:

What am I working on now?
This webpage is currently being redesigned to an easier to navigate format.
ElectroThermalGun: Has been fired!
The New PowerLabs Rail Gun (2.0) has been fired!
The PowerLabs LASER. Works!
The High Efficiency Coil Gun Prototype has been fired and is now being chronographed and fine tuned for maximum efficiency.
Subaru Performance: Another engine swap...



The future:
- The Rail Gun is on its second redesign and will likely undergo a third redesign which will include a high velocity light gas gun injector and external magnetic field augmentation once all data has been gathered from the current redesign. The final design will also fire with at least twice the stored energy of the current one.
- The PowerLabs Turbine will be mounted on a vehicle in the near future.
- ETC (Electro Thermo Chemical) gun: Thanks to the very generous donation of a 20kV 10uF pulse capacitor by Aron Kosho I am now able to build the PowerLabs ETC gun.
- All parts have been gathered for a 450kV Marx Generator and the 1MW Nitrogen pulsed LASER, these projects are on queue after the Rail Gun research.
- Future topics should include Electrostatic Propulsion (Lifters), more Rocket Engines and others, as time and money permits. As always, suggestions, money and sponsorships are very welcome :)

Mail:
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail me: I can read and reply e-mails in English, Portuguese, French or Spanish. (Note: Due to the large amount of e-mail I receive any requests for plans/schematics will usually be ignored. Any plans I intend on distributing are made available through this site.)


Categories:
The PowerLabs Message Board: Got questions? We have got answers! Join a growing community of hobbyists and science enthusiasts who visit this site and get help on any scientific or technical topic from myself many other knowledgeable members. Please be sure to read the board rules before you join.

Electro Magnetic Weapons:
PowerLabs Electromagnetic Weapons Research!
See energy being harnessed in its most spectacular forms: Rail Guns, Coil Guns, Gauss Guns, Disk Shooters, Microwave Experiments, Microwave Gun, Electro Thermal Guns, ETC guns, LASERs, and anything else using electricity to produce hazardous levels of kinetic energy or electromagnetic radiation.

General Science Experiments:
PowerLabs General Science Experiments:
Various experiments on the fields of Cryogenics, Alternative Fuels Research, Engine Research, Homebuilt Cannons, Rocket Engines, Turbocharger Turbines, and more!

ChemLabs:
Sam Barros' Chemlabs! PowerLabs Chemistry division; Several experiments demonstrating the more spectacular aspects of chemistry, mainly through highly energetic materials such as hypergols, deflagrants, rocket propellants, high and low explosives. Current list includes: Nitrocellulose, Nitro Starch, Nitro Mannitol, Picric Acid, Styphnic Acid, Mercury Fulminate, Silver Acetylide, Lead Picrate, Lead Styphnate, Potassium Picrate, Potassium Styphnate, Sodium Peroxide, Copper Carbide, Potassium Permanganate, Lead Oxalate, Potassium Chlorate and other spectacular chemistry demonstrations.

High Voltage:
PowerLabs High Voltage Page! Various sucessfull experimental designs for high voltage generators such as Tesla Coils, Ignition Coil and Flyback Drivers, Plasma Globes, Electromagnetic Can Crushers, Induction Heating, Electrostatic Generators, Voltage Multipliers, Marx Generators, Water Atomization By Electrical Discharge, and many other fascinating experiments dealing with High Voltages.

About:
About PowerLabs and Sam Barros: Who I am, what this page stands for, why it was created, my hobbies, sports, ideals and regrets my TV appearances, newspaper articles and some photos and awards I have received, as well as awards this web page has received.

Sponsors: Find out who made and continues to make PowerLabs possible, and help me make PowerLabs grow by visiting my sponsors!
Links: Related sites you should be aware off.
Fan mail / Hate mail: Coming soon (replacing the old Guestbook). E-mail me anything you'd like published on this site. Names and e-mail addresses removed at request for your privacy.