The set was developed out of an unlikely source: a music box. In a piece by Amy Adams, at Stanford University, Prakash explains that the hand-crank mechanism of the music box spurred the idea to create a chemistry set with a similar way of operating. Collaborating with graduate student George Korir, Prakash developed a way to insert a microfluid silicon chip into a small box with a hand-crank. This chip can read the levels of various chemicals found in a liquid sample, and feed the data out via holes punched into a long paper strip that runs through the box.
As the user turns the hand-crank, which self-powers the machine, the paper goes through the box, and holes are punched in it that can then be used to determine what kinds of compounds are found in the liquid dropped into the box. The simplest version of this self-contained chemistry set includes fifteen independent pumps, valves and droplet generators, all of which are controlled simultaneously. The machine is also programmable, and when done, the whole set can be opened up, rinsed out, and prepared for a new experiment.
The silicon chip is generally considered to be an expensive piece of machinery, mainly because it requires a lot of power in order to function. But by making the chemistry set self-sufficient via the hand-crank, the cost of that component drops considerably. In fact, Prakash tells the Stanford Daily that all the components of the set cost around five bucks.
Prakash’s vision is that these relatively simple machines can be used by people in areas of the world where sanitation and water quality are an issue. Parts of Africa and Asia continue to be afflicted by horrendous water quality, leading to several diseases that often kill people who are young or weak. The subject hits close to home for both Prakash and Korir, who are from India and Kenya, respectively.
This is not the first device Prakash has designed with the goal of being both affordable and innovative: just last week, it was announced that Prakash is the man behind an incredibly low-cost microscope, made entirely out of paper, which he hopes will be used by young children who aspire to be scientists, but may not necessarily have access to the most cutting edge laboratories and equipment.
The following video, courtesy of Stanford University, shows Prakash demonstrating the chemistry set and discussing its genesis, along with Korir.
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