http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m8fbnShPcw&feature=related

is this really feasable? i've tried it but it hasn't been working for me.

Did you try a newer/cleaner penny?

my penny was fairly clean/new. is there any way that the wire could be faulty?
im gonna work on getting some pictures up.

Read about 5 comments down and you have an answer

A speaker needs a MAGNET... It is not gonna work like this...

ALthough if you go to there site they seem to have an updated one, I still doubt it works.

the update is just for cleaning the penny using either a tomato base or white vinegar and salt.

exactly! There are no magnets! IT WILL NOT WORK!

Ok...so i have jsut taken apart a headphone speaker and i see there is a magnet under the plastic. hypothetically then, if i were to put a magnet inside the aluminum "speaker" would it have a greater chence of working?
what other components of a speaker are missing here?

no...

The way these work is that is uses the magnet to move back and forth. Here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker

L.O.L.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNSEpe4M2DQ&NR=1

Saw that

i'm glad i actually tried this out. i was able to learn how speakers work. I have seen an alternative way of making a speaker out of a plastic cup, copper wire, some magnets and lego....this time i'm not gonna try it.

Haha, you got totally owned, but still, interesting way to learn something new.

i wanna make sure i learned the correct information though..
so when the copper has an electric current running through it, it magnetizes it. The magnet then reacts with it, and by doing so it shakes the cover creating sound.
w00t w00t. i' think that's 100% correct.
please tell me if i've missed something.

Close. The flux, ie, change over time, of the electric current in the copper will create a slight magnetic field that fluctuates proportionally with the current. This will cause the copper to vibrate relative to the magnet, vibrating the air molecules near it and generating sound. I'd estimate it will be VERY weak though.

Technically you don't NEED a magnet, just some way of causing air to vibrate rapidly. Magnets just happen to be the easiest/cheapest method (case in point: http://www.eminent-tech.com/RWbrochure.htm )

@Clemontop: You are a walking example of how uncommon common sense really is. Seriously, you are an idiot. The whole "speaker" consisted of nothing but SHORTING THE HEADPHONE WIRES. You're lucky it didn't kill whatever playback device you were using. But since you seem to like following random instructions on the internet without thinking about them AT ALL - please see this: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=manly_suicide

First of all, it's clementop. not Clemontop. Secondly, you should try to become a nicer person. I'm pretty sure that this forum is for building up and learning new things rather than putting people down and being an absolute a. It's a privilege to be part of this forum, not a right.

It really isn't that bad... When you are attacked like that you never forget and it will help, trust me =P

Duly noted.



Why?



Really? And here I thought this was a forum at a calculator website



Uh... what? What does that have to do with anything in the given context?

2. First impressions are worth a lot. Employers and girlfriends, mainly. If you greet someone by saying they're an idiot, it probably won't bode well with anyone. The only people who probably won't take offense are the same people who would either 1) insult you back or 2) shoot right then and there.

3. Which was created, I'm sure, to building and learning new things, instead of invoking flamewars.

4. You happen to be treating your membership here as something than can be taken for granted.

EDIT: On a closer look at the Wiki, I eventually found myself at this page. It's seems simple, just not as simple as this (probably not working) penny one.

It is a privelege, so you should make the most of it and reference common sense and easily available sources first

Kerm, you should implement an IQ test to join (110 or higher =P ).

I am sure that you were smart enough to figure this out Clementop =)

Sometimes people just need a reason to figure something out by themselves (refusal to help, for example )