Isn’t technology great? Companies are now making wind-up computers for children in poorer countries. The laptop computers use about 10 percent of the power a normal laptop uses, saving energy by using a memory card instead of a hard drive. Sounds good. So instead of the usual shriek of anguish should the power fail during a particularly lengthy typing session (yes we KNOW we should save regularly, but you know how it is…) the air will be filled with a flurry of frantic cranks of the handle. Maybe a whole new meaning might be brought to the term ‘computer mouse’ by automating the system with a mousewheel. Come on Nibbles, put your back into it else we’ll never get the newsletter out on time.

The line-up this week:

1. Stump the Scientist – Give us a wave, honey
2. Activity of the Week: Bleach Art
3. Mouses at the Ready:  Dr Who Up-Close
4. Noticeboard: FYI
5. Recommended websites of the week
6. The Winners’ Enclosure
7. Joke of the Week

Remember when Robert age 6 asked

Well James Stevenson says

And Jackie Randall also comments

Thanks also to Janet Dowle who replies

Thanks for those responses.  And just when we thought the scientists were really stumped by John McIntyre’ s 3 year old who asked  

"How do bees make honey from nectar?"

Dan Hannard saves our bacon by stating

Yay! Once again the scientist was NOT stumped. Thanks everyone!

Bleach Art

Hitting the beach? Oh well, plenty of fun to be had in your own back garden instead.

You will need:

• Dark coloured paper e.g. blue or black
• Keys
• Paperclips
• Buttons
• Other small solid items

What to do:

1. Take a dark piece of construction paper – blue or black works best. 
2. Lay it outside in a sunny spot.
3. Arrange on top of the paper an array of solid objects like keys, paper clips, small toys etc.
4. If the objects aren’t especially heavy you may want to also weigh down the corners of the paper with rocks.
5. Leave the paper and the objects in the sun all day.
6. At the end of the day, you’ll see the original colour of the paper beneath the objects as you remove them.

What’s going on?

This is because sunlight can’t pass through opaque or solid objects. The parts exposed to the sun will be bleached. The blue paper turns some shade of pale pink or white when the energy in the short-wave UV radiation is absorbed by the blue dye. It doesn't make the dye disappear; it just changes its molecular structure so it no longer reflects back its original colour. The cheaper the dye and the cheaper the paper, the faster it will fade. In addition to chemicals, energy can disrupt chemical bonds to bleach out colour. The high energy photons in sunlight (e.g., ultraviolet rays) can disrupt the bonds in chromophores to decolorize them. Chromophores are the part of a visibly coloured molecule responsible for light absorption over a range of wavelengths thus giving rise to the colour.

All you need is a colander, a whisk, a sink plunger, a torch tied to a stick and a big cardboard box covered in that stuff they put apples in at the supermarket.  Are you confused?  We’ll give you a clue – get with the programme else you will be EXTERMINATED! Yes, be prepared for the Dalek Invasion!

Do you want to be part of an exciting Guinness World Record attempt at the largest gathering of people dressed as Daleks?  Put on your best Dalek costume and join Sec and Co. at the Museum to be part of the record-breaking attempt!

To be part of the world record you need to register by contacting Sarah Roe on Tel: 0161 606 0176 or email s.roe@mosi.org.uk

Dalek Invasion
Dr Who Up-Close exhibition
MoSI (Museum of Science and Industry Manchester)
Sunday 26 August

The Dr Who Up-Close exhibition is the largest exhibition of props, costumes etc. in the UK. You even get to experience what it’s like inside a dalek! Not to mention up close and personal with the Face of Boe.

Those nice folks at MoSI have given us a family pass to give away.  Affirmative Master.

If you’d like to win it then email us with your name and address, and the word EXTERMINATE in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.

The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 22nd August.

Are you fond of a short story? In March 2007 a 'SUBTLE SCIENCE' short story competition was held as part of the Oxford Literacy Festival. The winning entries are now available on line.

Scientists need to show writers — poets, playwrights, novelists – the wealth of possibilities that are opened up to fiction by using science and scientists in their work. Just as a novel with an accountant as a main character need not be about accountancy, a novel with a scientist need not be about science. Scientists need writers to show that they are 'normal people' from all backgrounds, with normal concerns. Yes indeedy.  When was the last time you read a book where the main character found the victim draped over a Scanning Electron Microscope? 

SciTalk offers a way for scientists to communicate their expertise and their enthusiasm to writers, and a way for writers to find out about science and how scientists ‘work’ — through personal contact and meeting face-to-face, not just by email or phone.

So what are you waiting for? “Hortense strode purposefully through the technical block, a copy of Plastics and Rubber Weekly under her arm…”  We’ll look out for it on the Top Twenty shelves at TESCO.