Tsk tsk! Whatever has been going on?  You turn your back for one second….  Never mind, here we go again with another fantastic tip-top high quality missive from Planet Science. Oh and judging by the way the dog is plastered to the ceiling, it must be fast approaching Bonfire Night.

The line-up this week:

1. 11 MILLION Takeover Day
2. Scicast Tip of the Week
3. Stump the Scientist: Soluble or insoluble?  You decide
4. Activity of the Week: Pouring treacle
5. Mouses at the Ready: Personality
6. Noticeboard: FYI
7. Recommended websites of the week
8. The Winners’ Enclosure
9. Joke of the Week

Ever wished you were in charge? Have you got ideas about how you would run your school, youth centre, a TV channel or even the country? Now's your chance...

The first ever 11 MILLION Takeover Day on 23 November 2007 will be a chance for the 11 million children and young people living in England to take over from adults.

Now we can see that some of you are starting to look a little worried at this point but never fear – Planet Science is here! We have some fabulous ideas for lesson plans for children and young adults.  So kids – you can trundle up to teachers with a clutch of lesson plans in your hot sweaty mitt and plead for the chance to take over a science lesson (think Puss off Shrek 2 at this point). Teachers - you can put your feet up and let them take charge. After all, maybe they might appreciate you a little more afterwards.  Well we can but dream. Anyway we have ideas for 7 – 11 and for 11 – 14 so watch this space…

Well three fine scientists, namely Roy Lowry, Aileen Gray and Janet McBride have all come up with the same answer i.e. it’s all to do with something known as an anticaking agent.  And this is nothing to do with a prohibition-type clampdown on scoffing pastry treats. (Phew! Our doughnuts are safe).

Roy says

Aileen agrees

And Janet blames it squarely on the insoluble anti-caking agent.

So there you have it, icing sugar does dissolve but the extra additive, to prevent it clumping together, does not.

Hooray the scientist was NOT stumped!

However, it might be worth looking more closely at this anticaking agent milarky as it is also added to salt to make it flow more easily.  Look at the back of the packaging. A little comparison of dissolving ground up icing sugar or salt vs packaged icing sugar or salt might be interesting.  Let us know if you give it a go and tell us if you noticed any difference.

Meanwhile poor Jenny in Herts is still waiting for any ideas for her query:

"We have been learning about the circulation system with my Year 5 class. On discussing the components of blood, one lad observed that blood looked blue inside his body (seen at his wrist).  On explaining that blood looks so red when it is outside the body as the red blood cells have absorbed oxygen from the air, he asked whether, if you were an astronaut and cut yourself in outer space would your blood still look bright red as there was no oxygen in the atmosphere to absorb or would it be more blue?"

If you can help or have a burning question of your own then send us an email with STUMP THE SCIENTIST in the subject line to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk

Pouring Treacle

You will need:

• A balloon.
• A bin bag or old newspaper. In fact, make that several old newspapers...
• A jar of treacle or pourable honey.

What to do:

1. Cover your table with the bin bag or sheets of newspaper. It wouldn't hurt to cover the floor too, just in case.
2. Blow the balloon up, and rub it on your hair or something woolly. With a bit of luck, you'll rub some electrons onto the balloon, and it'll become negatively electrically charged.
3. If you hold the balloon near a gently-running tap, you might just see the stream of water being deflected towards it. Sometimes this works rather well, but even so, it's not terribly exciting. Which is where the treacle comes in...
4. Hold the treacle jar high above the newspaper, and tip it so a very gentle stream of treacle drizzles out. Now, very carefully, bring the charged balloon near the flowing treacle.
5. You should see the stream of treacle bending right around the balloon. With a little practice, it's possible to make the treacle flow sideways and even slightly upwards, but you'll need a very steady hand. And yet more sheets of newspaper to catch the drips.

What’s going on?

The balloon is made of rubber and is a great insulator: it does not let charges move around freely on its surface. When you rub the balloon, electrons which have previously been orbiting hair atoms are physically rubbed off and added to the surface of the balloon. The result is a small patch on the balloon which is negatively charged.

The treacle is neutral: it doesn't have any excess positive or negative charges. However, the molecules that make up the treacle are polar: although neutral overall, each molecule has a positive and a negative 'side'.

When the negative balloon approaches the flow of treacle the molecules twist with their positive side facing the negative balloon. Since opposite charges attract the treacle moves towards the balloon. And because the treacle is so thick its slow motion allows the molecules to spend longer in the electric field so the treacle moves more than a thinner, faster moving liquid such as water would move.

The treacle will flow sideways and in some cases even upwards. It is interesting to note that only a charged up balloon can make the treacle defy gravity - showing that the electromagnetic force is considerably stronger than gravity.

Special safety advice

Although perfectly safe, there is a real risk of the treacle pouring onto the floor, and so carpeted rooms are best avoided for this experiment. If you intend to repeat the experiment, try to use a fresh balloon unless you want treacle in your hair.

This activity can be viewed at planet SciCast.

Keep checking back for new films and how about submitting one of your own?

Why are some people worriers, and others wanderers? Why do some people seem good at empathising, and others at controlling? We have something deep and consistent within us that determines the choices we make and the situations we bring about. But why should members of the same species differ so markedly in their natures? What is the best personality to have; a bold one or a shy one, an aggressive one or a meek one? And are you stuck with your personality, or can you change it? Daniel Nettle takes the reader on a tour through the science of human personality, introducing the five 'dimensions' on which every personality is based, and using an unusual combination of individual life stories and scientific research.

We have a copy of ‘PERSONALITY What makes you the way you are’ by Daniel Nettle (Oxford University Press) to give away.

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

The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 7th November.

Apparently Practical Physics have added five new collections to their list! Let’s hear it for Practical Physics!!! This website is for teachers of physics, enabling them to share their skills and experience of making experiments work in the classroom. Apparently some students also use the site, but Practical Physics can’t provide answers to student questions. Aw! Never mind there is an intriguingly named section called ‘Physicists at Play’ which includes ideas for demos.