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01. MARS: ONLY A CLICK AWAY
As you'll no doubt be aware by now, there are some very special events planned for the 25th December this year - and we're not just talking about comedy specials on the tv and Great Auntie Ishbel popping round for a festive glass of Advocat. No, something much more interplanetary is expected: namely the arrival on Mars of the European Space Agency's baby,the Mars Express, carrying with it the UK-created extra-terrestrial investigation unit known as Beagle 2. When this happens - and particularly if Beagle 2 turns up anything suggestive of life in the past or even in the present on the Red Planet - Mars will be EVERYWHERE. It might even knock Johnny Wilkinson off the top of the news-coverage charts for a day or two. So, we at Planet Science thought a quick-click guide to all things Martian would be valuable. This has now been created, and is available on the PS website. It's called 'Mars: The Facts' and it features not just 24 fascinating facts about the planet, but also lots of lovely images too.. You can click to it here: PS If you'd like to know even more about Mars, AND lose a bit of weight at the same time, you might enjoy a look at one of our favourite sites: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/. As you'll see Mars is a good place to go if you've overindulged (unlike Neptune!)  |
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| 02. OUTREACH - REACHES OUT As part of Planet Science's activities last year, we initiated an Outreach Programme, which has subsequently awarded grants worth a total of nearly £1 million to support a range of new Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 projects for maintained schools in England that have low levels of achievement in science and have not benefitted from other science education initiatives. A number of projects were piloted last spring, and six of these have been successful in winning funding to run their project during the school year 2003/4. These include simulated Challenger missions, the science of sport, and hands-on investigations of a nature reserve. If you'd like to read more about each project, you can do so here. |
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| 03. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: THE AIR-POWERED CAR Here's an activity which is good fun to try on your own, but can be also provide the basis for a Wacky Races style challenge if you have more than one team involved... You will need: * A piece of strong card - A5 size (approx 15cm x 21cm) * Styrofoam trays (1 large or several small) * A ruler * A compass * A marker pen * A balloon * Sticky tape * Scissors * 1 flexi-straw * 2 'normal' straws * 2 thin doweling rods (approx 2cm longer than the straws) * Blutak * Felt pens etc to decorate - optional What to do: 1. Draw four circles 7.5cm in diameter on the flat surface of the styrofoam tray and cut them out. Make a small hole in the centre of each circle. These are your four wheels. 2. Inflate the balloon a few times to stretch it. Slip the end of the balloon over the end of the flexi-straw (nearest its bend.) 3. Secure the end of the balloon to the straw with tape and seal it tight so that the balloon can be inflated by blowing through the straw. 4. Tape the straw lengthways along the middle of the A5 piece of card. 5. Flip the card upside down and place the two 'normal' straws across the card 5cm from each end. Stick them down. 6. Push the doweling rods through these two straws. The rods should stick out the ends of the straws. Push the wheels onto the end of each doweling rod. Secure the wheels to the rod with blutak. Flip the car back over. Blow through the flexi-straw to inflate the balloon. When the balloon is full, pinch the straw to hold in the air. YOU ARE NOW READY TO RACE! 7. Set the car on a smooth surface, with the wheels on the ground (obviously!) and release the straw... How far does your car go? Can you think of any design improvements? Now challenge your friends to a race... What's going on: The car is propelled along the floor by escaping air. The air travels backwards out of the straw, which causes the car to move in the opposite direction. You can think of this movement as being like what happens when you swim: you push water backwards with you arms but you yourself move forward. This is a demonstration of Newton's Third Law of Motion, and technologists employ the same principle to launch rockets into space. Gas and fire explode downwards out of the end of the rocket, causing the body of the rocket to take off in the opposite direction, ie. up, up and away... |
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| 03b. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK 2: ANOTHER SPEED-SNATCH CHALLENGE PERMUTATION You may remember that in Issue 59 we featured an activity known as the 'Speed Snatch Challenge'. This aims to measure reaction times via the act of grabbing a falling ruler as fast as you can. We then heard from science teacher Anne Brown about a refinement to this experiment she uses with her pupils, to test the effect of CAFFEINE on hand-eye-brain speediness (see Issue 61). This week we have another twist on the experiment, supplied by Mike Shimell, a science inspector with Kirklees LEA. This one is particularly topical following the recent legislation surrounding mobile phone use on the road... Mike says, "We use the same activity to investigate why you should not use a mobile phone when driving. Children/adults collect a set of results as described then retest while involving the catcher in a discussion. (This improves speaking and listening as you have to involve the catcher in a real discussion not just one word answers!!) The results are usually both convincing and frightening!" As you will no doubt be aware, the new road safety legislation relates specifically to drivers actually holding their phones as they speak and drive. But as you've just demonstrated, ANY diverting conversation can affect your concentration, and if you're caught driving unsafely while you chat the long arm of the law might just reach out and grab you by the hands-free too. Here's what the Department for Transport say: "... hands-free phones are also distracting and you still risk prosecution for failing to have proper control of a vehicle under Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 if you use a hands-free phone when driving. If there is an incident, the use of any phone or similar device might justify charges of careless or dangerous driving." Full chapter and verse can be found here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/ And that's the end of this week's road safety lesson from Planet Science :) Thanks very much for your suggestion Mike - and point taken about the variation that may be introduced into the reaction time measurements depending on how the catcher's hands are positioned... We are confident however that teacher-ingenuity will prevail in all cases! |
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| 04. VISIT PLANET JEMMA - AND WIN SOME 'SCIENTIFIC' LIPGLOSS This year's BAFTA nominations are out, and among them is an innovative interactive journey through the trials and tribulations of physics, romance and university life, known as PLANET JEMMA. Planet Jemma is a website (http://www.planet-jemma.com) and the idea is that visitors log in regularly and follow the heroine (Jemma) through her life and times as a first year physics student. It's a bit like a soap opera online, as the stories unfold as you go along, but Jemma also has direct contact with her audience, and sends regular emails to let them know what's going on and even ask for advice at times... The target audience for Planet Jemma is teenage girls, and a primary objective of the site was to introduce them to the world of physics in an appealing new way. But woven in amongst the physics there's naturally plenty going on in Jemma's social life and sadly a few boy-troubles along the way too... To help with publicising the site, a special boxed lipgloss was produced, bearing the classic words 'The Science of Snogging'. These were initially sent out to readers of Sugar magazine who visited the site. However, there are quite a few left over, and if you're a teacher and you'd like some for your class, give us a shout. All you need to do is send an email to planetjemma@nesta.org.uk with the words LIPGLOSS OFFER in the title, and a note of your name and school address. Also, let us know how many you'd like for your class (maximum number 40 per school). Three schools will be chosen at random to receive the lipgloss, but there may be extras left over or other bits and pieces we can send out elsewhere too. The draw will take place on Thursday 18th December at 5pm. So pucker up and get emailing! And encourage all the young women you know to pay Jemma a call... |
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| 05. THE 2004 SCIENCE WRITER AWARDS Are you aged between 16 and 28? Do you have a love of science? And a way with words? And could you turn a piece of scientific research like 'The Paleogeography of the Southern Half of the British Isles and Adjacent Continental Shelf at the Paleogene/Neogene (G/N) Boundary and Its Subsequent Modification: A Reconsideration'* into a vibrant, grabby, informative, relevant and well-written feature for a national broadsheet? If so, here's your opportunity to see your name in print, win a big prize, and perhaps even launch yourself as a professional writer... Every year since 1987, the Daily Telegraph has run a competition for young people called the Science Writers Awards, with the aim of uncovering new talent in the somewhat specialised field of science journalism. As you might expect, there's a generous bag of prizes on offer, and a high-octane judging panel making the big decisions. But what makes this competition a bit different from most others, is that the organisers go to every effort imaginable to provide entrants with information, tips, techniques and examples of excellent work both to inspire them, and to help them to create work that is, if possible, absolutely brilliant. To enter, all that's required is one piece of writing, no longer than 700 words, on any scientific or science-related subject. And Roger Highfield, Science Editor of the Telegraph says you're in with a chance even if you've never done anything like this before. "The Awards," he explains, "seek to encourage aspiring young science writers to test their journalistic abilities. Entrants should not be discouraged by any lack of experience in writing - more important is the ability to write enthusiastically and communicate their enthusiasm to the reading public." This year, the first-prize winners will share cash and prizes totalling over £7,000 in value, including an week-long trip to Washington DC to attend the American Association for the Advancement of Science's 2005 meeting (a huge big bash, you'll probably never see so many scientists under one roof in your life again - great socialising opportunities too!). Back at home, the winners will also be able to meet Britain's most distinguished scientists at the British Association's Festival of Science at the University of Exeter. There's also a £500 prize for the school that submits the most entries that reach the final stage, and a £200 book voucher will be awarded to the teacher who submits the most pupils that reach the short-list. Feeling inspired? Then click to http://www.science-writer.co.uk, where you'll find full details of the competition, expert advice and lots of examples of winning work from previous years - plus of course an entry form. Alternatively, you can call the hotline on 0870 1267 458 or email enquiries@science-writer.co.uk. The closing date for the competition is April 30, 2004. Good luck! *NB thanks again to Dr Peter Walsh for his entry to last summer's Long Title Challenge competition - well worth a second mention!) And now for something completely different. |
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| 06. IT'S NOT EASY BEING SANTA... For a start, hardly anyone over 7 believes in you. And many people hold conflicting religious beliefs in any case. But for science teachers, the travails of Our Man with The Sack, can now be put to use as a valuable teaching tool. Our friends at the Association for Science Education, purveyors of the monthly UPD8 topical lesson resources, have been busy as a bunch of elves preparing a pre-Christmas goodie for teachers and their classes. The activity is called 21st Century Santa, and the idea is that Santa, with all his crazy working practices eg. has to visits whole world in one day, prefers snow at all times in all areas etc, may need to move to another planet where his requirements can be more easily met. So the question is: which planet is he best suited to? Hmmmmmm. Pluto? Mercury? The resource is colourful and full of festive cheer, and you can find it at http://www.ase.org.uk - just click on the UPD8 button on the right. |
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| 07. THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE HISTORY: A QUANTUM LEAP Just over 100 years ago there was a revolution in physics - not only did Albert Einstein give us the concept of relativity, but on December 14, 1900 Max Planck introduced the world to 'quantum theory'. Planck's idea was that radiation, like light from the Sun, could actually be thought of as tiny particles. He published a paper in which he set out this theory, and the world of physics changed overnight. The theory solved a number of problems that scientists had been wrestling with, but it also required us to look at the world of the very small in a completely different way. The quantum universe is difficult to explain in just a couple of paragraphs, but we've found a lovely introduction to quantum mechanics here - and it has no maths in it! Here's the url: http://www-theory.chem.washington.edu/ Quantum theory really took off in the 1920s, and with it came the truly weird 'quantum world'. Trying to get your head around events in the quantum world takes some doing, but for example if humans could act in the same way as quantum particles do, we would be able to walk through walls, potentially exist in two places at once, and never know exactly where we were. We might even pop into and out of existence. And we'd have to remember to avoid our respective anti-persons, as a meeting of matter and anti-matter would result in total annihilation... Einstein's relativity theory is reasonably well known and understood, perhaps because it deals with the big world around us, but it may be reassuring to note that Planck's quantum mechanics still makes the best physicists shudder. Ultimately, quantum theory tells us that the Universe is a really, really weird place, so perhaps its best that it stays hidden from human view. For a more in-depth look at the history of quantum theory have a look here: http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history |
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| 08. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK We've recommended it before, but it's time to recommend it again: The Royal Institution's SCIENCE INSIDEOUT site. These hallowed pixels recently won an award known as the 'International Visual Communication Association Biz-net Award' for their "outstanding contributions to creativity and effectiveness in digital media" so congratulations to all concerned - and to everyone else, go and have a look. There are several main subject areas within the site, namely: Energy, Anatomy, Space, Elements and DNA. In each one there are a selection of games, interactive demonstrations, discussion forums or 'big questions' like "Will we discover any more new elements?" and "Will we be able to choose what our children will be like?" There's a hoard of information to be found behind the deceptively streamlined front page, and it's easy to navigate around (if slightly long to download the interactives at times). The site is interconnected with the activities of the RI itself including its lecture programme, so there are plenty of links back and forward to lecture information as you click around, which gives an extra sense of depth to the site. Warning: last time we at Planet Science perused the site, all work ground to a halt for a few hours while we did battle with a hideously addictive game called 'Flick the Flea' which you'll find in the Anatomy section. Do not go there until you're happy you've had a good enough look at the other resources! Enjoy! |
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| 09. JOKE OF THE WEEK Oh dear dear dear. Pete Golding, of Alderman White School in Nottingham has been in touch. He says, "Here's a possible contender for 'Joke of the Week', guaranteed to make the students cringe!" Q. Did you know that scientists have discovered that diahorrea is a hereditary disease? A. Yes, it runs in your genes!! Thank you Pete, lovely. (And thanks also to Keith M for the joke about the Birkenhead Ferry - sadly too rude for polite company!) Here's another one, this time purloined from the Sunday Times a few weeks ago: An ugly man visits a psychiatrist. "I'm so depressed," he says, "I have no friends, nobody comes near me. Can you help me accept my ugliness?" The psychiatrist replies: "I'm sure I can. Just go and lie face down on the couch." And finally, a classic: Why can't scientists tell jokes timing  That's all for this week. Next week's newsletter will be a special edition: HAPPY HOLIDAY BUMPER BONANZA OF FESTIVE DIGESTIVE FUN. But if you have any news, recommended websites or jokes for newsletters in the New Year, please send them to Anne McNaught on anne@planet-science.com. By the way, we have been inundated with entries to our Telescope Teaser competition, so the results will not be available until first thing on Tuesday, whereupon they will be sent out to the lucky winners. Have a great week! |
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