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01. AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE!
- Doctor, doctor - Who is it? - The Invisible Man - I'm sorry, I can't see you now As you'll know if you've read the H.G. Wells book or watched the David McCallum tv series, being permanently invisible has some pretty serious lifestyle drawbacks. But having to hand a Harry Potter style "invisibility cloak" from time to time is something a lot of people might dream of... The whole subject if invisibility has intrigued technologists for years, whether through 'stealth' military devices or by disguising James Bond's car by using the modernday equivalent of smoke and mirrors - cameras and display screens. This week, the technology appeared to take a shimmery step forward, when a prototype invisibility cloak was displayed at 'Nextfest', the San Francisco expo that features the cuttingest cutting edge of innovation today. There were all sorts of amazing developments on show, but it was the University of Tokyo's invisibility cloak that grabbed all the headlines. According to the Independent, it works along the same lines as that James Bond car: "Optical camouflage uses a surface of small beads doubling as cameras and mini-projection screens. The cameras transmit data to the other side of the piece of clothing so what is seen from the back is projected on the front, and vice versa." Read - and see - a bit more on the BBCi site at: |
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| 02. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK: RECYCLING PLASTIC? SORTED! Ever wondered how all those plastic items you chuck away get sorted out for recycling? Read on... and have a go for yourself. You will need: * A plastic milk bottle * A yoghurt pot * A washing up liquid bottle * A pair of scissors * A large bowl of water * A tablespoon * Salt What to do: 1. Check the code on the bottom of the containers. There should be a number inside the recycling symbol, for example: * Plastic milk bottle - code 2 or HDPE * Yoghurt pot - code 6 or PS * Washing up liquid bottle - code 1 or PETE 7. There should be one set of strips still sitting at the bottom of the bowl. Congratulations! You have now successfully sorted three different plastics! * PS If you can't get the container strips to sink in water then try adding some washing up liquid to the water. This affects the surface tension of the water and makes it 'wetter' i.e. it will wet the plastic strips better than water alone, if that makes sense...
Water has a density of 1 g/cm3, and anything with a density greater than this will sink in water; anything with a lower density will float. So if we have a plastic with a density less than 1 (e.g. the milk bottle) it will float in water. But what about the salt? Well, adding the salt to the water makes it more dense. That's why we float more easily in the sea than in the bath. The yoghurt pot has a density slightly greater than 1 g/cm3, so it doesn't float in tap water but it will float in salt water. The washing up liquid bottle however has a higher density still which means that it won't float in either tap or salt water. So now you know how they separate plastics for recycling... Want to know more? There are many different sorts of plastics and polymers, with different characteristics such as flexibility and transparency. The American Society of the Plastics Industry has produced a marking code to identify the six main types, which you can see at: If you want to know more about the process, and about what plastics are recycled into, check out the Warwickshire Waste Wise website at: |
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| 03. MOUSES AT THE READY FOR: THE LION KING You may have seen the musical, you may even have seen the film... but have you seen the giant IMAX version of 'The Lion King'? If not, and you're going to be in the London area over the next few weeks, stand by your buzzers, because our friends at the Science Museum have offered us four pairs of tickets to give away. The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young lion prince who is born in Africa. He's second in line to the throne, but when his father is killed he get's caught up in the turmoil surrounding his murder, and he flees the kingdom in shame, believing that he was responsible. After years in exile he is persuaded to return home to overthrow the baddies and claim the kingdom as his own... The story isn't well known for its scientific content (!) but it's certainly big on 'popular appeal' - especially for kids. (And you'll be slap bang in the middle of the South Kensington museum zone so you can easily can spend the rest of the day browsing dinosaurs, space technology or geology if you wish.) It should be a rather lush experience, as the pictures and soundtrack have both been been digitally remixed for the IMAX 10m-tall screen, making those lovely Savannah colours are even brighter than in a standard cinema. What's more the music that made the stage show such a phenomenon will hit you from all surround-sound angles. (The only thing to add is that it's not 3D, but hey who's complaining.) If you'd like to win a pair of tickets, send an email now to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk with SIMBA IS KING! as the subject, and a note of your name and address. The draw will take place next Thursday at 5pm. If you're not lucky enough to win freebies though, you can still book to see it on 0870 870 4771. Full details at: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax |
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| 04. VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR B.A. FESTIVAL Fancy taking part in the UK's biggest scientific festival? Spending time in the company of some of the UK's top scientists? Helping journalists research and file their stories? Spending a lovely if hectic week in Exeter? And boosting your own CV? If you ticked one or more of the above boxes, then here's an opportunity for you. The BA (The British Association for the Advancement of Science) is looking for volunteers to assist with their annual BA Festival of Science, which this year is being held at the University of Exeter from 4-11th September. As you'll know if you've been before, the BA Festival is a week-long buzzing hive of science activity, with literally thousands of people involved, and every subject under the scientific sun discussed at a level that the general public can understand and enjoy. Just to give you an idea, a random rummage in the online programme came up with the following four examples of what's on: CAN HERBS IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH? |
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| 05. THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE HISTORY: A TRULY BREATHTAKING VIEW On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand, and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal, became the first human beings ever to enjoy the view from the highest point on Earth - the summit of Mount Everest, 8,884 metres above sea-level. Since then, Everest has been conquered almost 2,000 times, a staggering number bearing in mind the difficulties and dangers involved. First, consider the sheer gruelling physical hardship of carrying your own body weight, plus all your equipment and provisions, up several miles of rock face, much of which is more-or-less vertical. Then there's the extreme cold, exacerbated by the severe wind-chill factor. Not forgetting the risk of sunstroke, again increasing with height. But worst of all is the problem of oxygen. Of the nearly 2,000 successful climbs, only around 100 have been achieved without the aid of oxygen canisters, and that's because as climbers ascend higher and higher above sea level, it becomes increasingly difficult to breathe. The reason for this is that the overall air pressure is lower at high altitudes, so although the proportion of oxygen to nitrogen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doesn't change as you ascend a mountain, there's more space between the molecules. That means the actual number of oxygen molecules inhaled in each breath is lower, and therefore fewer oxygen molecules are picked up by the blood and transported to the tissues. This is critical because we need a supply of oxygen to reach our mitochondria (the energy-producing parts of our body cells). Without oxygen, it becomes hard for the body to carry out its normal metabolic functions. Would-be climbers of Everest have to give their bodies time to acclimatise on the way up, and people in societies who have lived at high altitudes for many generations are found to have adapted even better to the challenges of the lower atmospheric pressure. For example, the haemoglobin (oxygen-carrying molecule) in the blood of these people has a higher affinity ('stickiness') for oxygen. To read about the possible effects of altitude sickness, go to: To read about the world's highest medical clinic, go to: |
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| 06. RECOMMENDED WEBSITES OF THE WEEK Who knows, it could be a cloudy day here in the UK, but the Transit of Venus will be taking place on the 8th June whether we can see it or not, so it's best to be prepared. The Transit of Venus is an astronomical event that has fascinated scientists since at least the 16th Century, when it was predicted by Johannes Kepler. In the 18th Century, this was what Captain Cook initially set out to observe on the journey now more famous for the discovery of Australia. Here in the 21st C, it's a public event and we'll all be able to join in... Next week, we'll be announcing a whole load more information about the Transit on the Planet Science website, but to help you make your plans in advance, we recommend the official site which can be found at: http://www.transit-of-venus.org.uk/ It goes without saying that YOU MUST NEVER, EVER, EVER STARE DIRECTLY AT THE SUN as you could badly damage your eyesight. As an alternative, there are various ideas given for projecting the light from the sun through a pinhole onto a screen in front of you. However, our astro-experts tell us that even on a sunny day it may be difficult to actually see the Transit using one of these home-made devices as Venus will be such a small dot on the face of the sun, so be prepared for possible disappointment. The Cereal Box viewer however sounds like the most effective of the devices described if you do want to have a go: |
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| 07. AWKWARD QUESTION OF THE WEEK Last week's question went like this: Three students living in their student flat were griping about the state of the fridge. "The thermostat's gone," said the physics student, "we need to get the landlord to get us a new fridge." "Never mind the thermostat," barked the law student, "who keeps nicking my stuff?" And with that he marked a thick black line around his milk bottle to indicate the level. The next day the law student took out the bottle of milk and saw that the level of milk had dropped. "Which one of you low-lifes has had my milk?" he snarled. "No-one," sighed the chemistry student looking up from her newspaper, "but I can tell you what HAS happened." Any ideas? Here comes the answer: Milk contains water. When water freezes it expands. Consequently it takes up more volume. The dodgy thermostat in the fridge meant that sometimes the temperature slipped below 0 degrees and other times it rose. The line was drawn when some of the milk had frozen. When the milk bottle was taken out the ice had thawed and so the milk took up a smaller volume. This is why the level of the milk was lower than the original level, as any chemist would tell you. And no-one had touched a drop... * * * * * Are you ready for another? Ok: A rather dim human cannonball act shoots the human cannonball vertically upwards. How does their take-off speed compare to their landing speed- faster, slower, or the same. Why? Answer next week!  |
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| 08. WINNERS OF TICKETS TO 'CATALYST' Last week we had four family passes to give away for the Catalyst Science Centre in Widnes. The draw has now taken place, and the winners are: Jane Collings from Chorley in Lancs Sandra Price from Wilstead in Beds Lyn Pugsley from Marlow in Bucks ... and Liz Reeves from Bridgnorth in Shropshire Congratulations to you all. Your tickets will be in the post shortly. |
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09. JOKE OF THE WEEK |
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