|
 |
 |
|
|
||
 |
||
 "Citius, Altius, Fortius …" This week’s newsletter joins the world in celebrating the Olympics’ five-ringed festival of fitness with the swiftest, highest and strongest round-up of science-related events in at least the last seven days. LET THE GAMES BEGIN! 1. Activity of the Week: RUSSIAN REACTION ROULETTE 2. Free booklet on BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FARMING 3. MOUSES AT THE READY for 'WALKING WITH BEASTS' at Thinktank 4. NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD #3: VICTORIA FALLS 5. RECOMMENDED SPORTING WEBSITES OF THE WEEK 6. AWKWARD QUESTION - and answer 7. WINNERS WINNERS WINNERS 8. JOKE/TEACHER-TRAINING TIP OF THE WEEK The competitors are lined up and ready for action, so without further ado, let's go straight to the outdoor arena, where we join activity-creator Katy Hewis for what is shaping up to be one of the most nail-biting events we’ve seen in quite some time. Over to you, Katy... |
||
|
||
|
01. ACTIVITY OF THE WEEK : RUSSIAN REACTION ROULETTE
As the name suggests, 'Russian Reaction Roulette' is a game of a chance, and one which will test participants' nerves - and knowledge of chemistry - to the max. As with all of the more explosive events in this competition, it's being conducted outdoors, because past experience has shown that things can get messy. Equipment: * At least 6 film canisters and lids - professionals prefer the black ones as participants can't see what's inside. Tip: your chemist may have spares if you ask nicely. * Flour * Talcum powder * Bicarbonate of soda * Icing sugar * Baking powder * A teaspoon * An empty washing up liquid bottle * Vinegar * A dinner plate * A food can e.g. beans, soup, catfood * Several marbles This is a game for two or more participants. Preparation: 1. Into one film canister place two teaspoons of flour, into the next place two teaspoons of talcum powder and so on until all your film canisters are used. 2. Put the lids on the film canisters and shuffle them around until nobody knows which is while. Umpire's note: NO CHEATING! 3. Pour some vinegar into the empty washing up liquid bottle. 4. Place the can in the middle of the circle of participants. Ensure the ring pull end. If there is one, is at the bottom - you want a smooth surface face up. 5. Place the marbles on the top of the can. 6. Place the dinner plate on top of the marbles so that it spins easily. 7. Arrange the film canisters in a circle around the base of the can. |
||
|
||
| 02. FREE BIOTECHNOLOGY BOOKLET AVAILABLE FOR SCHOOLS If you’ve ever felt you’d like someone to explain clearly, and without reference to any tabloid-style headlines, exactly where we currently are with GM crops and animal rearing in this country, we have news of a new booklet that may be of interest to you. It’s a downloadable booklet called ‘BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FARMING: What have the Government Advisers been saying?’. As you might guess from the title, the authors are the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission themselves, in other words, the government’s strategic advisory body on this subject, and their aim in this publication is to recap on what biotechnology is; explain what the Commission does; and give a synopsis of each of the three major reports they have presented to Government. These were: 1. ‘Crops on Trial’, about Farm Scale Evaluations of GM crops 2. ‘Animals and Biotechnology’, on genetically modified animals 3. ‘Coexistence and Liability’ about the potential effects of GM crops on non GM crops. The booklet is in pdf form, and can be downloaded from their website at: http://www.aebc.gov.uk/ If you’re thinking to yourself that there’s no way you’re spending precious summer holiday hours ploughing through some densely-worded policy document, relax and plug in your printer because it’s not like that at all, it’s colourful, quick to read, and very clearly laid out. And when you’ve finished it, you may well feel your knowledge of the subject has just gone up 300% …  |
||
|
||
| 03. MOUSES AT THE READY FOR: 'WALKING WITH BEASTS' AT THINKTANK Back now to the main stadium, where our second event is just about to get under way ... It's the Walking event, and the competitors are, quite literally Brian, 'Beasts'! This is the one that the fans back in Birmingham have been waiting for all day. It's being hosted by their home venue Thinktank, one of the country's leading science centres, situated out there at Millennium Point. Right, let's have a quick look at some of the participants: Over on left, you can see the Sabre Toothed Cat - very fit, no doubt about that, and just sharpening up his claws there ... Beside him, the Giant Rhino, focusing on the job he's got to do today as he prepares the ground in front of him for that starting pistol. Overhead, and giving our cameramen one or two problems as you may have noticed, are the Gastornis, giant killer birds. Call that 'walking'? No, not many people would, but it's hard to see anyone contesting their place in this event. All of these beasts of course resident on the Earth 49 million years ago, but each still quite capable of causing an upset here today. As indeed are those scrawny ape-like creatures over there by the water dispenser, our distant relatives Cro-Magnon man and Neanderthal man. They may not look obvious medal hopefuls but in the baking heat out there, brains could prove mightier than brawn - or indeed slashing claws or powerful beaks — only time will tell. The extended 'Walking with Beasts' event will be taking place and open to the public at Thinktank from now until 5 September. This is a descendent of the BBC tv documentary series of the same name, and if you fancy going along to get a whiff of the action for yourself, we have two 4-person family passes to give away. Tickets to Thinktank are of course normally £6.95 for adults and £4.95 for children, so this really is an exciting offer. Want to take part? The rules are simple. All you have to do is send an email entitled THROW ME TO THE BEASTS to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. Make sure you've included the following details: your name, your address, and if possible a note of which prehistoric beast you would like to have been and why. The draw will take place at 5pm BST next Thursday. The umpire's decision will be final. And we move now from Walking, to Falling, and the presentation of the gold medal for ‘World’s Most Impressive Waterfall’ … Our reporter is Ian Francis: |
||
|
||
| 04. NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WORLD #3: THE VICTORIA FALLS Location: Africa. And as Natural Wonders go, this week’s is rather refreshing … The Victoria Falls lie between Zambia and Zimbabwe, about half-way between the source and mouth of the Zambezi River, the fourth longest river in Africa. The Zambezi is about 1.5km wide at this point and drops suddenly into a deep, narrow chasm called the Batoka Gorge. The height of the falls varies from 78m to 109m, and the falls are split up into five main sections with names like 'Rainbow Falls' and 'Devil's Cataract'. The explorer David Livingstone (of 'I presume' fame) was the first European to see the falls and he named them in honour of Queen Victoria. The local Kololo people call the falls 'Mosi oa Tunya' which means "smoke that thunders". The mist and spray produced can be seen for over 20km, giving the appearance of smoke. The spray also helps the survival of rainforest opposite the falls. Geologically, the area comprises a ledge of tough basalt lava dating back perhaps 200 million years, criss-crossed with faults containing more easily eroded sedimentary rock like sandstone. As with all waterfalls, the massive force of the water cuts back the ledge over time, and the current position of the Falls is just one of a sequence going back at least 100,000 years. The ledge is gradually being eroded upstream, with the area called the 'Devil's Cataract' being the position where the main cutting back action is currently taking place. A series of gorges downstream show seven previous positions of the falls. Victoria Falls isn't the tallest waterfall in the world (that honour goes to Angel Falls in Venezuela). Neither does it have the greatest volume of water (that is Boyoma Falls - formerly Stanley Falls - in Zaire). It's not the widest either, the 10.8km width of Khone Falls on the Mekong River in Laos holds that particular record. But when the Zambezi is in full flood, the magnificence of the Falls is unbeatable: over 500 million litres of water pass over the ledge every minute, forming the largest single curtain of cascading water anywhere in the world. The Zambian tourist board's web page has more details and pictures: http://www.zambiatourism.com/travel/places/victoria.htm Not surprisingly, the Falls are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this link has more information: http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/mosi-oa-.html |
||
|
||
| 05. RECOMMENDED WEBSITE OF THE WEEK And so to Cycling. An Olympic event, but also a popular way of getting around, especially in the summer. First came the wheel … and then came brakes and levers. Followed many years later by body-hugging lycra outfits in dayglo colours. Read all about the history, mechanics and aerodynamics of the bicycle at the Exploratorium’s SCIENCE OF CYCLING site at: http://www.exploratorium.com/cycling/index.html Click to the main ‘Sport Science’ page, by mousing to the red bubble at the bottom of each page, and you’ll find the full set of the Exploratorium’s science resources. The sports featured include American favourites (well it’s an American site after all) ice hockey and baseball, but there are also features on surfing, skateboarding and rock climbing. We particularly enjoyed looking through the Q & A section — the questions include how Michael Jordan manages to hang in the air for so long when he’s slam-dunking the ball, why long-jumpers do that weird running movement while they’re in the air, and why physios like to put bags of ice on injured muscles (when you’re already in enough pain, surely?) Here’s the link straight to the Q & As: http://www.exploratorium.com/sports/sports_faq.html Finally, if it’s information about muscles you want, here’s a one-stop guide from that most reliable source of wisdom, HOW STUFF WORKS: http://www.howstuffworks.com/muscle.htm May the force be with you … |
||
| ||
| 06. AWKWARD QUESTION - AND ANSWER Time now to catch up on developments in the Open Brainteaser event. How did you get on with last week's challenge? Been experimenting in the bath? Here's a reminder of the scenario: The captain of a submarine tries at all costs to avoid letting his sub come to rest on a clay or sandy ocean bottom. Why? And the answer is... Water pressure acts in all directions, pressing against every surface of a submarine, top, bottom and sides. Because pressure increases with depth, upthrust on the bottom surface of the sub is greater than the downthrust on the upper surface of the sub, aiding floatation. If the submarine comes to rest on a clay or sandy ocean bottom, water may be squeezed out from under the hull. This will rob the sub of much of the upward buoyant force and may 'glue' the submarine to the seabed. >>>>>>> This week’s Awkward Question concerns the 2012 Olympics (and it’s got nothing to do with that Panorama programme last week.) Here’s the situation: The year is 2012, and the Olympics will be held not in London, England, but London Lunarville, an appropriate name, as it is a UK outpost on the moon. A wonderful enclosed, all-seater, air-filled stadium has been built on the moon and athletes can compete without being encumbered with space suits. On the moon, gravity is 1/6th that on Earth, so everything is 6 times lighter on the moon compared to Earth. How high can a high jumper jump in the moon Olympics, if when back on Earth they usually manage to clear the bar when set at 2 metres? Answer next week. |
||
|
||
| 07. 'I, ROBOT' WINNERS ANNOUNCED - AND EXTRA INFO FOR ROBOTICS FANS Last week, following Hollywood star Will Smith's revelation that he nearly became a scientist (before weirdly being diverted to international showbiz fame and millionairedom) we offered two pairs of Odeon tickets to see his new sci-fi film, 'I, Robot'. The draw has now taken place, and the two names out the hat were: Andrea Farlow from Shildon in County Durham Chris Dudley from Cheslyn Hay in Staffordshire Congratulations to Andrea and Chris. Meanwhile, Tony Hirst from the Faculty of Technology at the Open University, has been in touch to alert us to a website that's made for robo-fans. It's called ROBOTFESTA-UK, and it covers news from the world of robotics, and gives details of robot roadshows and schools robot clubs. Here’s where to find it: http://www.www.robofesta-uk.org On the site, you'll find a link to a 'minicourse' all about robots and robotics, which explains the history of robotics, Asimov's original "three laws of robotics"; details what robots can and can't do well; and envisages what the future may hold … There's also a quiz at the end if you think you know your robo-facts. If you do, and you want to learn even more, the OU offer a course called 'T184 Robotics and the Meaning of Life: A Practical Guide to Things That Think' which you can read all about at http://tscp.open.ac.uk/t184.htm. Whether or not you enrol for the course, you can have a play with their online robot arm at: http://robofesta.open.ac.uk/t184playground/robotArm/. Thanks Tony. |
||
|
||
|
08. JOKE OF THE WEEK |
||
|
||
 |
