STARDATE 328 | Friday 16th October 2009 Welcome to another Planet Science newsletter. If you’re a teacher of the 14-16 age group then this is your lucky day. Hotfoot it to the Noticeboard pronto, it’s free-resource-city! The line-up this week: Planet SciCast Confused Copy Stump the Scientist – Cake vs biscuits Mouses at the Ready – Horrible Science Planet Pick of the Week – No Time Toulouse Activity of the Week – The Magnus Effect Noticeboard – FYI Recommended websites of the week The Winners’ Enclosure Joke of the Week Planet Science Newsletters, Advanced Warning... Planet Science Website and Newsletter will be moving from NESTA to another organisation in the near future. Please be aware that we will be asking you to register for the newsletters again if you wish to continue receiving them. (We can’t legally hand over your data to another organisation, even if you might want us to!) Don’t try to sign up again yet or anything, look out for further instructions by special email and in the newsletters. 1. Planet SciCast SciCast Orbiting World Headquarters recently received a transmission from the lovely people at the British Science Association. They're running the National Science and Engineering Competition, which is (a.) new, having started earlier this year, and (b.) a Very Very Big Deal Indeed. They had hundreds of entries, and a huge hall at the Big Bang Fair back in March was given over to students from across the UK, showing off their astounding projects. It was an amazing experience for everyone involved, let alone the overall winners. In the run-up to the next Big Bang Fair, to be held at the immense Manchester Central in March 2010, the whole thing is happening again. Entries are due by the end of October, and the organisers thought to drop us a line: EXCITEMENT RE: PLANET SCICAST FILMS STOP. SOME WOULD BE EXCELLENT ENTRIES FOR NATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPETITION STOP. ALSO, WE THINK THEY'RE FUNNY STOP. ENCOURAGE YOUR CONTRIBUTORS TO ENTER NSEC TOO STOP. DEADLINE OCTOBER 30TH STOP. www.nationalsciencecompetition.org Now, we're not quite convinced the venerable British Science Association have quite got the hang of this new-fangled email malarky, but still - they're absolutely right. Some SciCast films would make brilliant entries, and hey, you've already done the work, right? Check the rules here, and follow the links from that page to find out more about the competition, the prizes on offer, and to find the entry form. Next week, if you're particularly good, we might have a new design for the SciCast Blog, and a review of a shiny new camera that might, just possibly, be the one we've all been waiting for. Back to Top 2. Confused Copy... what they really mean This week we conclude our series dealing with journalists using science vocabulary in the wrong context. Here’s Ian Francis to explain. They say “Bluefin tuna stocks have been decimated by pollution”. They mean; that the amount of tuna in a certain fishing area is greatly reduced, perhaps close to the point of extinction. However, the word ‘decimate’ means ‘removal of a tenth’ and comes from a Roman punishment for legions that had not distinguished themselves in battle- they killed every 10th soldier. But the decimated army still had 90% of its previous strength - a larger fraction than the fishy author was probably intending to suggest. Thanks Ian. Alas this is the last in the series. Unless anyone has any other ideas? Send them to us in an email with CONFUSED COPY in the subject line to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk Back to Top 3. Stump the Scientist This week Chris Dew asks “Why do biscuits, if they are left out in the air for too long become soft, whereas cake becomes hard?” Well Chris, the answers came in droves and the common thread was - in a nutshell ... water. As Nigel Bowen explains “Biscuits, after baking, are very dry so they absorb moisture from the air. On the other hand, cake, after baking, is quite moist, so water is released into the atmosphere when it's exposed to the air, making the cake go hard.” Sarah Parker agrees “Cakes go hard because the moisture or water content in them is at a higher concentration than the surrounding environment and so left out in the air, moisture evaporates out of the cake leaving it hard. The biscuits on the other hand are dryer than the surrounding air so water moves into the biscuit making it soft. So it all comes down to simple diffusion trying to create an equilibrium. The fact of cakes going hard and biscuits going soft also came in very handy in 1991 when McVities defended the classification of Jaffa Cakes as cakes - they are “ Similar responses were received from Nial Pickering, Katie Walsh and Simon Lampitt. So well done scientists! On this occasion the scientist was NOT stumped! Now where’s me biscuit...? 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 Back to Top 4. Mouses at the Ready This week we have THREE sets of Nick Arnold’s Horrible Science books. A double pack of Bulging Brain Experiments and Beastly Body Experiments to give away. Here’s the blurb on the back: Bulging Brain Experiments: Experiments with the squishy bits left in! What's going on between your ears? Why not try these brain-baffling experiments and find out? Find out how to trick your brain! Test your rotten reflexes! Look at some scary and sinister illusions! Over 20 brain-bending experiments to blow your mind! Beastly Body Experiments: A horrible handbook stuffed with yucky experiments to make your skin crawl. Pop an eyeball! Create a sickening sneeze! Make a shrunken head! You probably thought biology was boring, but no! Learning about your beastly body is sickening fun! What’s more, it’s all in foul full colour too. If you want to win one, send your name and address and the words ‘BEASTLY SCIENCE’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk The draw will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 21 October. Back to Top 5. Planet Pick of the Week Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson’s British fleet over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. If history’s your thing then you might want to have a look at our game No Time Toulouse Diagnose and treat at the speed of light or you'll lose all of your injured men. This is not a game for the squeamish or faint-hearted. Or the slow. Um...or the indecisive. Probably best if you're over 14 as well. Inspired by a lecture on Napoleonic surgery at the Hunterian Museum by Michael Crumplin FRCS, Royal College of Surgeons of England, this game will have you plunged into the aftermath of the Battle of Toulouse having to sort out the horribly injured from the malingerers, and the officers from the men - all very much against the clock. As you choose their treatments you will lose patience, and you will also definitely lose patients. Be prepared for the gravestones popping up, evidence of your medical incompetence! Good luck and Godspeed to you. Back to Top 6. Activity of the Week Magnus Effect What you need • Two polystyrene cups • Sticky tape • Two large rubber bands What you do 1. Use sticky tape to fix the bottoms of the polystyrene cups together. 2. Knot the rubber bands together. 3. Hold the rubber band in the centre of the cups and wrap the bands around about twice. Finish with the end of the elastic bands on the bottom pointing away from you. 4. Hold the cup in one hand and the end of the elastic in your other hand. 5. Pull back the cups and let go. 6. With enough practice you should be able to make the flying cups loop in the air. What’s going on? This is known as the Magnus effect, and it is the reason why top footballers can make balls curve in the air and how golfers can make golf balls perform some amazing aerodynamics. The cups are fired forward because of the stretched elastic band. If we ignore the fact the cups are spinning we can see that air will flow over the cups from front to back in a fairly uniform way. However, in this system, when the cups are released the bands unwind and the cups are forced to spin. If the bands are wound correctly the cups will be given back spin; the bottom of the cups move forwards while the top is moving backwards. Because of the rough surface of the cups, air is trapped near the surface and moves with the cups as they spin. The top of the cups has air moving from front to back as they spins, and the cups also have air flowing over them from front to back because they are flying through the air. The bottom of the cups also have air moving from the front to the back because they are flying through the air, but, crucially, the bottom also has air moving back to the front because of the direction of the spinning cups. Therefore, the cups are sitting in air which is moving very differently at different parts: there is fast moving air at the top while the air is close to being stationary at the bottom. Faster air has a lower pressure, so the cups have low pressure above them and higher pressure underneath. The cups are forced upwards. As improbable as it seems, it is possible to make the cups travel backwards. To understand how you have to realise that the force making the cups lift is at right angles to the cups' forward motion. As the cups starts to rise vertically they also experience a force at right angles to their new 'forward' motion. This lift force actually makes the cup move back towards you. On this return part of the loop the flow at the top and bottom of the cups are reversed, the cup is forced down, and then eventually forward along its original path. The air resistance which allows the layer of air to stick to the surface of the cups also slows the cups down. It slowly stops the cups from spinning and as the spin is reduced so the lift vanishes. The cups start to drop and eventually hit the floor. This experiment came from the The Magnus Effect activity on the Planet SciCast site and you can see Science Made Simple’s Wendy Sadler demonstrate it in film form. Back to Top ++ Free Science Debate Kits ++ Many of you will have ordered FREE science debate kits in June, from the ‘I'm a Scientist Get me out of Here!’ people. They proved very popular and were all gone in four weeks. Fortunately they’re producing another one. The next kit is out soon and you can pre-order it now! The topic for the kit was chosen by teachers and it is 'Are we too clean?'. Follow this link to order kits (or find out more) Free resource 14-16 yrs - Breathing Country 'Breathing Country' is a free resource to schools for KS4 targeting 14-16 year old students which aims to explore the issues raised by the use of electronic patient records in medical research. Each performance will be followed by a live debate, using electronic voting technology, during which students will be encouraged to explore what they think and feel about the issues posed by the drama. The production is pre-funded, so you can have two performances for a maximum of 150 students per performance. The play lasts 55 minutes and is followed by a facilitated debate lasting 30-40 minutes. The national tour is available to schools from Mon 25th January until Friday 26th March in the following areas: Hampshire, Bristol, Edinburgh, Bradford, Berkshire, Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham. For more information please contact David Jackson on 020 7520 3090 or d.jackson@ytouring.org.uk   Woman of the Year This very prestigious title has been won by 23 year old Emily Cummins, who is a serial inventor and business student. Emily was first supported by Ignite! when it was part of Planet Science’s mothership, NESTA, so we’ve been following her many successes proudly. Emily has (amongst other useful things) invented a solar powered fridge which uses science so cleverly and simply that you absolutely must read about how it works. We salute you Emily! The Starry Messenger 14-16 yrs When Celeste meets a mysterious “messenger from the stars”, Quicksilver, she is whisked away on a cosmic caper through astronomical history: unaware of the role she is destined to play within it... The Starry Messenger is a tongue-in-cheek educational drama celebrating the International Year of Astronomy - 400 years of Galileo's telescope. It’s aimed at 14-16 year olds studying Combined Science, Physics or Astronomy at GCSE. Free copies of the film are available on DVD, plus a booklet for teachers covering the essential science background. The booklet also contains class activities relevant to the themes of the film and linked to the GCSE syllabus. It has already been sent out to 1000 schools so have a check to see if one has been delivered. If you are a school, college, museum, library, astronomy society, etc., and would like to request a free copy, please contact: thestarrymessenger@gmail.com See this link for further information (and for electronic copies of the booklet). 8. Recommended websites of the week Swine flu is still a topical issue so make use of the FREE activity from Primary Upd8 called Spreading Swine Flu. “The spread of swine flu is increasing and it is estimated that 1 in 3 of the population will catch it with the under 14s being the most vulnerable. In this activity children will learn about swine flu and its symptoms. They will look at how viruses spread and consider how they can be contained.” Interestingly the activity looks at predictions made by the Government at the start of the outbreak and compares this to the actual spread of the disease to date. It’s a great source of discussion about how science works and how scientists make predictions on evidence known at the time. To tell us about your favourite science websites - drop us an email with the words ‘RWW’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. Back to Top Last week we were offering a family pass to Wallace & Gromit present a World of Cracking Ideas exhibition at the Science Museum. The winner is Jo-Anne Richards from Shoreham by Sea. Well done, hope you have a cracking time!   Back to Top 10. Joke of the week The strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of one of the older workmen. After several minutes, the older worker had had enough. “Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?” he said. “I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that building that you won't be able to wheel back.” “You're on, old man,” the young guy replied. The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then he turned to the young man and said, “All right. Get in.” And if you think that’s bad, you should see the jokes in the Planet Science joke collection Have a great week! Back to Top Remember... If you would like to view the Planet Science Newsletter Archive click here. You can also read back issues of Randomised for younger teens here. Or you can read back issues of Hay-Wire for Under 10s. PS if you would like to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, just reply to this email with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the title. PPS Sorry if you've been having problems with the Planet Science site today - there is a server hardware problem which should be fixed shortly. Back to Top