1. Planet Picks - Come and visit us!
Planet Super Powers Competitions
You may have thought the competition element of Planet Super Powers! was all done and dusted but there are still three mini competitions to enter.
Name a Star
Email with your ideas for the name of the galaxy Planet Science is located in and/or the superheroes' space station base. If you win we'll register the star for you and send you the Name A Star Gift Box with a certificate, pen, position of the star and astronomy booklet. The names will also appear in the Battle for Planet Science game... to be released in the summer term.
Crossword Competition
Solve the crossword puzzle and email the correct answer to the crossword clue 7 down to win a Rubik's Cube puzzle.
Word Search Competition
To win a Planets Cube puzzle solve the word search puzzle and email the name of the object which appears diagonally in the word search starting in the 1st column. It might help if you know you can also find it in the tank on page 3 of the comic strip!
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2.Planet Super Powers
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YEEHA!! The comic strip is back and Sapphire Soldier speeds into action...
Will the current failure end Sapphire Soldier's mission?
The bullet car is similar to maglev trains. The basic principle is that opposite magnetic poles attract and like poles repel each other. Large magnets in the road repel the magnets on the bottom of the car, lifting the car above the road. Power is supplied to electromagnetic coils in the road and the alternating current changes the polarity of the coils' magnetic field. The magnetic field in front of the car pulls it forward and the field behind the car pushes it.
Team Go take you on a bumpy magnetic ride in the video Magnets and Rollercoasters.
Challenge people to move a grape without touching it in 'Fruit Force' and pretend you've got super powers by hiding a small magnet in your hand / under gloves.
Next week on Planet Super Powers! Find out what happens to Sapphire Soldier... |
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3. Gear Giveaway - You’ve got to be in it to win it...
If you like to be in the middle of the action we have the best giveaway for you. The fantastic people at the London Science Museum IMAX 3D have given us a pair of tickets to pass onto you. The screen in the IMAX is 10 times bigger than a conventional cinema screen so you won't miss a thing.
If you want to be in with a chance of winning this, send us an email with your name and address and the words 'Where the action is' in the subject line to randomised.news@nesta.org.uk. The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 8th April.
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4. Over2U! - Pulp Friction
Hairdryer and Toilet Paper Aerofoil
What you need
1. A hairdryer.
2. A roll of toilet paper (recycled toilet paper seems less wasteful).
3. A thin cardboard tube from a roll of cling-film or aluminium foil.
4. Some cardboard.
5. Sticky tape.
What you do
1. Cut a disc out of the cardboard, larger in diameter than your toilet rolls, and cut a hole in the middle of this just large enough to pass the long thin cardboard tube through. Do that, and tape the disc in place, so you've made a handle which looks a bit like a very short stubby sword with a handguard. This should protect your hand from the spinning toilet roll: not as important with the hairdryer experiment as it is with the leafblower experiment, but still necessary.
2. Hold the handle with one hand, and put a toilet roll on the end your hand isn't holding. If you're doing this right, the guard should be between your hand and the toilet roll. Tilt the whole thing so the toilet roll is leaning into the guard, and finally make sure the loose flap of toilet paper is draped over the top of the roll, facing away from you.
3. Turn the hairdryer on full, on its cold setting, and aim at the top of the roll of toilet paper.
4. Watch as the toilet paper spools off into the distance...
What's going on?
This is an example of the Bernoulli effect, where fast-moving air is at a lower pressure than the slow moving air around it. In this case the air from the hairdryer is at a low pressure. When you bring the toilet paper close to it, the high-pressure air beneath it lifts the paper and pushes the paper into the air stream. The paper is accelerated by the air stream, and that sends the arc of paper spooling out across the room.
Special Safety Advice
Keep the hairdryer on the cold setting to avoid it overheating.
If you are looking for more experiments like this have a look at Scicast.
Here’s the outdoor version of this demonstration!
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5. Winners - Feeling Lucky?
Two lucky people will each be receiving a copy of William's Words in Science... the winners are... Lorna Luo from Pinner and Sammy Fetherstonhaugh from Powys.
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THAT'S ALL FOR NOW
You've been Randomised!
Send any questions, comments, jokes or experiment ideas to: randomised.news@nesta.org.uk
Bye for now!
