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19th November 2004 Issue: 12

Thank Planet Science for that Wired-Up FRIDAY feeling! Here’s what’s coming up:

  1. THE WIRE – What’s top of your Christmas list?
  2. TRY THIS – All you need is a strip of paper (and some glue!)
  3. GEAR UP FOR GRABS – Will you go loopy for this prize?
  4. WINNERS – Tickets to see a Space Odyssey talk at a science centre near you...
1. THE WIRE – Science news straight to your inbox...

I can take a guess at what’s top of your Christmas wish list this year – a Sony Ericsson K700i, or a Motorola E398, or maybe a Nokia 6230. Whatever the model, I’d stake a hefty wad on the fact it’s a video and/or camera phone. They’ve been big news in recent weeks...

Hiding in bushes and lurking around corners are where you’ll find Britain’s paparazzi, but their latest tool in the campaign to get the perfect cover-story picture is the camera phone. The technology allows users to capture the event as it happens, long before professional snappers are on the scene. Capturing an unexpected event as it unfolds is something that newspaper and magazine editors are willing to pay big bucks for.

If you’re a reader of Heat magazine you’ll already be familiar with the section asking readers to email their pictures of celebs they’ve seen out and about.

And in Switzerland, one newspaper printed a camera phone picture of a piece of metal falling from a plane the phone’s owner was travelling on. In Denmark, the mugshots of two robbers, captured whilst leaving a bank robbery, were also printed by a newspaper!

Catch the full story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3991775.stm

In other news, it was only a matter of time before Cilla’s long-running show, Blind Date, took on a whole new meaning. The world’s first video mobile dating event takes place in London at the end of the month where video phone technology is being harnessed as an alternative to scouring the personals.

Organisers say it is the perfect channel for singles looking for love because people can meet ‘face-to-face’ (or video phone-to-video phone!), which will put an end to those embarrassing blind date situations when you don’t actually like the look of the person you meet!

If the trend takes off, and video phone dating isn’t just limited to events and can be accessed by all, then the service will be open to exploit from people with an ulterior motive. So before a service can be launched, mobile phone providers will have to put guidelines in place and strictly monitor who uses the service.

Click here for the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3986133.stm
2. TRY THIS – Experiments for you to try at home...

On Wednesday it was 136 years since the death of the astronomer and mathematician, August Möbius. He is famous for his work in geometry and topology, although he did publish important work in astronomy. Möbius is best known for discovering the Möbius strip so (although this is more maths than science) this week’s TRY THIS will show you how to construct one:

Stuff You Need:

  • A4 Paper
  • Glue
  • Pen
  • Scissors

What To Do:

  • Cut a long rectangle from your piece of A4 paper.
  • Turn the rectangle into a loop but before you stick the ends together, flip one end of the paper over. This should give you a half twist.
  • Glue the two ends together in this position.

You Will Notice:

The Möbius strip only has one side! If you draw a line down the middle of the strip until you get back to your starting point, you will find that you draw on both sides of the paper. The twist in the paper makes you change sides as you draw around.

Similarly, the Möbius strip has only one edge. Make a mark on one point of the edge. Now start at the mark and trace along the edge with your finger. You will find that you get to the opposite point on the edge before your get back to the starting point.

Technological Applications:

Large Möbius strips have been used in belt drives, like conveyor belts and car fan belts. If one continuous loop of material was used then only the inside of the belt would come into contact with the wheels, so it would wear out before the outside did. However, a Möbius strip only has one side so the wear on the belt is spread evenly over the inside and outside and so it lasts longer.
3. GEAR UP FOR GRABS – You’ve got to be in it to win it...

This week also saw the anniversary of the first aeroplane to perform a loop-the-loop in America. In 1913, a pilot named Lincoln Beachey performed the stunt over Long Beach, California. He flew to a level of 1000 feet then guided his aeroplane up with a swoop and plummeted downwards – dropping to a height of 300 feet to complete the loop.

To celebrate this feat, we’re giving away an Air Hogs Eradicator – a model aeroplane that burns through the sky, reaching unbelievable heights and soaring incredible distances! Here’s the science:

Air Hogs are the first model aeroplanes to use air-pressure as a means of propulsion. The heart of the technology is the R.A.I.D. air pressure engine. When the Air Hog is secured into its docking station, a pump fills an internal chamber. As the pressurised air is released, it powers an actual cylinder and piston engine. The piston in turn spins a propeller, which drives the plane.

So now you know how it works, you’ll want to know how to win one. It’s simple, send your name, age and address to: randomised.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘I’M LOOPY!’ in the subject box.

Keep your fingers crossed for the draw on Thursday at 5pm!
4. WINNERS – Has your name been picked out of the hat?

The competition prizes in last week’s Wired-Up were tickets to see a talk given by the series producer of Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets, Chris Riley, who is touring science centres up and down the UK. The winners are as follows...

The family ticket to Thinktank on Saturday 4th December was won by Jay Airey, Selly Oak.

The family ticket to the Science Museum on Sunday 12th December was won by Laura Hankins.

Enjoy the talk!
THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

Got Wired-Up? Got clued up!

See you in seven...

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