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26th November 2004 Issue: 13 (unlucky for some)

Thank Planet Science for that Wired-Up FRIDAY feeling! Here’s what’s coming up in this superhero special...

  1. THE WIRE – win cinema tickets to see The Incredibles in action...
  2. YOU WHAT? – find out how your body has its own superhero powers.
  3. TRY THIS – it’s time to test those superhuman powers...
  4. SCINET – superheroes R US on the BBC website
  5. GEAR FOR GRABS – win a zapper kit to protect your HQ!
1. THE WIRE – News delivered to your inbox...

Catch The Incredibles at the cinema from today onwards...

One thing that’s always troubled me about superheroes is their habit of wearing underwear on the outside of their clothes. Now call me old-fashioned, but surely the whole point of ‘underwear’ is to be worn ‘under’ clothing? But I’m not going to argue with the likes of Superman, Batman and The Incredibles – a family of superheroes in hiding after being sued by their rescued victims.

To celebrate the release of The Incredibles, today’s Wired-Up is a superhero special so we’ll be looking at superhuman powers, and maybe even testing one or two. We’ve also got two free Odeon tickets to watch the film up for grabs. All you have to do is send an email with your name and address to:

randomised.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘I’M INCREDIBLE’ as the subject. The draw will take place on Thursday and the winner will be announced in next week’s Wired-Up
2. YOU WHAT? – Science facts that might make you go “Hmm?”

I know you’re incredible and you know you’re incredible, but what is it about the human body that makes us so superhuman? Well, here are just a few ways in which we’re all really superheroes at the design stage of our bodies...

  • In just one minute, over three billion cells in the body will die and your body will create another 3 billion to replace them.
  • If a newborn baby lost the top of a fingertip, it would re-grow. Please DO NOT be tempted to test this information out on your littlest siblings!
  • Talking of fingertips, there are around 2500 nerve receptors in each square centimetre of your fingertips.
  • The human body responds to trauma injury by producing a surge of endorphins which act as painkillers. These endorphins are so powerful that you could lose a leg without feeling a thing – at first.
  • Nerve impulses can travel to and from the brain as fast as 274 km (170 miles) per hour!
  • Your brain can distinguish between 10 million colours. 
So even if you don’t wear your undies on the outside you’re still superhuman in my eyes!
3. TRY THIS – Experiments to try at home...

Here’s how to use your superhero science powers to snap a wooden ruler with a sheet of newspaper! Don’t forget to ask an adult to supervise.

You will need:

  • Old 30 cm wooden ruler – make sure you use a thin ruler and one that you don’t use anymore so you don’t mind it breaking! Otherwise you could use some wooden dowel.
  • Double page sheet from a broadsheet newspaper (tabloid newspaper is no good for this experiment).

What to do:

  1. Find a table well away from people and/or breakable objects.
  2. Put the ruler flat on the desk so that between 10 cm and 12 cm of the ruler hangs over the edge.
  3. Fold the sheet of newspaper in half and then place it over the part of the ruler lying on the desk. The edge of the paper should line up with the edge of the desk.
  4. Carefully smooth down the paper against the desk.
  5. Now give the portion of ruler that’s hanging over the desk a fast ‘karate chop’ with the side of your hand!

What’s going on?

You expect the newspaper to go flying into the air, but it doesn’t. In fact, the ruler snaps in two! So how does a sheet of newspaper break the ruler? The answer is as simple as the air we breathe.

It isn’t the newspaper that breaks the ruler – it’s the air pushing down on top of the paper. The experiment is a good demonstration of the pressure we are under from air. Air is all around us – pushing on everything. The ruler has a relatively small surface area, so the air pushing down on the top of it is not enough to hold it in place when you hit it.

The newspaper has a larger surface area and the force due to air pressure acts over the whole area. The result is the air holds down the paper, which holds the ruler in place. Unable to lift quickly enough when you strike the overhanging part of the ruler, it snaps in two!

Smoothing down the newspaper with your hands prior to hitting the stick is a crucially important step. You want to make certain that there is no air under the newspaper that might help it to lift up when you strike the stick.
4. SCINET – You don’t have to surf the Internet alone...

If that experiment has given you a thirst for superhero powers, and you want to learn more, then the BBC website is just the place. Check out the superhero powers of Spiderman, Wonder Woman, the X-men, Superman, Daredevil and the Incredible Hulk, here at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/superheroes/

The BBC take a look at the super-human characteristics of each of the characters named above, and tease out how their abilities relate to animal, human or technological goings-on in 'the real world' and how they relate to possible future developments in science. You can also test if you’ve got what it takes to become a superhero – pants on the outside anyone?
5. GEAR FOR GRABS – You've got to be in it to win it...

How would you protect the Batmobile if you were Batman? If you were Daredevil, how would you stop your enemies getting their hands on your cane? Or how about if you were Cyclops from the X-Men, how would you stop your visor from getting into the wrong hands?

With a Logiblocs Zapper Kit, that’s how!

By correctly assembling the electronic blocks that come with the Zapper Kit, you can make a zapper trap for your room (or piece of superhero kit!). The trap uses a light-beam so if anyone breaks that beam they will set the alarm off so no-one will enter your room without the alarm sounding! That’ll put stop to younger siblings raiding your piggy bank! At the same time the kit will teach you the different components of an electric circuit so while you’re setting traps you can also get ahead of your physics class!

To win the kit all you have to do is complete the following sentence:

‘If I had a superhero power it would be ___________________ because _______________________________________________________.

Send your entry to: randomised.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘I HAVE THE POWER’ as the subject. The best answer will be chosen on Thursday and the winner will be announced in next Friday’s Wired-Up. Good luck!
THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

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See you in seven...

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