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Friday 29th September 2006 Issue: 57

Thank goodness for that Wired Up Friday feeling! The weekend is just around the corner and there’s still enough warmth in the air to be out and about. Much like the hordes of daddy long legs we’re seeing at the moment - more about them later.  Let’s see what’s in store.

  1. Planet Picks – got a bone to pick with someone? Try the October Quiz
  2. The Wire – The crane fly invasion
  3. Up for Grabs – Rolls-Royce fans
  4. Try This! – Find the dew point
  5. Winners – Flipside magazines
1. Planet Picks – News from the world of Planet Science…

As we head into October, it’s time for a new Planet Science quiz. Halloween is coming soon so unleash the skeletons! Yes this month’s quiz is all about skeletons, and not all of them human - so be warned. What do you know about the humble skellybob? You could win a fantastic skeleton game, glowing skeleton balloons, glowing rubber skeletons, and jelly skeletons. What are you waiting for? – get entering...

Plus don’t forget the Horrible Science quiz.  There’s still time to enter and you could win a science kit or a Measly Medicine book. Click here

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2. The Wire – Science news straight to your Inbox…

Is it just us or have you noticed all the daddy long legs around at the moment? They waft around, bouncing and bumbling towards the light and eventually get snared in a cobweb. Apparently the weather has been perfect for them this year resulting in record numbers! Not good news for all creepy crawly-haters. The bugs, also known as crane flies, were helped to breed by the hot summer, and given lots of damp leaf mulch to eat by the heavy rain which followed.

So what are they exactly? Crane flies are harmless - they are just large flies and they do not feed, bite or sting. The female lays her eggs in the ground, where the larvae, commonly called "leather jackets", survive in the damp earth and feed on vegetation.  They are a nuisance to the gardener because they cause damage by gnawing at the roots of plants. The leggy adult crane flies, sometimes referred to as "Daddy Longlegs" are very fragile and their legs have a tendency to break off if handled. Some females are wingless and can be seen on house walls in late autumn.

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3. Gear for Grabs – You’ve got to be in it to win it...

Have you heard of Rolls-Royce?  What a ridiculous question – they are famous for their cars and their engines.  But have your heard of the Rolls –Royce Science Prize? Aha! Not so well-known eh? Did you know that each year Rolls-Royce run a Science Prize which enables schools to work with scientists or engineers on a project?  So if your school has a brilliant idea for a science project and would like help to make it happen then show them this website.

Rolls-Royce Science Prize.

Rolls-Royce have given us five hand-held fans to give away.  But these are no ordinary fans – as they spin they light up giving a kaleidoscope effect. Plus the fun-factor of boasting to your friends that you’ve won a Rolls-Royce. Pause for as long as you like before adding the ‘fan’ bit.

If you’d like to win one then send us an email with your name, age and address to: wired-up.news@nesta.org.uk with ‘I’M A ROLLS-ROYCE FAN’ as the subject.

The winners will be picked at random at 5pm, on Thursday 12 October.

Good luck!

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4. Try This! – Science experiments for you to try at home...

Would dew believe it? Finding the temperature at which the air begins to form dew is a way of gauging the air’s humidity.

You will need:

  • tin can
  • thermometer
  • crushed ice
  • bowl
  • water

What to do:

  1. Half fill the bowl with crushed ice.
  2. Ensure the outside of the can is completely dry.
  3. Fill the can with cold water.
  4. Place the thermometer in the can.
  5. Add one tablespoon of crushed ice and stir.
  6. Continue adding the ice until a layer of dew is visible on the outside of the can.
  7. Immediately read the temperature on the thermometer to find the dew point temperature.
  8. If it is high (ie between 13 and 17oC) then the humidity is high also – watch out for the downpour!

What’s going on?

All air contains water vapour. As air cools (when it comes in contact with the cold can), the water vapour begins to condense. This is why glasses holding cold drinks "sweat" in the summertime. The dew point is the temperature at which moisture in the air begins to form dew. The higher the dew point temperature, the higher the moisture content of the air at a given temperature. So if the dew point is close to the current air temperature then the relative humidity is very high and it feels like a steam room!

Check here for more information on humidity and the weather.There’s a good explanation of dew point on the Isle of Wight weather station website.

For the full lowdown on weather.

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5. Winners – Has your name been picked out of the bag?

Remember issue no. 55?  We were giving away five copies of Flipside magazine.  The lucky winners are Ben Dickinson (13) from Pitsea, Patrick Bowen from Telford, Nathan Colloby (10) from Cheltenham, Christopher Davis (12) from Cowbridge and little William Joyce (5) from Preston.  Congratulations everyone! Oh they can’t hear, they’re too busy reading…

So keep entering – you never know! Next time - it could be YOU…

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THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

Got Wired-Up? Got clued up!

Don’t forget that Wired-Up will be hitting your inboxes every fortnight from now on, but in the meantime, send any questions, comments, jokes or experiment ideas to: wired-up.news@nesta.org.uk

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Bye for now!