So, this Thursday we had our very last SPICE show of the year, which fortunately was in the Chemistry building, so we didn't have to go anywhere. Unfortunately, I was kind of an idiot that day. Everything was going pretty well up until I started to do a couple of demos with liquid nitrogen. For anyone that doesn't know, liquid N2 is extremely cold, and could easily give you frost bite in a second or two. I was trying to pour some into a flask, and I forgot to warn the kids in the front row not to touch it if it spilled on the floor, which of course some kids tried to do. Luckily, no one got hurt doing that. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of my stupidity. We do another demo with N2 where we freeze a raquetball and then smash it. I kind of did it quickly and without much warning, sending shards of extremely cold rubber into the crowd. Again, I got very lucky in that no one was hit in the eye, but a few kids tried to touch the rubber too quickly, and we heard a few "Ow's" before we were able to get them to stop trying until they thawed out a little bit. I finished the show without any more major issues, but it still made me a little nervous the whole time.
What a way to end the year on a good note...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Jumpstart for Kindergarteners
Last Saturday, I went with about 5 of my fellow SPICE members to go do a demo show for some kindergarteners at Brittingham Park here in Madison. For any of you who weren't paying attention, Saturday was not ideal weather for doing things outside; it was cold and really windy. As a result, we had to scramble at the last minute to figure out what we could possibly do outside when its windy. We really can't do anything with balloons or explosions since everything would fly away.
To top it all off, we even had trouble finding out where to go. Brittingham Park extends for quite a ways around the lake, and there are two pavilion-like buildings at each end, so we spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to go. When we finally did figure it out, there were only six kids there. Apparently most of the parents decided to keep their kids at home that day due to the weather (a very good choice in my opinion).
Overall, however, it still turned out pretty well. We did all the demos we could, and it took a lot less time than we had expected, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. They really liked the stuff we did with liquid nitrogen the most - it looks kind of scary when the "smoke" starts coming towards you. This was also a good day to train a few of the newbies to the group. They all did a good job, but they did tend to give explanations of the demos that were way over the kids' heads. Nobody was maimed or killed, so it was still a good day.
To top it all off, we even had trouble finding out where to go. Brittingham Park extends for quite a ways around the lake, and there are two pavilion-like buildings at each end, so we spent a lot of time trying to figure out where to go. When we finally did figure it out, there were only six kids there. Apparently most of the parents decided to keep their kids at home that day due to the weather (a very good choice in my opinion).
Overall, however, it still turned out pretty well. We did all the demos we could, and it took a lot less time than we had expected, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. They really liked the stuff we did with liquid nitrogen the most - it looks kind of scary when the "smoke" starts coming towards you. This was also a good day to train a few of the newbies to the group. They all did a good job, but they did tend to give explanations of the demos that were way over the kids' heads. Nobody was maimed or killed, so it was still a good day.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Picnic
OK, so science isn't infallible. We (SPICE) recently did a demo show at the Engineering Centers building recently, where, instead of the normal audience of elementary and middle school students, we did a show for high schoolers. When you're used to doing a show for young kids, it seems really stupid for older ones.
To try to counter this, we tried our fanciest and most complicated demos, along with the detailed explanations for how everything works to try to get at least some people's attention. As luck would have it, nothing worked as planned. Some of our best demos simply wouldn't work and when you're trying to do a show in front of a huge group of people, you can't help but feel like a huge idiot.
All problems aside, we finally had our club's spring picnic at Vilas Park today. It was a great way to relax and wear off some tension a little bit (and get some sunburn too) before these last few weeks where we'll have nothing to do but projects and studying for exams.
To try to counter this, we tried our fanciest and most complicated demos, along with the detailed explanations for how everything works to try to get at least some people's attention. As luck would have it, nothing worked as planned. Some of our best demos simply wouldn't work and when you're trying to do a show in front of a huge group of people, you can't help but feel like a huge idiot.
All problems aside, we finally had our club's spring picnic at Vilas Park today. It was a great way to relax and wear off some tension a little bit (and get some sunburn too) before these last few weeks where we'll have nothing to do but projects and studying for exams.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
More Hell
Following the same pattern as last time, I figured I'd find some more humorous things about science. Mainly, I'm just really stressed about exams and projects, and I need some way to keep myself from going [more] insane.
I thought the answer the student gave in the hell story was really creative, so I wanted to find more of the same kind of thing. Here's a few answers to some science questions that I've been able to find online:
Some 11 year old's answers on science tests:
"The moon is a planet just like the earth, only it is even deader."
"Artifical insemination is when the farmer does it to the cow instead of the bull."
"Dew is formed on leaves when the sun shines down on them and makes them perspire."
"The body consists of three parts- the brainium, the borax and the abominable cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abominable cavity contains the bowls, of which there are five - a, e, i, o, and u."
"The pistol of a flower is its only protection against insects."
"Germinate: To become a naturalized German."
More examples of funny test answers:
I just wish I had the guts to do this kind of stuff myself.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Hell
Science can explain how a lot of things work in the world, but can it be used to tell whether hell is endothermic or exothermic?
OK, so this isn't really about my lab or SPICE, but it's related to science, so I figure that's close enough. I heard this one a long time ago, and it's one of my favorite stories that, as far as I know, is true.
Enjoy:
OK, so this isn't really about my lab or SPICE, but it's related to science, so I figure that's close enough. I heard this one a long time ago, and it's one of my favorite stories that, as far as I know, is true.
Enjoy:
Dr. Schlambaugh, a senior lecturer at the Chemical Engineering Department,University of Oklahoma, is known for posing questions on final exams like: "Why do airplanes fly?"
In May a few years ago, the "Momentum, Heat and Mass Transfer " exam paper contained the question:
"Is Hell exothermic or endothermic? Support your answer with proof."
Most students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law or similar. One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we must postulate that if souls exist, they must have some mass. If they do, then a mole of souls also must have a mass. So, at what rate are souls moving into hell and at what rate are souls leaving? I think we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it does not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for souls entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some religions say that if youare not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions, and people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls go toHell. With the birth and death rates what they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change in the volume of Hell. Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the ratio of the mass of the souls and volume needs to stay constant.
[Answer 1] So, if Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature in Hell willincrease until all Hell breaks loose.
[Answer 2] Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase in souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressurewill drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it? If we accept the postulate (given to me by Teresa Banyan during freshman year) that "it'll be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you", and taking into account that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then [Answer 2] cannot be correct; ...... thus, Hell is exothermic.
The student got the only A.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
PCR
Ok, for anybody who has had any doubts that I am NOT a complete nerd, you're wrong, and here's the proof. This is a promotional video from a company called BioRad that makes all sorts of different kinds of lab equipment, including PCR machines. PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a method to exponentially amplify a sample of DNA. It's used a lot to help in crime scenes, since they can use a tiny DNA sample like a few skin cells or a hair and amplify it, and then possibly get a suspect.
I've never actually performed PCR myself, but I still work in a lab, and I find this to be really funny, but like I said, I am a nerd.
As a side note, I think the old guy who sings in here is actually the inventor of PCR.
I've never actually performed PCR myself, but I still work in a lab, and I find this to be really funny, but like I said, I am a nerd.
As a side note, I think the old guy who sings in here is actually the inventor of PCR.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Slime
Whenever SPICE goes out and does a "family science night" show at a local elementary show, it usually requires some sort of hands-on type of experiment for kids to do. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is for the kids to make some slime. It's easy, quick, fun, and o so messy, which everyone except the parents love.
We usually do two or three different types of slimes, which is a great way to teach kids about polymers (long chains of molecules), and how lots of different things are made of them, like clothing and plastics.
One type of slime is the kind that most people usually made during elementary or middle school. All you do is get some borax (a detergent) at the store, mix it with some water to dissolve it, and then mix in some Elmer's glue. This one is really easy and cheap, and kids can put in a few drops of food coloring and put it in a bag to take home.
One of my favorite "slimes" is just cornstarch and water. (2 parts cornstarch to one part water). If you watch Mythbusters like I do, they did this one on their show. When you mix it in the right ratio, you get a mixture that is liquid when you pour it or let it rest, but when you apply a force to it (poke it, stir it, etc) it acts like a solid. Its not really a polymer, but what happens is that the starch molecules are very large and branched, so when you apply force, the molecules are shoved together and they can't move past each other, so the mixture acts like a solid. If you don't apply force, the molecules are able to slowly move past each other, so the mixture looks like a liquid.
Try it!
We usually do two or three different types of slimes, which is a great way to teach kids about polymers (long chains of molecules), and how lots of different things are made of them, like clothing and plastics.
One type of slime is the kind that most people usually made during elementary or middle school. All you do is get some borax (a detergent) at the store, mix it with some water to dissolve it, and then mix in some Elmer's glue. This one is really easy and cheap, and kids can put in a few drops of food coloring and put it in a bag to take home.
One of my favorite "slimes" is just cornstarch and water. (2 parts cornstarch to one part water). If you watch Mythbusters like I do, they did this one on their show. When you mix it in the right ratio, you get a mixture that is liquid when you pour it or let it rest, but when you apply a force to it (poke it, stir it, etc) it acts like a solid. Its not really a polymer, but what happens is that the starch molecules are very large and branched, so when you apply force, the molecules are shoved together and they can't move past each other, so the mixture acts like a solid. If you don't apply force, the molecules are able to slowly move past each other, so the mixture looks like a liquid.
Try it!
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