My daughter Olivia, who is seven, proudly calls herself a scientist. Mostly what that means is that she likes to break things open and see what’s inside.
Seeing a fantastic series of scientific experiments done as part of a holiday lecture put on by the University of Chicago Physics Department more or less confirmed her definition of science. In “Physics with a Bang!” professors Heinrich Jaeger and Sidney Nagel and their team blew up balloons filled with hydrogen, shot fire extinguishers, collapsed an industrial metal garbage can by sucking the air out of it, and used liquid nitrogen to send a second garbage can all the way to the ceiling of a two-story lecture hall.
Every explosion also taught a nice physics lesson, whether about vacuums, Newton’s Third Law, or the Laws of Thermodynamics.
In the world of academics, the career incentives are to publish academic papers, not to hold wonderful public demonstrations that excite children and adults alike about science. So in whatever small way I can via this blog post, I want to bring positive attention to professors Jaeger and Nagel (as well as the folks working in their lab) for taking the time to reach out to the broader community. (I’m not acting completely as an altruist here — I’m also hoping that some positive reinforcement will increase the likelihood of another exhibition next year.)
If you are interested in seeing more work from these professors, their Web site has an array of interesting things, including amazing photographs showing what happens when you drop a metal ball into a pile of sand. I guarantee that you will be surprised at what happens when you see it in slow motion.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
chem demos are fun too…look up bassam shakashiri.
chem demos are fun too…look up bassam shakashiri.
“break things open and see what’s inside.” Isn’t that how most professional scientists got started? Fun for kids and encouraging for the future. Bad for parents to have to keep buying new things to break open. In the end, though, I’m in favor of anything that gets kids excited about science. Thanks for highlighting this program!!
“break things open and see what’s inside.” Isn’t that how most professional scientists got started? Fun for kids and encouraging for the future. Bad for parents to have to keep buying new things to break open. In the end, though, I’m in favor of anything that gets kids excited about science. Thanks for highlighting this program!!
The University of Minnesota has a GREAT Physics outreach program as well. I don’t believe they have a huge web-presence, but their presentations are fantastic.
The University of MN program is called the Physics Force.
Physics isn’t dry. At times, due to electromagnetic-charge effects you could address some items that are hydrophobic. Never dry;) It Is Always Good.
Have a good one.
The University of Minnesota has a GREAT Physics outreach program as well. I don’t believe they have a huge web-presence, but their presentations are fantastic.
The University of MN program is called the Physics Force.
Physics isn’t dry. At times, due to electromagnetic-charge effects you could address some items that are hydrophobic. Never dry;) It Is Always Good.
Have a good one.
Smashing things together requires at least an honorary mention of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that is going to be turned on this year.
Building a huge tunnel, having tiny particles accelerated to close to the speed of light by massive magnets (cooled with liquid helium), then smashed together… how awesome is that?
Smashing things together requires at least an honorary mention of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that is going to be turned on this year.
Building a huge tunnel, having tiny particles accelerated to close to the speed of light by massive magnets (cooled with liquid helium), then smashed together… how awesome is that?