insulation of stacked cups
visitors this year: 47 Three plastic cups are stacked inside each other and a temperature probe placed between each cup. Before stacking the final cup hot water (take care) is poured into the middle...
Tagged: physics
insulation
visitors this year: 217 You can use a temperature sensor to study the insulating properties of materials. Two temperature sensors allow you to compare different materials at the same time. In this example two...
energy in food
visitors this year: 45 As food burns it releases energy. This energy can be used to heat up water. If you know how much water you used, and how hot it gets, you can...
data on the planets
visitors this year: 27 Datasets (files) like the one below are useful in science. There is data to analyse by drawing graphs. The file below is in a ‘CSV’ format. Open it in your spreadsheet...
tip for graphing with Excel
visitors this year: 44 Sometimes you need to graph several variables one after the other – for example, in this weather database, we plotted the daily maximum temperature against time. For clarity, we plotted...
freezing a bun or bread roll
visitors this year: 69 We scientists do the strangest of things. We wanted to see the temperature changes when you freeze and thaw things. So we took a ‘bun’ (a bread roll), placed temperature...
cart rolling down a slope
visitors this year: 331 A cart rolling down a hill certainly has energy which in turn affects its speed. But how does this speed change when you start the car off from a different...
pendulum swings or bobbing masses
visitors this year: 120 We used a turn (or position) sensor connected to the computer and recorded the swings of a pendulum made of a metal rod and a weight. We tried again this...
heating ice
visitors this year: 261 You would think that when you heat up ice that it gets warmer bit by bit. And maybe that the more you heat it the hotter it gets. Well it’s...
a cooling curve
visitors this year: 4,650 I expect that when something cools, it will get cooler in a plodding kind of way. That’s true, but when something changes state, the cooling is not so steady.The graph...
keep the house warm
visitors this year: 55 We need to keep our homes warm in cold weather. We also need to do this as economically as possible. There are several ways to insulate your home and keep...
add the milk to tea now or later?
visitors this year: 131 The dilemma is this: the telephone range as I was making tea. Should I add the milk now or 5 minutes later, after I took the call? One way of...
checking a TV remote controller
visitors this year: 102 An infrared remote control unit sends messages, using infrared ‘light’ to recorders and televisions. Point a remote controller at a light sensor and it may be able to pick up the...
why we use IT in science teaching (1994)
visitors this year: 20 Scientists need to measure and communicate, to handle information and model ideas. In essence, they need to process information. Young scientists have similar needs. When they write, draw graphs, do...
measure the speed of sound
visitors this year: 50 The speed of sound has been measured in so many ways but this version I saw my colleague Ian Galloway* demonstrate perfectly, impressed so I want to pass it on....
compare insulated drink beakers
visitors this year: 52 An investigation with insulated and un-insulated beakers – reloaded “I bought a metal mug to carry my coffee for my daily trip to the train station. But twenty minutes down...
scientist 67: the guitarist – guitar types & quality (2014)
visitors this year: 856 With many different types of guitars, we find out how much more is involved in the sound we get from various models, and whether or not this impacts on the...
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scientist 60: the astronomer – Paul Fellows explains why we do astronomy (2014)
visitors this year: 347 What is about the study of the stars that captivates so many? Paul Fellows of the Cambridge Astronomical Association fills us in and updates us on news. Hear about dark matter,...
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scientist 56: the motor vehicle development manager – Nissan LEAF electric car (2014)
visitors this year: 319 The technology behind the world’s best selling electric vehicle. Called the Nissan LEAF, it’s a car to drive across town with the thought that you’re not polluting, or adding to the traffic...
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scientist 53: the civil engineer in aerodynamics – Prof Holger Babinsky (2014)
visitors this year: 346 We find out about aerodynamics and what it involves. We meet Professor Holger Babinsky at Cambridge University Engineering Department. He talks about wind tunnels and the need for bumps on...
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scientist 52: the civil engineer – Robert Mair on Crossrail and Westminster (2014)
visitors this year: 370 Asking someone to send you an “engineer” will conjure up all sorts of people who build and fix things. But today’s show is about civil engineers. Professor Robert Mair of...
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scientist 51: the climate physicist – Tim Palmer predicts climate change (2015)
visitors this year: 322 Can we believe that the climate will change in the long term, when we can’t even predict tomorrow’s weather? Our guest Tim Palmer is a Professor in Climate Physics at...
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scientist 50: the chemical engineer – Mark Haw fluid and process engineering (2013)
visitors this year: 367 Hear about measuring the properties of materials that are not just solids or liquids or gases but are all three in one. The soil under your feet is one such material – it is...
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scientist 49: the building scientist – heat pumps and an eco-home (2012)
visitors this year: 318 Building scientist David Crowther in Cambridge explains how a heat pump, under floor heating and good insulation keep a house warm. He talks to the Science Show’s Nicola Terry 05/02/2012...
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scientist 44: the entrepreneur – water and fracking for oil and gas (2013)
visitors this year: 235 Fracking was once uneconomic, but today’s energy crisis has led to new options. As the government has issued licences to drill in the UK, there have been protests in the...
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scientist 41: the earth scientist – British Antarctic Survey and the ionosphere (2013)
visitors this year: 279 Dr Ingrid Cnossen is an earth scientist who works for the British Antarctic Survey. She studies the ionosphere, a layer of the upper atmosphere where satellites orbit the earth. Related podcasts Professor John...
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scientist 31: the science outreacher at Cambridge science centre (2012)
visitors this year: 304 The Cambridge Science Centre is a really useful educational attraction in the city centre. Founder Dr Chris Lennard tells Roger Frost what the centre aims to do for science education. The Cambridge Science Centre opened in...
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scientist 29: the eco-home builder – solar panels by Polysolar (2013)
visitors this year: 320 Pete McKeown, director of Cernunnos Homes and Hamish Watson, director of Polysolar tell Chris Creese about their special solar panels and offer some smart ideas for using solar energy. Follow-up link:...
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scientist 20: the water company – supplying a city with water (2012)
visitors this year: 289 Stephen Kay of the Cambridge Water Company talks to Nicola Terry on how the city is supplied with water. We learn about our underground source of water and an intriguing range of...
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scientist 18: the data logger company – agriculture (2012)
visitors this year: 298 Roger Frost meets Tony Peloe from Cambridge firm, Delta-T, who supply plant and environment monitoring equipment to plant growers and researchers. Follow-up link: Delta-T www.delta-t.co.uk Tagged biology, Nicola Terry, physics,...
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scientist 14: the home insulation advisor – heat loss from houses (2012)
visitors this year: 334 Nicola Terry hitches a ride on the Heatseekers vehicle in Cambridge as speaks with Dawn Morley. Dawn explains how their infra red camera is able to see where a house...
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scientist 13: the architect – Cambridge eco-homes (2012)
visitors this year: 346 Roger Frost visits a super-insulated city home that minimises its use of energy and has a garden for insulation on the roof. He talks to architect Jeremy Ashworth about the...
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scientist 12: the materials scientist – properties of materials (2012)
visitors this year: 353 Stuart Dye from Granta Design in Cambridge explains how the company help engineers choose materials to make a product. Tagged engineering, chemistry, materials, choosing, physics, Granta Design, Cambridge, Nicola Terry, Stuart Dye...
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scientist 11: the building scientist – home energy use (2012)
visitors this year: 308 Science Show reporter Nicola Terry asked a local environmental scientist Dr Ray Galvin to tell us about houses and heat loss. He offers a scientific look at ways to reduce...
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scientist 09: the statistician – choosing a university (2012)
visitors this year: 288 Looking for a place at Oxbridge? This show looks at the information available to help students make a better choice of university. Roger Frost talks to former college admissions tutor...
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scientist 05: the science teacher – writing a dictionary of science jargon
visitors this year: 389 Cambridge science teacher Dr William Hirst tells Roger Frost how learning the language of science can improve children’s success at school. Dr Hirst is the author of a science dictionary for ages...
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scientist 04: the technical specialist – mobile phone signal reception (2012)
visitors this year: 336 Chris Cox of IPACCESS in Cambourne explains to Roger Frost how mobile phones talk to radio masts; how signals decrease inside buildings and how femtocells (aka ‘small cells’) can improve a weak...
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scientist 03: the inventor – making an IR camera for art museums (2012)
visitors this year: 262 When the news told of the discovery of ‘another’ Mona Lisa, Roger Frost visited local inventor Lawrence Robinson of OPUS Instruments. He learned about the OSIRIS infra-red camera which had...
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Astronomy with Paul Fellows of Cambridge Astronomical Association + astronomy events in Cambridge
visitors this year: 161 What is about the study of the stars that captivates so many? Paul Fellows of the Cambridge Astronomical Association explains about his subject. Hear about dark matter, isotopes, space probes and the...
Choosing a guitar – 105science
visitors this year: 84 With many different types of guitars, we find out how much more is involved in the sound we get from various models, and whether or not this impacts on the...
