Geneva in London!

Around Christmas last year I went to the science museum with my Dad to visit the Hadron Collider exhibition there and it was really good! Actually probably the best exhibition I've ever been to and better than the museum in Geneva! The exhibition had the perfect balance of bits to read with bits read to you and was pitched at a really good level. I found it very interesting and my Dad could still follow it. It was exciting! We got free badges! We took selfies! And of course I got to feel all clever when I recognised an equation of two, that were mostly on the wall for decoration, and explained what they meant to my Dad!

I remember really enjoying the quote from Paul Dirac: 'In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone , something that noone ever knew before. But in the case of poetry, it's the exact opposite'. And quite ironically that sentence is poetic in itself!

It is slightly embarassing for CERN that this was so much better but then this year the group visiting from Nottingham were allowed down into the tunnels and I think that would have made the trip more worthwhile. This was my post about my visit.

At the science museum we also had time to look at the 3D printing exhibits and I was really impressed with the wide range of applications for this technology. It was something I had heard of but not really considered before, it seems so futuristic!

Royal Society Summer Exhibition 2014!

A biologist, a skeleton and the coolest person
ever and another skeleton

I put this week in my diary a few weeks ago, I was determined not to miss the exhibition this year! I didn't get as much free stuff as last time but I think I was just particularly lucky last time... I still learnt lots of things though! And I can't think of a better place to catch up with a nerdy friend. Conveniently my friend is a biologist so I could pretend we only went to the biology exhibits for her - actually being interested in biology would just be embarrassing ;)

One exhibit was about 3D photography. They're developed a flash system that you add on to a normal camera and it quickly takes a series of photos and uses the shadows to create a 3D image. Maybe in a few years I'll be taking my holiday  pictures in 3D? There's more information here, it's interesting because it's so different to 3D techniques currently used.

Next we spoke to a lady about ionic solvents. I was drawn over to the stall about it said that they could be used to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. This is because they can act as a base and so readily absorb acidic CO2. Whats special about ionic solvents is that they are inflammable so we can use them in large quantities without the huge safety risks. They also work at lower temperatures and smaller timescales so have a wide range of applications replacing the many solvents currently used in industry.

We learnt about the antibiotics used by ants and the growing need to develop more antibiotics as bacteria become resistant. We got free stickers and sweets from here too! There were real ants too but just looking at them made me feel all itchy!

The last stall we had time for was the one called 'catch a comet'. An excited physicist explained to use about a 10 year mission to land a spacecraft on a comet. It will collect data about the particles in the comets tail and get a core sample. Actually this blog post should serve as a reminder to check what they've found by the end of August! I got a poster for my wall!

European space agency!

Last Christmas I went on the Physsoc trip to Amsterdam! And like the stereotypical physicist, I didn't go to Amsterdam to party or experiment with recreational drugs, no, I went to visit the European space agency!

Pretending to get my hand radiated?

Handstand on the moon!

Shuttle hat

Like my trip to Geneva I can honestly say I had the best time. The 10 hour coach journey wasn't amazing but you soon forget that!

I'd love to tell you all the things I learnt here but I'm not sure it was a particularly educational trip... I just remember having fun with the interactive stuff and being impressed by the size of it all!

The trip that happened

We went for a day of lectures about a week ago and I really really enjoyed it! The plan was to write about it straight away but I was too tired! I wrote this before I went and I can conclude that it wasn't a disappointment!
They shuffled the order though so I was totally unprepared for Simon to be first! His talk was all about the big bang which I already knew most of but there is no doubt about it, he is a brilliant speaker. he had this funny mathematical proof that proves that the teletubies must be evil. Making the teletubies takes time and money so:

Teletubies = Time x Money

It is often said that time is money so if Time = Money when you substitute you get

Teletubies = Money squared

It is also said that money is the root of all evil so when you substitute the square root of evil into the equation you get that

Teletubies = Evil

This was to demonstrate that without experiments then you get some very strange theories...

Next was a talk all about plastic electronics and its potential with screens to have flexible phones and all sorts. This wasn't the best presentation but it was a very interesting topic with a lot of practical applications such as messages on police jacket and skin replacements (like a plaster with a skin image on) and electronic wallpaper (which would be incredible because you could change it every day, it could have a scene from your holiday or play a video of your favourite band like an actual concert!)

Then came a talk called 'Newton at the Olympics' and was all about the physics of sport which involves looking at the way the body works (in a mechanical way) and developing techniques and equipment to allow the best performance - although a lot of these developments are then banned from competitions.... I have to be honest , I am not a sporty person so I wasn't expecting much from this talk but it was really interesting and I learnt a lot of things I wouldn't have ordinarily have thought about.

Next was a senior examiners talk all about exam technique and mostly it was the usual thing about highlighters and writing out the data you know. But he also spoke about closing the loop which is a technique I will try next test (basically read the question before and after answering). He also spoke about how a test is a 'walk in the garden of physics' and although it seems a slightly eccentric idea I quite like it!

Next was the DJ physics and when I spoke before about looking forward to seeing sound set on fire I wasn't disappointed! There was a tube of gas with holes in so there were lots of little flames when it was set alight. Then he played a song down the tube and the sound waves created a pressure difference in the tube which displayed a standing wave pattern with the flames! Actual amazing!! And now when I hear a song I can't help but listen for the beats and imagine the pattern in frequency space... Although I've probably get it wrong in my head because he tested us on a few and I was rubbish!

Finally was a talk about 'Quantum Magic' and although the presenter was quite cringe worthy it was a genuinely enjoyable presentation. At the end I was totally frustrated because I cannot understand quantum entanglement and superposition... I mean something cannot be in more than one place at one time!! It just can't... But it is... But it can't... Ah, its making me tired again!! He also told us about his blog which I really like, particularly the name!

Can't wait for tomorrow!

I have a physics trip tomorrow! I have to admit that some my excitement for this is the fact that I get a day off school. I don't know what it is but recently I've lost my enthusiasm for lessons etc.... But then most of my excitement is due to the fact that it'll mean a whole day of physics! Whats not to be excited about? Except that there are year 12 students coming who think that they are 'cool'... I hope it isn't too awkward!!

The first lecture is 'How can light devices be heavy' which looks like its all about light technology which should be pretty good!

The second is the one I'm most looking forward to! It is called Big Bang by Simon Singh!! He's like actual famous and I started reading his book called Fermats theorem but even though it was a really good book I haven't finished it yet... But it is a really good book! And he knows Brian!!!!! Plus the big bang is an interesting topic

The third is all about the physics of sport with links to the Olympics which is nice and relevant as well as super exciting since the Olympics are getting nearly here and they are so close to home!

Next comes the lecture that they pretty much have in every lecture series which is a talk about exams... Boooooooring... But maybe useful? Maybe....

The next one should be really good though, it is called DJ physics and by Martin Archer a Physicist DJ from Imperial College and Kiss Fm! The little paragraph that comes with it says 'along the way he'll turn sound into fire and guide you fearlessly thorough uncharted frequency space' -- Oh my goodness, how good does that sound??

The final one is called 'real magic or quantum magic' which should be brilliant so long as I can still focus, I'm going to be exhausted after all this! Although I seem to have had quite a bit of practise of this kind of thing.

I really really really hope this is going to be as good as it feels like it will be!

Diamond Light

I started planning my personal statement (when I say 'plan' I basically mean a scruffy spider diagram!) and I remembered going to the Diamond Light Accelerator in Oxford on a school trip earlier this year. I suddenly realised I had never blogged about it because it was before all of this started so here is the post about 9 months too late but at least I got it done before my 100th post (which I am super excited about by the way! So excited I have no idea what to say in it to make it absolutely brilliant... SUCH a lot of pressure!!)

Anyway so this was another one of those trips that I loved so much that I was grinning from ear to ear which by now my parents are totally used to but at the time it was quite out of the ordinary. It was really interesting but the only downside was that the accelerator was absolutely massive and we did so much walking I was completely exhausted by the end! The storage ring is 561m in circumference, of course not as big as the CERN accelerator but they have different uses so this doesn't affect the work here.

I learnt quite a lot - for example a switch might look like an ordinary light switch but sometimes it is in fact a switch that could turn off the entire accelerator. The accelerator had an incredibly number of safety features! Another is that to be working in such an amazing place you have to give a lot. That includes extra shifts every time the accelerator shuts down, work very hard at solving problems, working late into the night and making colleagues your new family.

It is my understanding that the accelerator basically shoot electrons so fast they give off a light. This light is used for looking at things better than we normally can. The research facility is non-profit and it is very competitive for researcher to get time with the beams.

I had a look at the kind of Physics that the facility has helped develop but I have to admit I struggled to understand any of it and got a little scared so I can't explain but they do a lot of things which have a lot of practical uses for many industries, here's the link if you want to know more!

Even though this was quite a while ago, the trip has stayed with me! There were a few embarrassing memories form the trip but I wouldn't change anything - it was great! Except I would take pictures, if only I knew I would need them for a post in the future!!

Day In London!!

Since this was our week in London, after the academy my friend and I went to the Royal Society Science Exhibition and it was A-MAAAZZZ-ZING!!! I'm not even exaggerating! It was incredible, I was buzzing when I got home and I still give the biggest smile whenever I remember bits of it!

We got a lot of free things! Including 8 badges (I have to start a collection now!) and a few things to add to my wall which I will post about later. On one of the stands we made Graphene (one layer of graphite) and looked at it under a microscope which in itself was very cool. I haven't really seen such a high tech microscope before so I was impressed anyway but then we were awarded a Nobel price (aka a giant chocolate coin) for our work!

My personal favourite form our collection of freebies were the physicist top trumps! They are extremely cool and I could literally feel myself glowing from the second we got them! There isn't one for Nikola though so I will be making a few extra at some point, even though they are technically supposed to be particle Physicists.

I won't tell you about all the different stands because it was amazing and you really have to go yourself. Everything was so interactive and the exhibition staff were extremely interesting and helpful. I wish I could have spend longer there and I will definitely be returning next year!

However I do have to tell you a couple of things! At school recently we have been doing medical Physics and this has included some work on endoscopes. At the exhibition I got to use an endoscope!! I was moving a gear stick type thing around and I could see on a screen where I was going and next to me I could see a real life endoscope moving inside a plastic heart. And the endoscope has sensors so that it will not allow you to go too far and puncture a hole in the heart - I felt it stop me, this is something you just don't get from a textbook!

I actually really enjoyed the Biology stalls too! Especially one about colour (I never knew flowers have UV to attract Bees) and another about how Bats spread disease.

As a rule of thumb I always feel that any trip that involves almost being hit in the face several times due to over excited hand gesticulation, is a good one! We had particularly enthusiastic speakers at the particle Physics and the Aurora stands. Actually that was another cool thing, I saw an Aurora simulation which involved magnets in a vacuum and I was really impressed by that!

On the way back we stopped of at M and M world which was so big and 'normal people awesome' I was blown away! I bought a box of M and M's which had 22 different flavour (I checked, I definitely have 22!) and they are yummy!