2008 LHC Open Days Physics: the show
A host of events and activities await visitors to the LHC Open Days on 5 and 6 April. A highlight will be the physics shows funded by the European Physical Society (EPS), which are set to surprise and challenge children and adults alike!
School children use their experience of riding a bicycle to understand how planets move around the sun (Copyright : Circus Naturally)
What does a bicycle have in common with the solar system? Have you ever tried to weigh air or visualise sound? Ever heard of a vacuum bazooka? If you want to discover the answers to these questions and more then come to the Physics Shows taking place at the CERN Open Days and experience a different side of physics.
The diverse background of the creators of this exciting programme of shows reflect CERN’s status as a truly international organisation. Brought together by the EuroPhysicsFun (EPF) network, groups of students from various European countries will set up physics shows around the LHC ring. The EPF network provides a platform for these diverse initiatives to pool and exhange ideas, making it easier to forge new links and create new demonstrations, such as those at CERN on the Open Day.
Participating in the Circus Naturally show could leave a strange taste in your mouth! (Copyright : Circus Naturally)
The Rino Foundation’s experiments with liquid nitrogen can be pretty exciting! (Copyright: The Rino Foundation)
The "Circus Naturally" show explains how the physics behind riding a bicycle is the same as the physics responsible for the seasons on Earth, as well as performing other experiments explaining rotation, pressure, temperature, phase transitions and electromagnetism. If you want to see how current travels through people or what you can do with static electricity, come to the "Science Playground" where you can have a go yourself.
If you don’t know what a Rubens tube is, come to the "Fizika Ekspres" and find out more about the properties of standing waves in this fantastic display of the visualisation of sound. Other experiments will demonstrate the power of light (which can drive a suspended fan), what a vacuum bazooka is and how wireless earphones work. There will also be the opportunity to learn about the history of science in Croatia.
In the "Freezing Physics" demonstration students will show you all sorts of spectacular experiments using liquid nitrogen at about -200°C. You’ll see objects shrink, flowers shatter and materials loose all electric resistance whilst learning about the physics behind these amazing phenomena. All the experiments will be interactive - so come and get your hands dirty!
Alternatively, you can participate in the ‘Human Chain’ experiment of the "Fysikshow Aarhus". By holding hands several people form a live wire through which an electric current flows. If this current is a musical signal you can check if everybody is holding hands by listening to the music. Other experiments will explain electrodynamics and thermodynamics.
For further information, please go to http://www.cern.ch/lhc2008
"Circus Naturally" is a co-operation between physics, chemistry, geology, biology, geography and bio-chemistry and is targeted at school children aged between 11 and 16 years. Last year, 266 school classes in the area around Copenhagen, Denmark, were visited by the 45 students of Circus Naturally, who also manage the co-operative.
The Fizika Ekspres was started in 2005 as an activity of the Croatian Physical Society for the World Year of Physics. Students and/or a lecturer accompany the travelling experiments to elementary and secondary schools in cities and villages throughout Croatia (57 so far). In addition, Fizika Ekspres participated in the Week of Physics of Zagreb University.
The Rino Foundation is an initiative of Dutch physics students at Leiden University. The students travel all around the Netherlands to visit high schools, performing the "Freezing Physics" shows with liquid nitrogen.
Fysikshow Aarhus is a group of students that visit high schools and higher elementary schools to teach physics, covering areas such as electrodynamics, thermodynamics, sound and mechanics through demonstrations.
