Other:
Vortex Machine:
Description:
Coming soon!
Science:
Coming soon!
Special Requirements:
Electricity.
Safety Procedures:
EED:
Description:
Coming soon!
Science:
Coming soon!
Special Requirements:
None.
Safety Procedures:
Entropy Enhancement Device.pdf - 10kb
Skewers through balloons:
Description:
Coming soon!
Science:
Coming soon!
Special Requirements:
None.
Superconductors:
Description:
Coming soon!
Science:
Coming soon!
Special Requirements:
None.
Nuclear Demo:
Description:
An array of pink and yellow ping-pong balls are arranged in indents at the bottom of a wardrobe sized enclosure with one wall made of clear plastic, and mirrors on the back walls. There are two yellow balls next to each pink ball. A single ping-pong ball is dropped into the enclosure via a small hole at the top. As it bounces around inside it soon hits one of the pink balls. As it does, the two yellow balls associated with that pink ball are launched into the air. These two then bounce around until they hit another pink ball, launching its yellow balls, and soon nearly all the balls are bouncing around furiously inside the enclosure. Thus a "nuclear reaction" is demonstrated.
Science:
This apparatus can actually be used to demonstrate many physical systems, but we use it primarily to demonstrate a nuclear reaction. The initial ping-pong ball represents the first neutron to enter a piece of fissile material (perhaps Uranium 238). As it encounters an unstable atom it causes it to decay into smaller atoms, and two neutrons. These neutrons then go on to encounter other unstable atoms, causing them to decay, and so the reaction grows.
Special Requirements:
This demonstration can only be performed at UQ, since it is too large to transport.
Sample Tutorial Questions:
- What other physical systems could be modelled by this apparatus?
- How is this reaction used to generate electricity, and how it is controlled (so that we don't get a nuclear explosion!)?