Royal Institute Christmas Lectures

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Norm

Guest
Great subject, presentation wasn't so hot, though. The weight lifter was distinctly under-utilised, IMO, and the dog vs hamster was way too long.

My kids thought it was great, though, and I guess they are the target audience.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Yes, thanks for the warning;we watched it and Gti Junior enjoyed it though he said he knew most of it. There were a couple of places where the flow suddenly stopped and he changed subject abruptly, which he could have avoided with better planning.
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
[QUOTE 1275544"]
Freeze flowers and then hit them with a hammer?
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Boring
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Use a u tube immersed in liquid nitorgen and a vaccum pum to pull air through the u tube to condense oxygen out of the air.

Demonstrate that liquid oxygen is pale blue.

Suspend tube of liquid oxygen from a long string and use a strong magnet to demonstrate that oxygen is paramagnetic - the tub is attracted to the magnet.

Dip a cigarette into the liquid oxygen and ignite the cigarette it burns like a thermic lance and with a purple flame.

Drop some liquid oxygen onto some cotton wool and set fire to the cotton wool which disappears in a flash in every sense of the word.

Remove a previously immersed inflated ballon from a flask of liquid nitrogen and 'inflate' it by blowing on it.

Hit a lead bell and hear the dull thud - dip it in liquid nitrogen and hit it once removed to hear it ring.

Make some rubber nails and a mercury hammer by using liquid nitrogen.

Make a coiled 'spring' with lead wire. Immerse it in the nitrogen and demonstrate the springiness and watch it disappear as it warms up.

I could go on......
 

dellzeqq

pre-talced and mighty
Location
SW2
The physics and maths behind the relationship between length, area and volume are actually pretty interesting and something that children really need to get an understanding of, however, the lecturer was under rehearsed, nervous and at times a little rambling. Lets hope he does better tomorrow.
I thought he was great! He had the kids jumping up and down!
 

Reiki_chick

New Member
Location
Bristol
I liked it that Terry Hollands was on the show - excellent reminder for my other Christmas TV favourite, World's Strongest Man. This year it's showing on Bravo rather than Channel 5.
 

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
[QUOTE 1275549"]
Hmm, no demonstration of the Messiner effect? Boring.
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Err do you mean the Meissner Effect? Apart from the "High Temperature" materials only available in a few labs one really needs Liquid Helium.
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
[QUOTE 1275553"]
I've done the School open evening circuit this year. Visited seven schools.

You do end up wanting to send the kids to the schools where the maths/english/science teachers are captivating.

One school had a Maths teacher with queues outside his door - the kids loved his "magic" tricks and kept talking to him afterwards. He had audience participation going on with those remote things and everything.

Science and PE had good teachers in most (six out of seven) of the schools I saw.
[/quote]

I despair when I see the turgid delivery of maths in most schools. It's a brave maths teacher however who takes time out from the treadmill of the national curriculum and exam courses. One of the unintended consequences of curriculum 'improvements' is the reduction of the number of opportunities to have fun. However don't be fully taken in by the bells whistles and chimes of the displays on open evenings - all that glisters is not gold.
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Indeed. Typo it is :biggrin:.

Can one make Liquid Nitrogen at home? Build oneself an appropriate fridge as it were? Stirling Engines do this for small quantities. But "playful" quantities are such fun :biggrin:

I had a contact at a local university and a well mapped out route through his department that avoided the professor's office and the security check point.

Health and safety officers would have had a fit had they known I was driving a huge spherical flask of the stuff around in my car. I took the precaution of winding the windows down to avoid suffocation though
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Norm

Guest
Tonight's one isn't improving my perceptions, but my kids, a.k.a. the target audience, are transfixed.
 
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vernon

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Part two was more interesting but there's a definite battle between entertainment and exposition.

An unintended consequence of my watching the second lecture was me watching the next program after it about building a Wellington Bomber in under 24 hours. Fascinating stuff.
 
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