Journal marclar's Journal: Bringing fun into science
http://www.rdmag.com/ShowPR~PUBCODE~014~ACCT~1400000100~ISSUE~0804~RELTYPE~PR~ORIGRELTYPE~EDNT~PRODCODE~00000000~PRODLETT~GK.html
April 15, 2008
Bringing fun into science
A team of European scientists has deliberately triggered electrical activity in thunderclouds for the first time. At the top of South Baldy Peak, N.M., during two passing thunderstorms, the researchers used laser pulses to create plasma filaments that could conduct electricity. No air-to-ground lightning was triggered because the filaments were too short-lived, but the laser pulses generated discharges in the thunderclouds themselves up to several meters long.
So basically, a bunch of scientists were standing at the top of a mountain, shooting lasers into clouds, just to see what happened. While this research has real-world applications (triggering lightning strikes is an important tool for basic and applied research), it also sounds like lots of fun. Who wouldn't want to shoot lasers at stuff in the name of science, just to see what would happen?
More kids would be interested in science if it was fun for them, so we need to bring fun into the science classroom. My high school physics teacher made physics fun by letting us run toy trains up and down the halls to measure velocity, acceleration, and momentum. We had a contest to see which student could build the best container to absorb the impact from a two-story fall so a raw egg inside the container would remain intact. We sprinted up and down those same two flights of stairs to see who could generate the most horsepower. Not only did Mr. Z make learning fun, but by actually seeing science in action as opposed to just reading and solving equations from a textbook, we were able to better grasp the concepts of physics and how it all worked in the real world.
Now I'm not recommending that we just let kids shoot lasers at anything they want (or scientists for that matter), but by making science fun, we can encourage a whole new generation of scientists.
April 15, 2008
Bringing fun into science
A team of European scientists has deliberately triggered electrical activity in thunderclouds for the first time. At the top of South Baldy Peak, N.M., during two passing thunderstorms, the researchers used laser pulses to create plasma filaments that could conduct electricity. No air-to-ground lightning was triggered because the filaments were too short-lived, but the laser pulses generated discharges in the thunderclouds themselves up to several meters long.
So basically, a bunch of scientists were standing at the top of a mountain, shooting lasers into clouds, just to see what happened. While this research has real-world applications (triggering lightning strikes is an important tool for basic and applied research), it also sounds like lots of fun. Who wouldn't want to shoot lasers at stuff in the name of science, just to see what would happen?
More kids would be interested in science if it was fun for them, so we need to bring fun into the science classroom. My high school physics teacher made physics fun by letting us run toy trains up and down the halls to measure velocity, acceleration, and momentum. We had a contest to see which student could build the best container to absorb the impact from a two-story fall so a raw egg inside the container would remain intact. We sprinted up and down those same two flights of stairs to see who could generate the most horsepower. Not only did Mr. Z make learning fun, but by actually seeing science in action as opposed to just reading and solving equations from a textbook, we were able to better grasp the concepts of physics and how it all worked in the real world.
Now I'm not recommending that we just let kids shoot lasers at anything they want (or scientists for that matter), but by making science fun, we can encourage a whole new generation of scientists.
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