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Showing 10 results from a total of 286

Understand issue5thomasreiter
| Issue 5

Down to Earth: interview with Thomas Reiter

Shortly before Christmas 2006, German ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter returned from the International Space Station. A month later, Barbara Warmbein asked him about his trip, the experiments he did – and how to become an astronaut.

Ages: 11-14, 14-16, 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Biology, Astronomy / space
     

Understand issue5stress
| Issue 5

Taking the stress out of engineering

Darren Hughes from the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France takes a look at stress. How can it be manipulated to make safer rails for trains or more efficient wind turbines – and what can we learn from neutron- and X-ray analysis?

Ages: 14-16, 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Chemistry, Engineering
     

Understand issue5orangutan
| Issue 5

Synchrotron light illuminates the orang-utan’s obscure origins

Paul Tafforeau from the University of Poitiers and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, explains what synchrotron X-ray studies of fossil teeth can tell us about the evolution of orang-utans – and our own origins.

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Biology
     

Understand issue5fusion
| Issue 5

Fusion in the Universe: where your jewellery comes from

Does alchemy sound too good to be true? Paola Rebusco, Henri Boffin and Douglas Pierce-Price, from ESO in Garching, Germany, describe how creating gold – and other heavy metals – is possible, though sadly not in the laboratory.

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Astronomy / space
             

Understand issue4spider silk
| Issue 4

Silken, stretchy and stronger than steel!

Could spider silk be the answer to medical and military challenges? Giovanna Cicognani from the Institut Laue-Langevin and Montserrat Capellas from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, France, investigate Christian Riekel and Tilo Seydel’s research into this remarkable material.

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Biology, Chemistry
           

Teach issue4spectometerjpg
| Issue 4

A fresh look at light: build your own spectrometer

Take a CD and a cereal box, and what do you have? With a little help from Mark Tiele Westra, your very own spectrometer! Time to explore the delights of colour, hidden in the most prosaic of objects.

Ages: 14-16, 16-19;
Topics: Physics