Science Week Activities at the Cavendish Laboratory

Sunday 16th March 2008

2pm-5pm: Physics Zone: Hands-on Physics (suitable for all ages)

Participate in popular demonstrations of physics in action. Try to walk in a straight line on our wobbly bridge and make a science toy to take home. Use your toy to take part in a physics experiment. Cambridge University Spaceflight will be hosting a rocket building workshop where children and adults alike can try their hand at building and flying an air-powered rocket. If the winds are favourable there will also be a launch of a high altitutde helium baloon. See CHaOS and much more!

2pm-5pm: Experiments from Lab-in-a-Lorry (suitable for all ages)

Sponsored by the Institute of Physics and the Cavendish Laboratory
Stimulating demonstrations of Physics, which reveal the beauty of the world and the power of scientific understanding - all relevant to everyday life. www.labinalorry.org.

2pm-5pm: Astronomy Roadshow Planetarium (suitable for all ages)

Sponsored by the East Anglia Branch of the Institute of Physics
Explore the wonders of the night sky. Learn about vast scale of space, the stars and the solar system. The shows are interactive, lively, up-to date with links to the internet and all scientifically accurate and fully tested!

2pm-5pm: Nanotechnology: the TINY world of science (Hands on, drop in, all ages)

Nanotechnology could help fight disease, power faster computers and produce renewable energy. Used in stain-resistant clothing and self-cleaning windows, see the possibilities when working with materials 50 - 80,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.

2pm - 5pm: "Zooming in on the Universe: The Large Hadron Collider" (Suitable for all ages)

Control sub-atomic particles and detect cosmic rays as part of the celebrations to mark this year's launch of the biggest particle physics experiment ever.

2.30pm-3.30pm: "In synchrony: why things hang together".
Talk by Professor Peter Littlewood (suitable for ages 12+). Venue: Pippard Lecture Theatre

Spontaneous synchronisation is at the heart of many natural phenomena. Your heartbeat is maintained because cells contract in a synchroneous wave, some species of cicadas avoid predators by synchronising their emergence to repeat in a cycle of prime number years. Unplanned synchrony can lead to wobbly bridges or epileptic seizures. Quantum synchronisation is responsible for lasers, superconductors, and is the accepted theory - the Higgs mechanism - for the existence of mass in the universe. This lecture, with demonstrations, will explore some of the wide range of synchronisation phenomena from the quantum to the classical world.

The above events will take place at the Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE. Parking is available on site. For further details please contact:- Helen Marshall, Teaching Office, Cavendish Laboratory. Tel: 01223 765798/337200, Email: hm328 "at" cam.ac.uk.

Some images from previous Science Week activities at the Cavendish Laboratory.

(Created by L Hope, 11.03.08)