Begbroke Nano Teachers’ Day

An introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology What is a nanoparticle? A nanoparticle is a particle between 1 and 100 nanometres in size. In nanotechnology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit with respect to its transport and properties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanoparticle Nanoparticles have been around a long time having first […]

Begbroke Nano Teachers’ Day

Begbroke Science Park The day’s activities took place at Begbroke Science Park and they were brilliantly coordinated by Dr Vanessa Cheel and Dr Christiane Norenberg. If you are an interested teacher they are running the course again in 2015: 5 March 2015 & 15 July 2015 I can thoroughly recommend this course whatever your specialism […]

Teachers Day at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 2014

The Role of Physics in Nuclear Medicine Dr Laura Harkness-Brennan University of Liverpool http://ns.ph.liv.ac.uk/imaging-group/group-members/laura-harkness.php Medical Imaging Creating images of inside the body Used in a non-invasive way to diagnose structural and biological problems There are various established techniques used in hospitals • Radiography • MRI • Ultrasound • Nuclear imaging • Physics, engineering, biology, chemistry, […]

Teachers Day at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 2014

Tour of ISIS http://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISIS_neutron_source Scott Lawrie, who is involved in research using ISIS, kindly, took us around. The reason for the microphone was because the noise made it. This is what he had to say about his job at ISIS: I work for the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) on the ISIS […]

Teachers Day at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 2014

Nuclear Energy – The Facts Behind The Fuss John Roberts School of Physics & Astronomy The University of Manchester Nuclear Energy http://www.edfenergy.com/energy/power-stations/sizewell-b http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizewell_nuclear_power_stations Sizewell B is a nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast. It is the UK’s only Pressurised Water Reactor. Its construction began in 1988 and it started generating electricity in 1995.It is […]

Teachers Day at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 2014

Cloud Chambers and Cool Dry Ice A workshop overseen by Gary Williams at the IOP http://iopscience.iop.org/0031-9120/page/Gary%20Williams%20interview In this workshop we had a go at making a large cloud chamber and looked at safe radioactive sources. We were given information on obtaining and using dry ice. About dry ice Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide which […]

Teachers Day at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory July 2014

Cauldrons in the Cosmos David Jenkins Department of Physics University of York With thanks to Brian Fulton, York and Marialuisa Aliotta, Edinburgh In search of the building blocks of the Universe There is a saying that we are all stardust because all the elements that make up the known matter in the Universe, including us, […]

Teachers Day at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 2014

The course focused on curriculum linked topics in nuclear physics such as nuclear astrophysics, nuclear medicine and nuclear energy, and was presented by researchers active in these fields. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) employs over 2,200 staff over seven locations: Swindon, Head Quarters; Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, which is part of the […]

A level Biology activities June 2014

Volunteering The first lesson after the AS exams was a surprise to the AS biology students as they were to be volunteers in a research project for the University of Hertfordshire, Pharmacology Department. The bottom line was it didn’t hurt! The top line was it was fun and, most importantly, the findings could be useful […]

Year 12 physics students at Thorpe Park 2014

You might think that physics is all about boring things like electricity but it is important for fun things like animations and thrill rides such as those at Thorpe Park. Year 12 were very lucky to spend the day experiencing the rides and took part in a science workshop which looked at the physics behind […]