• Question: what was your favourite experiment

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      Asked by anon-285637 on 8 Mar 2021. This question was also asked by anon-287539, anon-289224.
      • Photo: Paul O'Nion

        Paul O'Nion answered on 8 Mar 2021:

        I used to work in a coal analysis laboratory and did lots of hands on experiments, bubbling coal up to precipitate out sulfate was a fun one. For my outreach work I have really enjoyed things with flames! I did match stick rockets with some people which is fun. You can find that experiment on youtube but you need a parent to help.

      • Photo: Jesko Koehnke

        Jesko Koehnke answered on 8 Mar 2021:

        I think I answered that before, but your question does not restrict me to professional life. When I was a pupil I got my hands on iodine and something else (I won’t say what) and used that to make a very volatile explosive. You can (but of course shouldn’t!) sprinkle that into hallways when it is still wet and then, when people step on it/touch on it it goes bang with pink smoke. Of course, it is completely harmless and only gives people a bit if a fright if you use the correct amount.

      • Photo: Marcel Jaspars

        Marcel Jaspars answered on 9 Mar 2021:

        I remember an amazing experiment one of my lecturers showed me. He had two cylinders, one inside the other with a sticky liquid in the thin space in between (glycerol). he injected lines of blue dye into the liquid. Then he turned the inner cylinder to streak out the dye in the liquid. The next thing was the most amazing – he turned the inner cylinder in the opposite direction and remarkably, the streaky mess returned to the neat lines of dye he injected.

      • Photo: Martin McCoustra

        Martin McCoustra answered on 9 Mar 2021:

        I don’t really have a favourite experiment. However, I would say that any experiment that tells me something new about this things I’m interested in is a good experiment whether it works or not.

      • Photo: Isolda Romero-Canelon

        Isolda Romero-Canelon answered on 15 Mar 2021:

        I enjoy very much doing microscopy… in these experiments I get to see cancer cells closely. Sometimes I can even paint different sections of the cell in different colours to help me to see better whatever it is happening.

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