• Question: what kind of experiments do you like doing?

    Asked by megan to Francesca, Laura, Matthew, Andrew, Rebecca on 8 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by Bethany, wiki.
    • Photo: Francesca Palombo

      Francesca Palombo answered on 8 Nov 2014:

      I love using light of different colours to ‘see through’ materials, especially biological ones, and find clues about their structure, molecules and interactions

    • Photo: Laura Schofield

      Laura Schofield answered on 8 Nov 2014:

      Hi Megan. I like all experiments! I love doing reactions that you can do with things you have in the house. Things like:
      The Magic Finger – get a saucer of water and sprinkle some ground pepper/cinnamon/anything finely grated that won’t dissolve in the water. Now get people to dip their index fingers in the water. Nothing will happen. Put a little soap on the end of your finger (liquid soap and washing up liquid work best) WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING and watch the magic happen! Only it’s not magic, it’s science…water has a really strong surface tension which means the molecules on the surface hold onto each other really tightly! That’s why pond skaters can run across water. When you put your soapy finger in the water, it breaks the surface tension so all the water molecules are free to move away from your finger and carry the powder with them.
      Elephants toothpaste – in a bottle, put a teaspoon of dried yeast, a squirt of washing up liquid and a few drops of your favourite coloured food dye. Pour in about 100 ml of hydrogen peroxide (you can get it from a pharmacy but will need an adult to make the purchase) and watch it foam!! The yeast here helps to break down the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into water and oxygen and the soap traps the oxygen gas as bubbles!
      Invisible fire extinguisher – you will need some vinegar (and quite a lot of it really – about 250 mls is best) in a jug and a few teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda. When you add the bicarbonate of soda to the vinegar, you’ll see it starts to fizz (this is because acid + metal carbonate —> metal salt + carbon dioxide + water). While it is fizzing, have an adult light a candle (tea light) in a bowl with high sides. Once the fizzing has stopped, slowly pour the GAS from the jug over the candle (NOT THE LIQUID!!) and the candle will go out. This is because fires need oxygen to burn (think of the fire triangle) and as you pour carbon dioxide over the candle, it pushes the lighter oxygen molecules out of the bowl and fills it with carbon dioxide, extinguishing the fire!

    • Photo: Matthew Camilleri

      Matthew Camilleri answered on 9 Nov 2014:

      Hey megan ,

      I love doing hands on experiments, the messier they are the better,

      In the lab there is not much I can do in this regards, but it is always fun setting up lights to shine on my reactions, especially everytime I get a new set of leds or now it seems I am evolving to flashlights as well.

      Outside of the lab I love fireworks, and I have been to firework factories in the past, mainly as a visitor but I have had the chance to build my own fireworks as well.

      During science festival I have also used a number of science experiments, most of which have been described by Laura. Another experiment I love doing with kids is the fruit battery, where you can power up a small watch via a fruit.

    • Photo: Rebecca Ingle

      Rebecca Ingle answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      Anything with a laser! These days I don’t do much pouring and stirring which people usually think of as traditional chemistry experiments (very occasionally I make up some solutions by dissolving solids in stuff like water.) However, I do spend a lot of time shooting several laser beams at liquids and gases, which can be surprisingly tricky to get right, but you can see some awesome things happen when you do.

    • Photo: Andrew McKinley

      Andrew McKinley answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      I really like doing experiments with a visible outcome – the more spectacular the better!

      Recently we did a public engagement experiment on bubble mix: who doesn’t like a bubble!? Great bubbles, plus there is *so much* you can teach with a bubble. Ever wondered why you get the rainbow colours in bubbles? It’s light at work again!

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