woodchurch science

here is the reource material for 18.6.08 engineering fortnight one day project for year 8 form 8yn

this project is for the whole morning
you can choose as many as you wish
you could do all…or just one…but all must be done in one morning (there ‘might’ be some time later on but don’t bank on it). get it done by lunchtime.

use these links as part of your research
what is soap? google search
history of soapmaking google search
the story of port sunlight google search
william lever and lever brothers google search
pears soap google search
research into soap prices at local supermarkets tesco asda sainsburys
design a survey to find out about peoples tastes in personal care products.
design a new logo for ’soap ‘a’ sonic’
here’s the current one:

try to answer these questions: what is soap? look at the history of soapmaking, what is and how does ’saponification’ work, the story of port sunlight village, the life of william lever and lever brothers, the pears soap story, ivory ‘floating soap’, do some research into soap prices at local supermarkets, how are soap powders made? what’s the difference between ‘ariel’ and ‘persil’? what do proctor and gamble ltd do? how much do soap powders cost at local supermarkets?

lots to choose from…lots to do…now get cracking

australian researchers have designed a bra with sensors built into the fabric giving a more comfortable experience for women. exercising wearing a poorly-fitting bra can raise the risk of long-term injury. the findings, in the journal of biomechanics, may allow more accurate laboratory analysis of breast movement during exercise.
and who says physics is boring?

your mission is to construct robots which can successfully collect precious golden cubes scattered about a variety of hostile zones. robots must be able to navigate their way around each zone to collect the gold cubes while at the same time avoiding hazards and making sure they’ve enough energy by periodically recharging or refuelling. play here at channel 4’s excellent science site. robot constructor.

please contact mrs moulton if you want to get involved with this years robotics project. geoff (the robot) needs rebuilding!

what is nanotechnology?
it’s a broad term used when referring to any science or technology that manipulates things at the atomic level, measured in nanometres. it comprises a diverse collection of fields, touching on biology, medicine, computing, materials, manufacturing, physics and many others.

what’s so good about nanotechnology?
the central theory of nanotechnology is that almost anything that doesn’t contradict the laws of physics can be built atom by atom by scientists. it was first introduced in 1959 by richard feynmann. a key understanding of nanotechnology is that it offers not just better products, but a vastly improved means of production. scientists believe that one day manufacturing will be as easy and cheap as copying computer files. that is why it is sometimes seen as the next industrial revolution.

how big is a nanometre?
a nanometre is one billionth of a metre. for example the width of a human hair is approximately 80,000 nanometres and human fingernails grow roughly one nanometre per second. a nanometre sized particle is also smaller than a living cell and can be seen only with the most powerful microscopes available today.

what is the difference between microtechnology and nanotechnology?
aside from the obvious difference in scale (nanoscale is one to three orders of magnitude smaller than the microscale), nanotechnology is based on the principles of quantum physics, which means different laws of physics apply in the nanoscale.

what is molecular nanotechnology?
it is the concept of building machines out of precisely designed molecules. most nanotech research occurs in this field,

what are the current uses of nanotechnology?
there are numerous products available to industry and consumers today which benefit from nanotechnology. most computer hard drives on the market today depend on nano-thin layers of magnetic materials to increase their storage capacity. nanomaterials are also used to produce anti-scratch surfaces and paints, protective and glare-reducing coatings for glasses and cars, several kinds of cosmetics and stain-free clothing.

how will nanotechnology affect our lives in the future?
the first major improvement will be in manufacturing techniques. due to the precision of working in the atomic scale manufacturers would have a better understanding of the building of things and greater flexibility in the types and quantities to build. consequently the cost of manufacturing would decrease significantly. in medicine the expected applications of nanotechnology are dramatic: machines would be able to travel through blood vessels, cleaning arteries or repairing damaged tissue from the inside. ‘nanobots’ could also be used as a helping hand against cancer cells or infections.

any other questions? please ask at the comments link.

a british-led team of scientists has won eu approval to seek to make nuclear fusion, the physicist’s dream, a reality. nuclear fusion has the potential to solve the world’s energy crisis with carbon-neutral technology by harnessing the process that drives the sun. so far, decades of research have generated little more than hype. the energy needed to stoke the vast temperatures at which such reactions can occur still outweighs the energy they produce, and supposed breakthroughs such as “cold fusion” have turned out to be false dawns. physicists joke that they have been predicting the technology is “30 years away” for the past 30 years. read more here. to read how nuclear fusion works you could also visit this site.

36 pupils attended a full day of science sessions aimed at boosting sats levels from 4 to 5. many did datalogging for the first time, collecting temperature, light, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide levels using pasport dataloggers. leaflets were handed out, copies of which are available here.

woodchurch were one of nine schools across the country, who were selected as winners for the rolls-royce science prize for the years 2006-2007, and that was out of over 300 applications. we were given an immediate grant of £5000, to get our project ‘up and running’. with that money, we bought a 18 servo robot, called geoff, all the necessary tools and equipment to help create our robot, a laptop especially for robotics and with £1,500 of the money, we paid for all supply covering costs. in june of 2007, we find out whether or not we have won an extra £15,000 to expand and develop our project further, and to help facilitate our future needs. also if we win, we will have a day out with the red arrows, and we will also have a trip to the rolls-royce major factory, where they develop air-craft engines. You can get more information about the project here. you can also meet the team in their own video clip.

we need a photo of geoff!!

flue gas desulphursation systems are used to remove sulphur dioxide. “wet scrubbers” are the most widespread method and can be up to 99% effective. a mixture of limestone and water is sprayed over the flue gas and this mixture reacts with the SO2 to form gypsum (a calcium sulphate), which is removed and used in the construction industry.

…is apparently a complicated business. usually steel hardness is measured using the rockwell hardness test. this site tells you all about it. HRC is the one normally quoted for steel.