The first home-made “toy” I remember being shown as a child was a spinning top made from a matchstick jammed into a lychee seed. I didn’t include it in my book because I didn’t want to include anything made from inaccessible materials, but I recently came up with the design in the video below which is so simple you can make it in a matter of seconds. I don’t know if I’m the first person to do this – other people have certainly made spinning tops from bottle lids, but… Read more Simple Spinning Top →
How does the length of a piece of string or rope vary with the number of knots tied in it? I came across this question a few months ago and decided to try it out as an investigative activity to help A-level Physics students revise some basic practical skills. I’ve since seen other Physics teachers, like Frank Noschese, tweet about using it in class. What’s the relationship between the number of knots and the length of the rope? Great #modphys graphing lab I learned from @hbarphysics! pic.twitter.com/jPlA1xdp1o — Frank Noschese… Read more A knotty problem →
It’s a few days since I came back from the Cheltenham Science Festival and I’m still buzzing. My live science show, “Science vs Magic”, went down a storm, and months and months of work seem to have paid off. I received an email from Dr Andrea Sella, a live science show veteran, telling me he thought it was a “fantastic talk – brilliant premise, brilliant execution, very solid story line, excellent comic timing, great examples, and your energy level was up there at the deranged level… loved every minute”. Tom Whyntie, who was one… Read more Science vs Magic – a work in progress →
Sorry for the awful title to this post – but I have been inspired by “John Travoltage”, the most fun Physics interactive I have ever encountered. I should warn you… Read more Simulate to Stimulate →