Demonstrating how static electricity can help you roll an empty can of soda is a cool trick, but you can turn this brief and entertaining science experiment into a full fledged science project. The process can be kept the same but introduce some variables into the experiment and then make records of what happens with each variable.

Possible variables could include the size of the balloon, the length of  the person’s hair you charge the balloon on and even the amount of liquid inside the soda can. So here’s how you will structure your science project. Use two different sizes of balloons and see which one is able to roll the can faster.

A second variation will include using two volunteers with different lengths of hair to charge the balloon. Does the balloon get charged better with longer hair or with shorter hair? Try it out and then record the differences in your notebook.

The weight of the soda can may also be a major factor in the ability of the balloon to push it around. If it becomes too heavy the can will not be able to roll at all. So to check just how much water it takes for the can to not move you can measure out 10 ml water and add to the can and try the process again. The science project can have  many results based on the variables that you use.

Science can help you have a lot of fun if you know how to use it right. The static electricity we used to levitate an orb in the last blog post can be put to use to impress your friends or maybe even win a bet. Similar charges repel each other and so as soon as you touch the tinsel with the pipe the charges become the same and begin to push each other away.

Since the tinsel is thinner it levitates. In this case the soda can is heavy so its not going to float up in the air, but you can still get it to move. Here’s how you can move the soda can without your hands ever touching it.

First drink up the soda inside the can. Then blow up a large size balloon. now rub the balloon on your hair or a piece of silk, whichever is handy. Have your friend place the can on its side on a flat surface. Hold the balloon close to the soda can but don’t touch it.

You will find that the can will get attracted towards the balloon and will roll towards it. Make sure that the can does not touch the balloon or the polarity of charges will change and you will no longer be able to perform this science experiment.

Static Electricity is the charge that certain substances develop when they are rubbed against another material. For instance if you rub a plastic comb on your dry hair you will charge the comb with static electricity and be able to pick up small bits of paper with it.

So how are we going to use static electricity to levitate an orb? Let’s find out what materials we will need. You will need a PVC pipe one inch diameter and about two feet in length, along with that you will need some tinsel, the kind that is used to decorate the Christmas Tree at home. Pick the narrowest and thinnest tinsel so that its easy to levitate.

Now tie six strands of the tinsel about 6 inches in length together at both ends. Make sure that the tinsel is not tangles in between so that when it levitates it will form an orb easily. Now use your hair to charge the PVC pipe piece and use it to raise the tinsel orb.

The charge on the PVC pipe repels the tinsel and raises it away from the pipe making the tinsel form an orb. You will need to recharge the pipe with static electricity each time you want to do the levitation science experiment.

Will having a more interactive school desk help you learn better? Apparently these sci-fi types desks actually do students to do better at school work. Researchers at the School of Education, Durham University, have been conducting studies on how a more interactive and futuristic classroom can help students learn mathematics faster and better.

The scientists have been working on 400 students in the age group of 8 to 10 years for over three years to compile their research data on the specially designed desks. Professor Liz Burd who headed the research team said that their aim was to encourage far higher levels of active student engagement, where knowledge was obtained by sharing, problem-solving and creating, rather than by passive listening.

The SynergyNet project designed software and desks that recognize multiple touches on the desktop using vision systems that see infrared light. The new desks with a ‘multi-touch’ surface are the central component, and these are networked and linked to a main smartboard. This allowed all the students to participate instead of one or two taking the lead.

This classroom enabled both active engagement and equal access. Professor Burd said that the tables encouraged students to collaborate more effectively. They observed groups of students enhancing others’ understanding of mathematical concepts. Such collaboration just did not happen when students used paper-based approaches.

Oxidization is the layer on your metal possessions which takes away their sheen and shine. This layer of oxides can be cleaned up using some common acids available around the house. Here we can undertake a science project using a common device to be cleaned and trying out different types of acidic substances from around the house to clean them.

For the sake of simplicity the objects to be cleaned can be pennies that have lost their shine due to the copper oxide layer that has formed on them. The layer will be cleaned using three different types of acidic fluids namely white vinegar, lemon juice and orange juice.

The procedure for each liquid cleansing would have to be identical. First take three identical plastic containers and keep one penny each in them. Now pour vinegar in the first, lemon juice in the second and orange juice in the third container.Let the pennies stay submerged in the acidic liquid for ten minutes. Then take them out and rinse them off with some water.

Keep an observation notepad ready to see which of the liquids was the most successful in cleaning the copper pennies. You can repeat the science experiment by varying the time duration that you keep the pennies submerged.

How would you like to wear a pair of spectacles to ensure that you don’t feel the effects of jet lag on long distance flights? Does it sound like science fiction? Strangely enough it is actually a real gadget that has been developed by some sleep researchers. That is people who do research on sleep patterns.

Professor Leon Lack, the inventor of the spectacles explains how they work. The high tech glasses which he calls “Re-Timer” emit a soft green glow that affects the human body clock. The light green glow helps to alter the sleep pattern of the wearer so that the person can get off a long distance flight feeling well rested.

The light affects a gland at the base brain which is known to control the body clock. This excretes hormones to regulate the circadian rhythms or daily cycles of the human body clock. Now that’s a science project that will literally change the way you rest.

The researchers at the Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia hope that the light device will eliminate the sudden change that people experience from flying long distances into different time zones. Frequent fliers will probably be the most benefited when the device actually  hits the markets.

The bomb squad has often made use of the exceptional sniffing skills of dogs to sniff out explosives that were hidden and now that sense of smell is being mimicked by nanotechnology scientists. A new device based on the acute olfactory sense of canines is being developed by them.

At the University of California a new nano tech chip has been designed by researchers. This chip emulates a dog’s nose’s ability to sniff out certain molecules contained in an explosive device. The easily portable device is highly sensitive and so far very accurate as per professor Carl Meinhart.

The device detects vapor molecules of a specific substance and can distinguish them from similar molecules so that it does not give a false alarm. Being automated the device would be an improvement on dogs, who can be ill, get tired or just have a bad day. Although the prototype is far from ready to replace dogs on the bomb squad today.

Martin Moskovits one of the scientists who has worked on the project is hopeful that the devices will one day become as common as smoke detectors are at present. Given the current world climate it may well be a good idea to install such explosive sniffing devices in public places as a safety project.

Ever used a comb to pick up a piece of paper? Its easy to do if you rub the plastic comb on a piece of silk cloth. This little science project deals with making static electricity The charge of most materials is neutral till you rub them up against another material which may cause them to gain or lose a couple of electrons affecting the charge on the material.

So what are the different materials with which you can make static electricity? Any number of them to be certain, but here are a few that are easily found around the house. So you can collect them and get set making static electricity.

These materials include – your hand, glass, your hair, nylon, wool, fur, silk, paper, cotton, hard rubber, polyester, polyvinylchloride and plastic. This list of materials also makes up what is called the triboelectric series. If two materials on this list are rubber together the one listed first is likely to give up an electron and get positively charged.

So if you want to get started on a set of science projects dealing with static electricity just collect stuff made out of these materials listed above and you can be on your way. Most of it can be found easily at home and your parents will be happy to let you use it.

A thunderstorm is a common enough event around the world which sees lightening light up the sky and roars of thunder roll by. The sight may be a familiar one, but scientists are now considering an unfamiliar concept – capturing the power of lightening and harnessing it for their own use. Can something as random as a bolt of lightening actually be harnessed?

A single bolt of lightening can produce a great deal of energy. That is an undeniable fact. The random nature of its occurrence is what has made it an unpredictable and rather unreliable source of possible power. So what has changed now?

Scientists have now tried to use lasers  to direct the lightening away from striking the ground and instead striking target points from which their power could be used to generate electricity. Andre Mysyrowicz has actually managed to deflect lightening using laser lanes onto a specific target in Paris.

The science project at the optical lab of the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Techniques Avancees has even made lightening travel a curved path between electrodes. Their ground breaking work makes it possible for us to believe that in the not so distant future it may be possible to generate electricity by capturing the power of lightening.

Smartphones have taken over a number of tasks in our lives. From the time we get up using the alarm on the smartphone, to each meeting and appointment that they remind us of, to the fun we have on social media sites using the hone, there is little that smartphone apps will not allow you to do. So can they help with telemedication?

What exactly does one mean by this term? Telemedication involves evaluating the condition of patients at a remote location and then prescribing the right care and medication for them. Using the smartphone application it would be possible for medical care professionals to get a better idea about the condition of a particular patient and allow them to prescribe better care.

A specialist who works from a desktop or laptop computer would be able to consult with emergency room physicians at the rural hospital site and be able to evaluate the patient’s needs. Naturally this would improve the treatment that the patient received.

This is where using a simple smartphone would help improve the standard of treatment that a patient received. Not everyone can have expensive equipment in each rural out of the way hospital but just about everyone can get access to a smartphone. A great illustration of how one science innovation can make a huge difference to medicare.