Bees cooking hornets.........

Watch this amazing clip of bees 'cooking' an invading hornet by vibrating their bodies!!!

Do you know your elementary particles?

There was a time in the last century when the only subatomic particles we knew were the proton, neutron, and electron. But in the past 40 years or so physicists working at particle accelerators—or "atom smashers" in the lay lingo—have ferreted out a menagerie of so-called fundamental particles, everything from the charm and strange quarks to the gluon and tau neutrino. In this gallery, view visual representations of the most important fundamental particle discoveries—discoveries that have deepened physicists' understanding of the building blocks of nature as well as led to their appreciation of key aspects of string theory, such as supersymmetry. Read more...... and click here to see a larger version of the animation above.

A Theory of Everything?

Starting at an everyday scale, travel by powers of 100 down into the infinitesimally itsy-bitsy world of strings. In this excerpt from his book The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene explains why string theory might hold the key to unifying the four forces of nature.

How can you lift an icecube with a matchstick?

You will need:

An ice cube
A matchstick
Salt

What to do:

Sprinkle some salt on top of the icecube.
Place the matchstick lengthwise on top of the icecube with part of the stick extending.
Wait a few seconds.
Now try lifting the matchstick up.
The matchstick is frozen to the ice. So the icecube can be lifted using a matchstick.

What's going on?

The matchstick becomes attached to the ice cube because the salt lowers the freezing point of water and melts the ice. The top of the ice cube quickly re-freezes which traps the matchstick. Simple eh? Plus a great trick that you can do whilst waiting for your food to arrive next time you're out for dinner.

See more experiments like this on the practical of the week link.

How can you lift an icecube with a matchstick?

You will need:

An ice cube
A matchstick
Salt

What to do:

Sprinkle some salt on top of the icecube.
Place the matchstick lengthwise on top of the icecube with part of the stick extending.
Wait a few seconds.
Now try lifting the matchstick up.
The matchstick is frozen to the ice. So the icecube can be lifted using a matchstick.

What's going on?

The matchstick becomes attached to the ice cube because the salt lowers the freezing point of water and melts the ice. The top of the ice cube quickly re-freezes which traps the matchstick. Simple eh? Plus a great trick that you can do whilst waiting for your food to arrive next time you're out for dinner.

Colourful Coins...

You will need:

Saucer
Paper towel
Vinegar
A few pennies (or other foreign coins with a copper coating)

What to do:

Fold the paper towel in half a couple of times and put into the saucer. Pour on enough vinegar to cover the paper towel.
Place the coins on the wet paper towel and leave for a few hours.
What has happened to the coins? Pick them up and compare the sides exposed to the air with the sides next to the paper towel.
Wash the coins and your hands carefully when you have finished the experiment.

What’s going on?

The coins go a blue-green colour because the vinegar (aka acetic acid) reacts with the copper to make copper acetate.

Copper acetate has been used since Egyptian times as a green pigment called verdigris. It is the most common green pigment found in medieval manuscripts, probably because it is so easy to make. The scribes or artists simply had to place some copper strips in vinegar and then scrape off the green powder when it had formed.

You may see less verdigris on the bottoms of the coins. This could be for two reasons. One is because the reaction needs an oxidising agent. In this situation the oxidising agent is oxygen from the air. The bottoms of the coins are right next to the wet paper towel and don’t have as much oxygen around them, so more of the copper will stay as it is.


And more?

Most copper coins go dull after a while as the copper becomes oxidised by the oxygen in air. Leave dull copper coins soaking in tomato ketchup. The oxidised copper reacts and the product goes into the tomato ketchup solution, so you are left with unreacted shiny copper.

You may get a surprise when you see the real colour of the copper coins! To be certain this colour did not come from the tomato ketchup, try using brown sauce instead – do the coins go the same colour as they did in the ketchup?

Note:

Copper acetate can be an irritant and is harmful if inhaled or swallowed, so make sure you wash your hands (and the coins) very well.

Also, technically it is illegal to ‘deface coins of the realm’ – and that’s why we suggested using foreign coins. (We don’t want anyone arrested for trying out our experiments.)

Can a human skydiver fall faster than a peregrine falcon?

What is the terminal velocity of a human and a peregrine falcon? Which is greatest? Watch this amazing 5 min clip to see which animal wins the incredible race!

A freak of nature? See the blood squirting lizard...........

Protection for 'weirdest' species

A conservation programme for some of the world's most bizarre and unusual creatures has been launched by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Read on.......

Anti-cancer chicken eggs produced

Chickens that can lay eggs containing cancer-fighting proteins have been created by scientists in Scotland. Read on........

Improve your motor skills.................

Easy at first, just try the later levels! Press 'S' to turn off the sound.