Entries by Jonathan

Go Ballistic! winners at Big Bang North East

Phew! We’re slowly recovering from a couple of crazy days at the Big Bang North East. We spun patterns and collected hopes and dreams for future tech with the Technology Wishing Well; explored the universe with our space-themed show; and launched ping pong balls with hundreds of catapults in our Go Ballistic! workshop. We had about 18 booked groups through the […]

Study with us! PhD Studentship available

Think Physics’ host institution Northumbria University has a PhD studentship available. Here’s the title: Impact of Academic Research through Northumbria’s STEM outreach activities on the uptake of STEM disciplines by young people I know, right? Snappy. Importantly: there’s a full stipend available for this PhD, for three years at RCUK rates and fees. There’s a […]

Brain exercise for half term: P vs. NP

If you’ve reached the stage of half-term where binge-watching iZombie, staring out of the window at the miserable weather, or playing yet another round of Overwatch just aren’t doing it for you, try this minor intellectual stimulation. P vs. NP is one of the foundational problems in computer science, with a $1m bounty attached to the first […]

How long would it take to fall through the Earth?

This is a classic calculation, and one that’s surprisingly tricky: suppose you could bore a hole all the way through the Earth. If you jumped in, how long would it take you to fall through and come out of the other side? If you’re taking A-level physics you know pretty much everything you need to do […]

Engineering principles: keep it simple

We’re developing a neat little workshop based around catapults, bits of which have sneaked out into the world in test events over the last couple of months. The core of the challenge is the simplest possible catapult we could dream up, which uses a paper cup, elastic band and a plastic spoon to fire a table tennis ball at […]

Turns out motor racing might be useful after all

The Formula 1 Championship is a strange beast. I’m not alone in having become thoroughly bored with the political wranglings around it, and I’ve drifted far enough away that I no longer even recognise most of the team names. So it’s something of a surprise to learn that the engineering work going on behind the scenes might still be – […]

A-Level Physics teachers: your thoughts welcome

A few months ago, we made a film of an A-level core practical: measuring g via the free-fall method. Many teachers responded to our invitation to comment, and to our shameless request for recommendations for funders. Well… that worked. Thanks for your kind words, and thanks to your kind words we’re making more of these films. We’re not yet […]

Watch this marble run with magnets

Brilliantly inventive. See if you can work out how all the different mechanisms work – there are some amazing and subtle ideas in here. Great stuff. Tip of the hat to Joe for spotting this as it hit Digg this afternoon.

Computer training opportunities in Newcastle

Two outstanding computing events are coming to Newcastle in the next few weeks: Picademy The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s flagship teacher training experience, Picademy is a two-day extravaganza of all things “Pi in the classroom”. There doesn’t seem to be a course outline for what’s covered, but the events are very well-regarded by previous attendees. The course is free, and […]