Tag Archive for: light

Constellation Tubes

/0 Comments/in /by

Constellation Tubes

Build your own constellation telescope and look up to the stars!

Overview


Do you want to look at the stars but don’t own a telescope? Make a constellation tube and you can see the stars whenever you want to. All you need is a cardboard tube, a sharp pencil, scissors, glue and our constellation printout.


Printable version

This page will print, but it doesn’t look great. Click the button above for a print-friendly PDF version.


What to do


Step 1



Before you start, you may want to listen to the story on the left called Look Up by Nathan Byron. The story is about a young girl who spends her days dreaming of the stars and sharing her passion with anyone she meets.

Step 2



Print out the constellation tube sheet. Choose a constellation pattern and cut it out.

Step 3



Use your pencil or skewer to poke through the star into your sticky tack to make a hole. Continue to poke through all of the stars in your constellation pattern.

Step 4



Glue on top of the rim of one end of your tube and stick the constellation pattern in place.

Step 5



Now look through the open end of your tube to see your constellation.



Things to discuss

  • Can you see the light clearly through your holes?
  • What happens if you make bigger or smaller holes?
  • Look at the names of your constellations. Does the pattern you have created look like an animal or person?


How it works

In ancient times, people saw patterns of stars in the sky and told stories about them. You may have heard of some of these, such as Orion the hunter, Gemini the twins, or Taurus the bull.

Different cultures had different stories about the constellations.

Younger children might enjoy the song below which tells you all about this. When astronomers made maps of the stars they included these patterns on their maps and called them constellations.

The individual stars in a constellation may appear to be very close to each other, but they can actually be separated by huge distances in space and have no real connection to each other at all.

Different constellations can be seen depending on where you are on the Earth and different constellations can be seen at different times of the year.




Other things to try

Project your stars!



If you have a torch, you can shine this into the open end and project your constellation onto a wall.



Online planetarium


Click here to visit an online map of the sky that will show you what you can see in the sky right now.  You can change the location so that the planetarium shows you the sky above your house. You could also watch the video  below to find out about the night sky. Use this to help you spot stars and planets from your back garden.


More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • A toilet or kitchen roll tube or rolled up piece of card or paper
  • A print out of our constellations sheet
  • Scissors
  • A sharp pencil, pen or skewer to make holes
  • A small lump of sticky tack, playdough or plasticine to help make holes
  • Glue or sellotape

Duration

10 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: a sharp pencil or scissors could cause injury.
  • Glue can damage carpets.

Careers Link: The Astronomer

Astronomers are a type of scientist that study objects in space. They use telescopes, satellites and spacecraft to collect data and use this to help us understand events in the universe. Visit our Astronomer activity page for more information and activities.

Attributes: open-minded, self-motivation and patient.



If you become an astronomer, you might work in an observatory like this one in Kielder.

Make a moon flipbook

/0 Comments/in /by

Make a Moon Flipbook

Make a flipbook to show the phases of the Moon.

Overview


Have you ever wondered why the Moon seems to be different shapes on different nights? Make this flipbook to track the Moon phases over a month using a print out, scissors and staples, tape or a clip.


Printable version

This page will print, but might not look great. Click the button above for a PDF print-friendly version.


What to do


Step 1



Before you start, you might want to listen to this story called Moon -Night Time Around the World by Britta Teckentrup. It takes us on a journey around the world, showing us what animals get up to in the moonlight. It has lovely peek-through pages which show the different shapes of the moon over a month.

Step 2



Print out the flip book template. Cut carefully along the dotted lines.

Step 3



Order the pages, then place them on top of each other, number 1 on top.

Step 4



Clip them together with a binder clip, staples or tape. If you flip the pages quickly, you will see the Moon changing shape. On a clear night, you can look at the Moon and match it to the phase in your book.


Things to discuss

  • Can you describe the shape of the Moon on each page of the flip book?
  • What happens to the shape of the Moon?  Can you spot a pattern?
  • What do you think waxing means?
  • What do you think waning means?

Did you know…?

The Moon doesn’t produce it’s own light- it reflects light from the Sun.



How it works

It takes our Moon 27 days to orbit the Earth. The Moon looks like it is different shapes over a month because we see different parts of it lit up by the Sun. The video below shows this really clearly.



Did you know…?

You will see the same phase of the Moon on the same night no matter where you are in the world!



A New Moon is when the face pointing towards us is hidden from the Sun so we can hardly see it at all.

When the Moon looks like it is getting bigger, it’s called waxing.

A Full Moon is when the face of the Moon is fully turned towards the Sun and we see it all.

As the Moon moves around the Earth, the face pointing towards us gradually becomes hidden from the Sun. It looks like it’s getting smaller. This is called waning.



Other things to try

Make an Earth, Sun and Moon model


Moon model

It takes our Moon 27 days to orbit our Earth. It takes our Earth 365 days to orbit our Sun!  Print out this model then cut out the Earth, Sun and Moon. Next cut out the two linking arms. Finally, use paper fasteners to join the linking arms to the Earth, Moon and Sun.



Take a tour of the Moon!


Have you ever wanted to go to the Moon? Watch the video below to find out what it would be like.


More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • A Moon flipbook print out
  • Scissors
  • A strong clip, stapler or tape to stick the pages together

Duration

20 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Watch small children with sharp scissors.

Careers Link: The Lunar Scientist

Lunar scientists study the science of the moon, where it came from, how it evolved and what it is made of. They also research how humans can live on the moon, mapping the surface and investigating how it will be possible to survive there.

Attributes: observant, curious and open-minded.

Sun Dial

/0 Comments/in /by

Sun Dial

Learn about the movement of the Earth by building your own sundial.

Overview


Can you tell the time without looking at your watch or phone? This activity uses some card, two pencils and some sticky tack to let you tell the time using the Sun.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better.

What you’ll need

  • Sun – this activity can only be done on a sunny day
  • A place in your home that is in the sun all day
  • A clock, watch or phone to tell the time
  • Card – such as an empty cereal box
  • A dinner plate or largish circle to draw around
  • 2 pencils
  • Scissors
  • Sticky tack
  • Felt tips or other colouring materials if you want to decorate your sun dial

Suitable for:

Age 3 up

Duration:

A whole sunny day

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Take care with sharp pencils.
  • Supervise children using pencils to make holes.


What to do


Step 1



First of all, open up and flatten your box if you need to. Draw around your plate to make a circle.

Step 2



Cut out your circle. Stick your lump of sticky tack to the centre of the underside of your circle.

Step 3



Turn your circle over. Stick your pencil through the centre of the circle into your sticky tack. Your base is ready.


Step 4


You will need to start marking the hours on your sun dial as early as you can in the morning.

On the hour (e.g. exactly 8 am) put your sundial somewhere in your home that is in the sun as muc of the day as possible.

Look where the shadow falls on your sundial base, and mark this with a pencil. Write on the time next to your mark.

Then leave your sundial exactly where it is (this is really important!), and you might want to sticky-tack it down so that it doesn’t get moved.


Step 5


After an hour, check your sundial again. You should see that the shadow has moved. Mark where the shadow falls now on your sundial. Write the time next to this mark.

Again, leave your sundial in place.


Step 6


Check your sundial every hour and mark the position of the shadow on your sundial each time. Remember to write the time next to the mark.

Do this until as late as you can in the day.


Step 7


The next day you will be able to tell the time by seeing where the shadow falls. You need to put the sundial back in the same place or remember which direction your sundial was facing when you made it to make sure it tells the right time.


Step 8


You can decorate your sundial if you want to.

What time was it when this photograph of the sundial was taken?



Things to discuss

  • Why does the shadow move?
  • Why is the shadow longer at times and shorter at other times?
  • Why do you need to point the sundial in the same direction each time you use it to tell the time?


How it works

Shadows form when light is blocked by an object. For this investigation, the light you are using travels from the Sun and is blocked by the pencil of your sundial. The shadow falls opposite to where the Sun is in the sky.

Although the Sun appears to move across the sky, it is actually the earth that is rotating which causes the sun to look like it’s moving (find out more here https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zkynvcw).

Over a day we see a pattern: the sun rises in the east and in the morning as the Sun is rising, your shadows were long, and point to the west. At 12 noon, the Sun appears at its highest in the sky, the shadows are at their shortest. In the afternoon, the Sun is in the west and the shadows point to the east. The shadows get longer and longer until the Sun sets in the west.



Other things to try

Observe the shadows using toys



Step 1


You will need:

  • 3 or 4 toys,
  • chalk (if outside)
  • paper and a pen or pencil (if inside)

Place your toys somewhere sunny and then use the pencil or chalk to draw the outline of their shadows.




Step 2


Leave the toys and come back an hour later. Draw around the new shadow.




Do the same thing later on in the day and see how the shadows have moved again.




Things to discuss

  • Which way have your shadows moved?
  • Have your shadows grown longer or shorter?
  • Have your shadows grown wider or narrower?
  • Is there anything that you noticed about the width, length and position of the shadows?

More STEM at Home



What you’ll need

  • Sun – this activity can only be done on a sunny day
  • A place in your home that is in the sun all day
  • A clock, watch or phone to tell the time
  • Card – such as an empty cereal box,
  • A dinner plate or similar sized circle to draw around
  • 2 pencils
  • Scissors
  • Sticky tack
  • Felt tips or other colouring materials if you want to decorate your sun dial

Suitable for:

Age 3 up

Duration:

A whole sunny day

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Take care with sharp pencils.
  • Supervise children using pencils to make holes.

Careers link – Astronomer

Today you’ve been exploring the light that’s coming from the Sun, our nearest star. Astronomers are also interested in the light that comes from stars. Instead of looking at shadows, they use telescopes to look far out into space and learn about the stars that you can see in the night sky. The light from those distant stars can tell us many things: what a star is made from, how big it is, or how old it is.

Attributes: observant, tenacious, collaborative

Reflective mobiles

/0 Comments/in /by

Reflective mobiles

Make mobiles out of recycled materials and investigate how light reflects from different surfaces.

Overview



Have you ever wondered what causes different materials to sparkle and shine? Make these reflective mobiles using any sparkly materials you have in your home, scissors, glue and string.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better.

What you’ll need

  • String
  • Scissors
  • A pencil
  • A lump of sticky tack
  • Glue
  • A foil container such as a take away dish or a piece of card as a base
  • Shiny materials such as foil, glitter, Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons, CDs, tinsel, washed yoghurt lids, sweet wrappers… anything shiny!

Duration

10-15 min

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Small objects can cause choking.
  • Glue can cause damage to carpets and furniture.


What to do


Step 1



If  you are using a piece of card as your base, decide on the shape you want the main part of your mobile to be and cut this out.

If you are using a foil container as a base, go straight to step 2.

Step 2



Stick your shiny materials onto your base.

If you are using card, try to cover as much of the surface as possible.

Step 3



Next, make holes in your mobile. Do this by putting the sticky tack underneath the card and poking your pencil firmly through the card from the top.


Step 4


Tie a loop of string to the top of your mobile for hanging it up. Add any string or ribbon to the bottom of your mobile, ready to attach more materials to.


Step 5


Add any extra material to the bottom of your mobile by threading it through or tying it to your string or ribbon.

Don’t make it too heavy or it might rip your foil or card base.

Hang your mobile in a sunny place in your home.



Things to discuss

  • Which materials on your mobile are the shiniest?
  • How did you decide this?
  • Are there places in your house (or garden if you have one) where your mobile looks shinier?
  • Which time of the day does your mobile look shiniest?


How it works

Light comes from a source like the Sun or a light bulb and travels in straight lines. When light hits an object, it bounces off it (is reflected) and enters our eyes. This is how we see.

Some things, like mirrors or metallic objects, are better at reflecting light that others. It’s their ability to reflect light well that makes them look shiny.

Watch this video to find out more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zbssgk7/articles/zqdxb82   



Other things to try

Make a foil spiral



You will need:

A 60 cm length of foil

String or ribbon

Scissors

A weight such as a CD, bauble or stone.

First get a piece of foil about 60 cm long and begin rolling it up tightly from long side.



Step 1



Continue rolling until you have a long, thin length of foil. If there is any space between the layers, squash them together to make a solid shape.



Step 2



Take hold of one end of the foil and wrap the other end around and around your hand.



Step 3



Carefully take it off your hand and you should have created a foil spiral.



Step 4



Cut a piece of string or ribbon about 20 cm longer than your spiral. Tie your CD, stone or other object to one end. Thread the other end through the middle of the spiral and tie it to the top of the spiral. If the string is long enough, use it to make a loop to hang the sprial up or to tie it to your reflective mobile.

If you don’t have string left, cut a new length to make your loop.

More STEM at Home



What you’ll need

  • String
  • Scissors
  • A pencil
  • A lump of sticky tack
  • Glue
  • A foil container such as a take away dish or a piece of card as a base
  • Shiny materials such as foil, glitter, Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons, CDs, tinsel, washed yoghurt lids, sweet wrappers… anything shiny!

Duration

10-15 min

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Always take care when using scissors.
  • Small objects can cause choking.
  • Glue can cause damage to carpets and furniture.

STEM Career: Optical Engineer

Optical Engineers research, design and build devices that use light, like cameras or telescopes. In telescopes, they use what they know about how light travels and reflects off different surfaces to create technology that allows us to see distant stars and detect planets!

Spinners

/0 Comments/in /by

Spinners

Create a spinning top and investigate how we see colour.

Overview


In this activity, you’ll make a spinning top from card and a short pencil. You’ll explore how your eyes see colour by spinning your top and recording what you can see.

All you need is some card, felt tips or crayons, a short pencil and some scissors.


Printable version

What you’ll need

  • Card- recycled card from a cereal box, old greetings card etc
  • A pencil – a short one works best
  • Felt tip pens, crayons, colouring pencils or paints
  • A small plate, CD or something circular to draw around
  • Sticky tack, plasticine or playdough – anything squishy that you can push a pencil into
  • Scissors
  • White paper if your colours won’t show up on card
  • Scrap paper to protect your table from pencil marks

Duration

20 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Take particular care when poking sharp pencils through card.
  • Watch small children with sharp scissors.


What to do


Step 1



First collect all of the equipment you will need for your spinners. If you are using cardboard boxes, open them up by cutting along an edge and flatten them out.

If the card you are using is not white, your colours won’t show up so you will also need a piece of white paper.

Step 2



Draw around your CD (or circular object) on your card. If you are using brown card, make another white paper circle using the same circular template.

If you’re using a CD, you can draw around the centre circle so that can find the middle of the spinner later.

Step 3



You now need to split your spinner into 8 sections. Fold the spinner in half, half and half again. It doesn’t need to be too accurate!  When you unfold the spinner again, you will have 8 sections.

Choose two primary colours (red, yellow or blue), and colour the spinner in to make a repeating pattern (like in the picture).

Step 4



You now need to make a small hole in the middle of the circle.  If you used a CD, then you can easily see where the middle is, but when you folded your spinner, all the folds should cross in the middle of the circle.

Put your sticky tack underneath the centre of your spinner and poke your pencil through the card into the sticky tack.

If you have a card and a paper disc, poke the pencil through them both at the same time so that the hole is in the same place.

Step 5



Now move your circle so that it is about 2 cm from the tip of the pencil. Wrap sticky tack around the pencil, underneath the disc.

This helps to make your spinner more stable, and keep the circle in place.

Step 6



At this point, you may want to put a piece of scrap paper on the table to protect it from pencil marks.

Hold the pencil at the very top and give it a spin.

If you only have a long pencil, keep your finger loosely around the pencil at the top to keep it spinning for longer.



Things to discuss


What happens to the two colours on the disc when you spin it?

Experiment making different discs. If you don’t have any card left, you can make the new disc on paper and put it on top of your cardboard one.

What do you predict will happen if you make a red and yellow pattern? How about a blue and red pattern?

What happens when you spin a disc that has all the colours of the rainbow?



How does it work?

The light we see is made up of the different colours of the spectrum, these are the colours of the rainbow. The colured pen on your spinner absorbs some of the colours of light, and reflects some back to us. So the blue section absorbs all the colours apart from the blue – which is reflected back for us to see.

When the spinner is moving, the colours are changing too quickly for you to see which colour you are looking at. This means that the colours appear to blend into each other.

When you used the pattern of two primary colours, you see this as a mixture of the colours, so a yellow and blue disc becomes green as it spins. When you spin a disc that is coloured with all of the colours of the rainbow, you see it as white.



Other things to try

Investigate colour and pattern

What happens if you use different colours on your spinner?

What happens if you use different patterns.

We have some CD sized Spinner Templates that you can print out.



Investigate the size of your spinner

What happens if you make the size of your disc bigger or smaller?

Which size disc spins for the longest?

You could measure the time using a kitchen timer, the timer on your phone, a clock or watch with a second hand or by counting one elephant…two elephants…

To make your test more accurate you could spin your spinners at least three times each, and make sure that you spin it in the same way each time so that it is a fair test. You could record your results in a table like ours.



Can you beat this spinner?

We found this spinner from a Christmas cracker in a drawer. Watch how long it spins for! Can you make a spinner that spinner than spins for longer than this?


More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • Card- recycled card from a cereal box, old greetings card etc
  • A pencil – a short one works best
  • Felt tip pens, crayons, colouring pencils or paints
  • A CD or something to draw a circle around
  • Sticky tack, plastercine or playdough – anything squishy that you can push a pencil into
  • Scissors
  • White paper if your colours won’t show up on card
  • Scrap paper to protect your table from pencil marks

Duration

20 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 4 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Take particular care when poking sharp pencils through card.
  • Watch small children with sharp scissors.

Careers link – Optical Engineer

Are you interested in light, colour and how we see? Maybe you could be an optical engineer. They research the science of light, and design devices that use light.  An optical engineer might design a laser, create fibre-optic communications systems, or machines to look inside the human eye.

Optical engineers need to be:
  • observant,
  • hard-working,
  • committed

Want to know how your eyes work?

Dr Chris and Dr Xand explain how you see in this episode of Operation Ouch.


Shadow tubes

/0 Comments/in /by

Shadow tubes

Use objects and materials you have around your home to investigate shadows.

Overview


Discover how to create shadows using a toilet roll tube, a torch, some cling film and paper, stickers or foil.

This 15 minute activity includes a story for younger children and investigations for older children.


Printable version

This page will print, but looks a little funky. Click the button for a PDF version which looks a bit better. This is a stop-gap while we work on a better solution!

What you’ll need

  • A blank wall, door or cupboard to create your shadow on
  • Toilet or kitchen roll tube, or rolled up dark coloured paper or card
  • A torch – there will probably be one on your phone
  • Cling film, a clear plastic bag or clear plastic food wrapping
  • Paper, foil or foam shapes, pipe cleaners, buttons, stickers or anything else you can stick to the clingfilm to block the light
  • Glue, sticky tack or rolled up sticky tape

Duration

15 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Glue can damage carpets.


What to do


Step 1



The Black Rabbit by Phillipa Leathers is a story all about a Rabbit and its shadow.

It’s written for younger children, so if you have older children you may want to skip straight to Step 2!

The Black Rabbit is a great way to start talking about shadows.  After you have listened, you could ask:

What is the black rabbit?

Why does the black rabbit follow Rabbit?

Why can’t we see the black rabbit in the woods?

Why does the black rabbit scare the wolf?

How does the black rabbit become bigger and smaller?

Why is the black rabbit sometimes in front and sometimes behind Rabbit?

Step 2



Cut a square of clingfilm big enought to cover one end of the toilet roll tube.

Pull the clingfilm tightly across the top of the tube and secure it by wrapping it around the sides of the tube.

If you are using a plastic bag or wrapping, you’ll need to secure it using an elastic band or sticky tape.

Step 3



Step 3

Cut out some small shapes from your paper, foil or other material.

Then stick the shapes onto the clingfilm using a little bit of glue, sticky tack or sticky tape.

If you don’t have any glue, you can put the shapes onto the clingfilm and then add another layer of clingfilm over the top to hold them in place.

Step 4



Point your tube at a wall or door and shine a torch through the open end of your tube. You should see shadows made by the shapes on the end of the tube.

You could make a second shadow tube with different shapes.



Things to discuss

How did you make the shadows?

The light coming from your torch travels in straight lines until it reaches your wall. In your shadow tube, the light was blocked by the shapes you stuck on the end. Light could still pass around the edges of the shape through the clingfilm. This light travelled towards your wall and formed a shadow. Watch this BBC video to find out more.

You could investigate:

  • What happens if you move your torch and shadow tube closer to the wall?
  • What happens if you move your torch and shadow tube further away from the wall?
  • What happens if you move your torch further away from your shadow tube?



Other things to try

Coloured light


Instead of using clingfilm you could use coloured cellophane (like you find on some chocolates) on your shadow tubes.



Hand shadows


Have a go at making animal shadows using your hands!

This video is really easy to follow, all you need is a light source such as a torch, lamp or even the sun, your two hands and a wall to create your shadow on.



Shadow puppet theatres


Shadow puppets are a great way to tell stories. Watch this video about The Hungry Monster and then try making your own.

The easiest way to tell stories using shadow puppets it to project them onto your wall, like you did with the shadow tubes.

You could also make a shadow puppet theatre; this video from Cbeebies shows you how to make a simple shadow puppet theatre.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the equipment, you could use cereal or other empty boxes. Just cut out the shape that you need and stick it onto a long stick such as straw, pen, pencil, kebab skewer or even a spoon.

More STEM at Home


What you’ll need

  • A blank wall, door or cupboard to create your shadow on
  • Toilet or kitchen roll tube, or rolled up dark coloured paper or card
  • A torch – there will probably be one on your phone
  • Cling film, a clear plastic bag or clear plastic food wrapping
  • Paper, foil or foam shapes, pipe cleaners, buttons, stickers or anything else you can stick to the clingfilm to block the light
  • Glue, sticky tack or sticky tape

Duration

15 minutes or so.

Suitable for…

Age 3 and up.

Safety notes

You know your children better than anyone, and you should judge whether they’re ready for this activity. You might want to think in particular about:

  • Supervision: the activity involves small parts, so there’s a choke hazard.
  • Glue can damage carpets.

Careers Link: Lighting Technician

Lighting Technicians are also known as Lighting Operators or Lighting Electricians and they usually specialise in film and TV, or theatre, concerts and live events. Their work can range from basic spotlighting to operating strobes, lasers and pyrotechnics. They may be the only lighting technician on a theatre production, or part of a large crew on a concert tour or feature film. Duties can include setting up the lighting equipment before a shoot starts, carrying out lighting tests, programming and operating manual and computer-controlled lighting systems, or taking down the equipment after shows or filming.

Attributes: patient, tenacious, collaborative


Dancing shadows

You might enjoy this music video called Shadows by Lindsay Stirling.

Watch what happens to her shadow during the song. How do you think she does this?


Light

/0 Comments/in , /by

Loans Box: Light

The Optical Engineer

/0 Comments/in /by

The Optical Engineer

Do try this at home…

Rainbow light patterns


We came across this lovely activity to make rainbow light patterns using a CD. You’ll need strong, direct sunlight for a strong effect, so seize your moment in the five minutes of summer we get in the North-East.


Rainbow by William Welch (CC-BY from Flickr)

Build a zoetrope


A zoetrope is a cylinder with a series of pictures on the inner surface, which you view through slits. When the cylinder spins, you get the impression that the images are continuous and moving. It’s very similar to an old-fashioned film projector, but with the movie on a loop.

Zoetropes work because the human brain is astonishingly good at recognising movement. So much so that it sees ‘movement’ even when there isn’t any. So if your eye sees a sequence of still images, your brain merrily glues those together as a movie. You see this every time you watch TV, go to the movies, or work with a computer screen or phone.

To make your own zoetrope, follow this guide from the CBBC Art Ninja.

To find out more about how it works, watch the video below… which will also tell you how to say ‘zoetrope’. Always tricky, that one.


Light Wall

/0 Comments/in , /by

Light Wall

NUSTEM’s interpretation of an Exploratorium classic

Science for Families: Light

/0 Comments/in /by

Light

Science for Families: Activities supporting the ‘Light’ session

Tag Archive for: light

Polyphotonix

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Employer: Polyphotonix


Diabetes and sight-loss

Over 320 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes. For these people getting a good night’s sleep can contribute to sight-loss.

The cells in a normal retina (the back part of our eyes) adapt to darkness (for example when you close your eyes during sleep) by using additional oxygen from the blood.

However diabetic retinal cells don’t get enough blood flow during the night and therefore suffer from a lack of oxygen.  This can lead to sight-loss.

One way to avoid sight-loss is by preventing dark adaption of the diabetic eye by using light, or in other words, tricking the eye into thinking that it’s daytime even while you are asleep!


What is Polyphotonix?

Polyphotonix is a technology business which develops light treatments for retinal conditions using Organic Light Emitting Devices (OLED). This is the same technology used in mobile phones screens.

Unlike lightbulbs of the past, Light Emitting Diodes (LCDs) don’t get very hot and are more efficient, meaning they don’t waste as much electricity. They can also be made in tiny sizes, allowing them to be used in devices like flat screen televisions, laptops, and wrist watches.

Organic LEDs (OLEDs) can produce brighter light than ordinary LEDS, and they can be used to make light emitting surfaces that are ultra thin, less than 1/100th of the thickness of a human hair. They can also be made into very large flexible sheets which can be used to cover entire walls or ceilings.  These properties of OLEDs mean they can be used for more diverse applications than LEDs.

Polyphotonix has recently launched the Noctura 400 Sleep Mask. The mask uses OLEDs and is a non-invasive treatment for people with diabetes at risk of sight-loss. You can learn more about the mask by watching the video.



PolyPhotonix CEO, Richard Kirk, studied fine-arts in Scotland and worked abroad with fashion names such as Nina Ricci. In a complete career change, he returned to England and saw an opportunity working with OLED’s and their many potential applications in industry and medicine. You can hear him talking about the mask  and how it could save the NHS £1 billion compared to current pharmaceutical treatments on the following video:





This resource was produced as part of the FutureMe project.


Careers

Polyphotonix draws from a wide range of different career routes:

  • design engineer
  • software engineer
  • electronic and electrical engineer
  • mathematical modeller
  • quality systems engineer
  • test technician
  • data analyst
  • accountant
  • financial planner
  • sales and customer support
  • doctor

Science and Maths links

Topics in science and maths that link to Polyphotonics and what the company does:

  • Light
  • EM radiation
  • Electric circuits – current and voltage
  • Health and disease
  • Respiration
  • Organs (the eye)

© Northumbria University 2014-22