Link to Sunglass Science: Polarized Light

This time we will explore things that are usually invisible, revealing new things about the world around us.

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Link to Sunglass Science: Birefringence Light

Grab your shades for a different way of seeing the world around you.

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This week's experiment grew from a question sent to me by Miranda Hughes. She and her children had been picking up pretty stones at the beach but noticed that when the stones were dry, they became dull and lost most of their color. She thought she knew the reason (She was correct.) and thought that it would make a good experiment of the week

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This week's experiment is one that I have been playing with for quite some time. It is something that I first noticed when I was a child in school. Way back then, we watched educational movies sometimes in class. There were no VCRs or video tapes. Instead, the film was on big reels and fed through a movie projector. When the movie was over, you would rewind the film back onto the reel, and as the reels were spinning quickly, you could see bands of yellow and blue light, like the spokes of a wheel on the reels. Since then, I have found several other ways to see these blue and yellow bands. For this demonstration, you will need:

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This week's experiment uses a computer CD or DVD. If you have ever looked closely at either a music or computer CD, you have probably noticed that they produce rainbows. If you hold the CD with the shiny side up and let light from a lamp reflect off of it, you will see a very nice rainbow of colors. If you are using a regular incandescent bulb, you will see all of the colors of the rainbow: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. If you use other kinds of bulbs, you may find some colors missing. To try this, you will need:

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This project has science fair potential.

This time our experiment is one that winds up in lots of science fair projects. Does color have an impact on how things absorb heat?

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We are used to associating electricity with light bulbs, but most people expect it to take a lot of power to light them. For incandescent bulbs, that is true, but with fluorescents, things are a bit different.

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This week's experiment uses fire, so be very careful and be sure that you have an adult to help you.

This week's experiment involves both chemistry and light. It is always pleasing for me to find one experiment that can send you exploring in several different directions.

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For this week's experiment, we are going to watch our fingers wiggle. Doesn't that sound like fun? OK, I admit that I am easily amused, but there is more to this experiment than just moving your finger. We are going to investigate part of how a television works at the same time.

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The experiment this week comes from spending too much time in hotel rooms as I travel. As I was packing for the trip home, I found it very useful for adjusting the television when I was not directly in front of it.

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This project has science fair potential.

This experiment is from a Magic of Science workshop that I taught several years ago. No, it is not a get rich quick scheme. It is a fun way to see how we can bend a ray of light.

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This is one of the classic questions that children ask, and one that many adults do not know the answer to. With this simple experiment we will answer the question, and also find out why sunsets are red.

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Why does making something wet cause it to look darker?

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Does your TV really only have three colors?