Physics

A Flame Tube, also known as a Ruben’s Tube, is a classic physics experiment that provides a spectacular visual demonstration of sound waves.¹ To make a Ruben’s Tube, a bunch of tiny holes are drilled in a line about 1 cm apart along one side of a steel pipe (Figure 1).

Stamp of the Week (maybe month, year or decade depends on how busy I get)

I recently developed a demonstration that I’d like to call “The Chemical Laser Show”.

This week marks the launch of a new science education podcast called, Science Modeling Talks.

National Chemistry Week (NCW) is only a little over a month away! It will be held October 20-26, and this year’s theme is Marvelous Metals!

One of my favorite experiments to conduct is the liquid nitrogen cloud. As long as you can get some liquid nitrogen, it is incredibly easy to carry out. All you have to do is pour some hot water into liquid nitrogen and a massive cloud results. Check it out (also, be sure to check out the video posted further below):

This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on National Board Certification in Adolescent and Young Adulthood (AYA) Science. This post will focus on Component 2 - The Differentiation Portfolio.*

Did you know there is a simple test you can do to see if an alkaline battery is fresh or dead?^1,2 All you need to do is bounce the bottom of a battery onto a hard, flat surface. If the battery is fresh it won’t bounce very well. If the battery is dead, it will bounce very high. Check it out in the video.³

With Earth Day approaching, you might want to try out the experiment published in the Journal of Chemical Education.¹ It outlines a fantastic way to demonstrate the warming influence that atmospheric CO₂ has on our planet. I followed the procedure and offer a video of the results.²