Entry 14 Science Experiment 1

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

I used all my physics knowhow to plan some possible experiments. My pedigree in physics is that I was taught by the best in Mr P K Wheatley. You can learn the physics well from most teachers, but what was different was the no-nonsense BS approach, cheap and cheerful experimental physics.     

There were 11 experiments which I planned with reasonable amount of confidence that they will work, 3 did not :(. So now, it was about where to find the kit. I went to a science lab shop in Kathmandu. Interesting location down a back alley. Their inventory was outstanding. I got some sewage pipe from a hardware store. (Ironically the quality of the shit pipe was really good). Took me ages to saw with my blade. Stationaries for paper, Cloth factory for Cloth, Machine Shop for clamps. The tycoon gave me one of his employee for a few days. Karma, he was cool. He rode the motorbike, while I focused on holding on the all the stuff we bought through Kathmandu. Holding 10 kg of stuff with both hands on the back of the bike  weaving through KTM was quite relaxing. 

Then it was a matter who was going to pay for it. It wasn’t going to be me. No problem. My cheap and cheerful style made it’s all cool with whoever was picking up the tab. I think Birkdale picked up most of it. I did buy some strings out of my own pocket. 😀

300 pounds was the final amount. Birkdale school bought 5 microscopes for that amount but that was a challenging, risky investment whereas mine was pretty safe and robust. I.e. lots of experiments can be performed.

Salt and Sand, for separation of mixture, to highlight the properties of different solids. Also to teach them filtration to separate solids from liquids. I took advantage of the insane number of petri dishes the lab have. Another easy experiment in the bag. 

The problem in Nepal is that everything I wanted was always not quite what I wanted. If I ordered something which was not quite what I wanted, it would be not actually be what I ordered. This was Nepal, it kept me on my toes. Therefore it was important to check everything to make it safe for the kids. This one had a bonus rusty half nail. Sand paper was used to take out excessive splinters. The cuts on the PVC pip was terrible. So I used a hacksaw blade. My right index finger ensured a straight cut. A pair of gloves was really useful in protecting my hand. However, I managed to lose a few percentage of my index finger by slicing it on a metal cap in the shower so accidents do happen. However, if you look at the bigger picture, 10 fingers, 1 cm cut on one finger was not a very big deal. 

Other surprises offered was equipment that looked good but was actually really crap (indian made). Made in China goods were actually a sign of genuine quality in Nepal. A bit of a lesson learnt there. 

I chose the powerful alloy as supposed to umm… not so powerful alloy. They really won me that label. Somethings were insanely cheap. 45p test tube rack. Top quality racks there. Somethings were insanely exp. 50p for a single test tube bung. “I know exactly where you should shove that” I said to the Shopkeeper, in my mind. 

First I bought one set of equipment to make sure it works. This was the prototype pinhole camera aka ‘The Bazooka’, Variable zoom (perfect demonstration of the inverse square law, (private message me for more information on this), basic construction, very durable. But It was about 3 times longer than it needs to be. The next batch was more sensibly sized. Hence it was important to get one set of equipment working first. 

I knew the experiments would work, however, I needed to perform them myself to make sure the results that the kids would get are consistent. And what they can learn from each experiment. The sizes of the readings and timings were actually pretty important if you want to help a bunch of kids who has never done any experiments.