Two educational programs were offered by IPPT PAN at the 22. Science Picnic of Polish Radio and the Copernicus Science Centre, which took place at the National Stadium in Warsaw on June 9, 2018.
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| Presentation of ZMD, photo: P. Denis | Presentation of ZTI , photo: K. Parkitna |
I. Educational program of IPPT PAN, no E 6 (Department of Experimental Mechanics), Coordinator - Elżbieta Pieczyska, Team: Artur Myczka, Maria Staszczak, Dominik Kukla, Jan Kraskowski, Oliwia Jeznach, Hanna Słomińska, Justyna Chrzanowska, Michal Majewski, Łukasz Fura, Michał Wichrowski, Katarzyna Czarnecka
CAN MATERIALS REMEMBER THEIR SHAPE?
Presentation 1: Shape memory effects in TiNi shape memory alloys
Examples of TiNi shape memory alloy (SMA) samples were shown. Their structure and properties were explained. It was presented how the SMA shape and dimensions change depending on the temperature. Volunteers deformed SMA wires, springs or clips. After immersing them in hot water the samples recovered their former shapes and sizes. The observed effects result from the crystallographically reversible martensitic transformation, which can be stress- or temperature-induced.
WATER ENGINE?
Presentation 2: Application of shape memory effect in shape memory alloys
A model of a solid state engine, using the SMA shape memory effect, was demonstrated as an example of practical applications of shape memory alloys. It was made by students of AICHI Institute of Technology in Japan and gifted to IPPT PAN. When the engine was partly put in the hot water, its spectacular rotation was observed. The rotation rate depends on the water temperature.
POLYMERS ALSO REMEMBER THEIR SHAPE
Presentation 3: Shape memory effect in polymers
Samples of shape memory polymer (SMP) were demonstrated. Their structure and properties which significantly differ below and above Tg (glass transition temperature) were explained. Volunteers performed simple experiments. They obtained colored samples of such polymers and deformed them in the warm water. After inserting the samples into cold water, the new polymer shape was fixed. When the samples were put again into warm water, they recovered their original shape.
SPINNING TOP SHOWS DIRECTION - A GYROSCOPIC EFFECT AND NOT ONLY!
Presentation 4: Rotational motion, torque, gyroscopic effect
Visitors carried out the experiments on plenty of the rotating toys: a traditional spinning top, a tippe top, a "phi top" egg, a disk with a hole, an Euler disk, a rattleback (so called Celtic stone) and a gyroscope. During the experiments, the following issues were explained: energy conservation, force, right hand rule in a vector product, torque, momentum, angular momentum, precession and gyroscopic movement.
A CUP OF LIFT - THE USE OF THE MAGNUS EFFECT!
Presentation 5: Magnus effect, lift force, hydrodynamic paradox
IPPT volunteers familiarized visitors with the laws governing the flow of air using everyday objects. Blowing between sheets of paper, they observed a hydrodynamic paradox and the phenomenon of the lift force. Visitors made experiments with rotating plastic mugs themselves.
II. Educational program of IPPT PAN, no E 10 (Department of Intelligent Technologies)), Coordinator - Błażej Popławski (G. Suwała), Team: Rafał Wiszowaty, Dominik Pisarski, Rami Faraj, Jan Całka, Mirosław Chorab, Tomasz Kowalski, Andrzej Świercz, Grzegorz Mikułowski, Kamil Opiela
INVISIBLE FORCE
Presentation 1:
Constructed in the first half of the 19th century, the single-pole electric motor was the first ever prototype of such a device. Its creator was Michael Faraday – an English scientist who exerted a great influence on the development of our civilization. Visitors of the stand could learn about the simplicity of this mechanism, learn the laws of physics that govern its behaviour and with a bit of patience and enthusiasm, build such an engine by themselves and take it home.
Presentation 2:
The second presentation also concerned the electrodynamic force. The stand made it possible to present the possibility of building a tunnel in the form of a coil of copper wire in which a galvanic cell with magnets was moving. This demonstration presented in a very accesible way the existence of electrodynamic force, which can be relatively large – it caused the movement of the cell in the tunnel.
STEAM – ERUPTION! WHEELS – IN MOTION!
Presentation 3:
This stand presented the mechanism of operation of the steam engine. The engine prototype built allowed for an insight into its structure, and thus a much better understanding of the principles of its operation. An additional element of this stand was the termal imaging camera, which allowed the observation of the temperature distribution in the presented engine. It was also used to illustrate the existence and behavior of thermal (infrared) radiation as a range of the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, of which only a small fraction is visible light.
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