Passive House
Heating accounts for over half of the energy used in homes in the UK. This Catalyst article looks at buildings designed to cut heating demand almost to zero. There are over 70,000 passive houses in Europe – just a few of them in the UK. To be described as ‘passive’, a house must meet strict criteria for energy…
Extremophiles - How to Find Life on Mars
This Catalyst article looks at life in extreme environments on Earth which can suggest how life might exist on Mars. One of the developments in recent years that really opened up scientists’ eyes to the possibility of life on Mars has been the realization of just how adaptable and versatile life on Earth is. The extremophiles…
Ice - Water - Steam
This Catalyst article describes an experiment in which, using a microwave oven, water can be boiled in a cup made of ice, allowing all three states of water to be seen at once. The article explains what equipment needed to carry out the experiment, instructions, and a detailed explanation of why it works.
Mount Etna - Europe's Biggest Volcano
This Catalyst article takes a look at Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily, the biggest and tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The article explores the geology of the volcano, its history and the local habitat surrounding it including how the volcanic conditions create rich fertile soil.
Eating Chocolate
This Catalyst article looks at how the structure and properties of chocolate change when it is melted and re-solidified. An experiment is described in which the differences between solid chocolate, and chocolate which has been melted and re-hardened can be found, along with a detailed explanation of the physics involved in this process.
Thermometry... a Hot Topic
In this Catalyst article, Mike Follows describes the surprising range of thermometers available to scientists today. Many physical properties of materials depend on temperature. Thermometers are vital for measuring body temperature. The body's biochemical reactions work best at 37°C and the body is in serious danger if…
Flying Dry
This Catalyst article explores how high-speed photography can reveal how mosquitoes can keep dry while flying in the rain. To find out how mosquitoes survive impacts with raindrops, a group of engineers from Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) developed a system which allowed them to photograph collisions between water droplets…
Fracking: an Energy Revolution?
This Catalyst article looks at hydraulic fracking, the process of breaking up rocks deep underground using high-pressure water mixed with sand and chemicals. The process has been used for decades in the energy industry to free oil and gas trapped in rock formations. However, questions have been raised over the environmental impact…
Hydrogen Powered Cars
As the need to find alternative cleaner forms of energy increases, scientists are looking to technologies, such as Hydrogen Fuel Cells (HFCs), as a power source for transportation. This Catalyst article explains how hydrogen and oxygen gas can be used in a redox reaction to produce electricity, and the harmless by-product, water.…
Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water
Reliance on unsafe drinking water is a significant problem in many areas of the world. This Catalyst article looks at the method of solar disinfection to provide safe drinking water. UVA from the sun causes a breakdown in cellular functions, and combined with the increased temperature of the water from a mini-greenhouse effect…
Astronomer, Photographer
This Catalyst article looks at Thomas Read, a secondary school student from Swindon who explains how he won an award at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2012. Thomas was introduced to astronomy at a school club. He decided to enter his photo of the Sunflower Galaxy, taken using a robotic telescope, in the robotic…
The Moon, an Optical Illusion and an Iceberg: Did These Sink the Titanic?
This Catalyst article uses physics to investigate the possible causes of the sinking of the Titanic. Mike Follows explains how the hull of the Titanic was constructed to be watertight, however, the strength of the rivets used on the ship were inadequate. The article shows how the alignment of the sun, Earth and moon on that…
Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies or Weetabix
This Catalyst article looks at how scientists can use material recovered from archaeological sites to see how crops have been introduced to different countries over the history of farming. Three processes by which some plant material can be preserved are explained. The ratio of carbon isotopes from the collagen in animal bone can…
Higgs Boson
This Catalyst article looks at the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle discovered by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva, on July 4th 2012, after it was first predicted almost 50 years earlier. The Higgs boson is predicted by the ‘Standard Model’, which makes up the set of fundamental particles…
ALICE: Extraordinary Nuclear Adventures Underground
This Catalyst article discusses how experiments using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which discovered the Higgs boson, at the CERN laboratory can tell us about the nature of matter in the early universe. ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is one of the experiments taking place at the LHC. It breaks down nuclear matter into…
Seeing Into Bacteria
This Catalyst article describes how biophysics is helping in the search for novel antibiotics. Bacteria produce an array of proteins to kill off their competitors. These proteins, called bacteriocins, are very efficient at penetrating the defensive outer layers of bacteria cells by moving through specific membrane transporter…
Cum Grano Salis
This Catalyst article looks at salt, in particular the process of extracting salt from the sea in the salt factories of Trapani in Sicily. Located on the west coast of the island, the saline (salt ponds) were probably started by the Phoenicians around 3000 years ago. The article also looks at the structure of salt, how it is…
Seeing the Atoms That Will Shape Our Future
As transistors become smaller, the doping of semi-conductors becomes a significant challenge. This Catalyst article looks at how Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes can be used to manipulate individual atoms, to create electronic devices of unprecedented accuracy. The technique could also be used to fabricate quantum bits, leading to…
Clam Shells, Climate Change and Ageing
This Catalyst article looks at the discovery of the Arctica Islandica, a mollusc which carries a record of past environments in the banding of its shell. In 2006, scientists collecting material from the seabed off the north coast of Iceland found some clam shells which remarkably were found to have come from animals having lived…
Curious About Mars
This Catalyst article looks at NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, the automated chemistry lab which landed safely on Mars in August 2012. Capable of analysing samples from the planet's surface and atmosphere, the rover will undertake two years of experiments in the hope of discovering even more about our neighbouring planet. The…
Olympic Alloys
This Catalyst article looks at metals and alloys which play an important role in construction at the Olympic site, both in sports equipment and in medals. Designers must consider the properties of the materials used to make both sports equipment and buildings. These include strength, density, toughness, ductility and resistance to…
Going Electric
Sustainability is a high priority for the London organising committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This Catalyst article looks at their aim for all spectators to be able to get to the Olympic Park via public transport or by walking or cycling. In particular, the article focuses on the railway services which with an…
Life Below the Surface
This Catalyst article looks at scuba diving, and how having a knowledge of physics is vital in helping divers to get out of dangerous situations. Divers must be trained to control their buoyancy, and to ascend and descend at a safe pace to avoid injury. Other factors explored in the article are the effects of pressure on the body,…
Pedal Power
This Catalyst article explores how cyclists can use physics to explain certain limitations to their performance. Variables which may affect a cyclist's speed such as force, energy and power are considered along with formulas for calculating the correct amount of each in order to optimise performance. The article is from Catalyst:…
Building a White Water Canoe Course
This Catalyst article explores the processes undertaken during the construction of a white water canoe course for the Olympic Games which requires a huge range of practical skills, but also great science skills too. The scientist must calculate how much noise from both the course's construction and its use during the Games will…
Going Bananas about Radioactivity
This Catalyst article looks at how humans are exposed to radiation from many different sources, including food. The article describes the doses of radiation from sources such as: • building materials and rocks • bananas • bone scans • cosmic rays • radon gas The article illustrates the constant exposure…
Marie Curie - A Life of Discovery
This Catalyst article looks at Marie Curie, who discovered two radioactive elements and showed that radioactivity was a property of atoms, not compounds. Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes, the only woman to have done so. She is still the only person to have won awards in both Physics and Chemistry. The article describes her life…
Zombie Invasion
This Catalyst article looks at how Californians are being encouraged to prepare for the next big earthquake. It describes how earthquakes are produced by the relative movement of tectonic plates and how their intensity is measured using the Moment Magnitude scale. The article can be used to stimulate discussion on plate tectonics,…
The Kilogram
This Catalyst article looks at the changing definition of the kilogram, a unit of mass and a base unit in the SI system (the International System of units). It has been found that the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK), made in 1879 and kept in a vault in Paris, has lost about 50microgrammes of mass over the years. This may…
What Causes the Aurora?
This article from Catalyst looks at aurora borealis caused by the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field. It also explains how satellites are testing thoeires of how this happens. Auroral light emission occurs at roughly 100 km altitude. Energetic electrons in the solar wind cause the emission of light…
From Earth to Mars
This Catalyst article describes how a manned trip to Mars and back would be very demanding, both technologically and for the people involved. This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2. Catalyst is a science magazine for students aged 14-19 years. Annual subscriptions to print copies of…
Volcanoes from Space
This Catalyst article describes how the distribution of volcanoes across the Earth’s surface tells scientists about the underlying pattern of tectonic plates. Much can been learned about volcanoes by observing them from orbiting spacecraft. This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1. Catalyst…