Zeit Magazin: Der Bus, mit dem ich die Welt entdeckte. “Nichts hat das Leben der Schriftstellerin Hatice Akyün so verändert wie der Duisburger Bücherbus. Jetzt hat sie seinen Erfinder getroffen.” Von Hatice Akyün. (Zeitmagazin Nr. 30/2016, online 20. Juli 2016)
Category Archives: School and Education
The Chemical History of a Candle
Engineer Guy: The Chemical History of a Candle. “Faraday’s Great 19th Century Lectures for a 21st Century Audience” is divided into five lectures. You can also watch the five lectures with commentary. An accompnagnying book is available as hardcover, paperback, ebook or free PDF.
Direct links to the series on YouTube:
- Introduction: The Chemical History of a Candle by Michael Faraday
- Lecture One: The Sources of its Flame (with commentary)
- Lecture Two: Brightness of the Flame (with commentary)
- Lecture Three: Products of Combustion (with commentary)
- Lecture Four: The Nature of the Atmosphere (with commentary)
- Lecture Five: Respiration & the Burning of a Candle (with commentary)
It’s a classic!
Links via MetaFilter: Six Easy Pieces, 19th century edition.
“Some of it is brand new, and some is as old as you are.”
Skunk Bear: Science from NPR: How Old Is Your Body, Really? (YouTube, 3:08)
How to make a good teacher
Today’s print issue of the Economist:
Education: How to make a good teacher. “What matters in schools is teachers. Fortunately, teaching can be taught.”
Education reform: Teaching the teachers. “Great teaching has long been seen as an innate skill. But reformers are showing that the best teachers are made, not born.”
Electric Train
Physics Girl: World’s Easiest DIY Electric Train.
These trains are so much fun! I’ve actually built one last year with students after I saw the instructions on a Swiss/German site that sells neodymium magnets:
Supermagnete.de: Der einfachste Elektrozug der Welt.
The hard part was finding copper wire without insulation, which doesn’t seem to be available in German hardware stores. If you try and build one, don’t be surprised if the battery runs out fast – it’s short-circuited by the coil, so the fun runs out after a short while.
If you need more inspiration, take a look at World’s Simplest Electric Train (2) by Amazing Science.