Everyday Science

We are super excited to release our first podcast in our new series, Show Me Some Science! These short podcasts are designed to be used in the classroom or incorporated into your lessons. In this episode we look at wave interference. When two waves meet they can interact before they pass through each other. They can add up or cancel out and this is know as constructive and destructive interference.

In this last segment of the mixtures episode, Brian shows how fun and delicious it is to mix Carbon Dioxide and water!

The Colorado Rockies, 9News and Colorado State University are teaming up to launch the Fifth Annual Weather and Science Day at Coors Field on April 23, 2014. Here’s a video of the Little Shop of Physics Team getting ready for the big event!

Rivers can be a great example of mixtures, when the water carries rocks, sand and clay and deposits them in different places. Join geologist (and EverDay Science Producer!) Herb Saperston as he explores mixtures along the Podure River. Also, we look one last time at mixing and unmixing. This time the secret ingredient is salt!

You may have never thought about this, but milk is a mixture of different substances including proteins, sugars, and water. Learn how to "unmix" milk to make curds and whey!

Last time we saw that it is possible to unmix a mixture, or separate it into it's constituent parts. This week we will learn how to unmix different types of plastic so they can be recycled. And we'll learn how to unmix sand from Dominica.

Empedocles was an ancient Greek Philosopher and the first Western thinker to propose that everything in the world was a mixture of basic substances. He believed the four elements were Earth, Air, Fire and Water. In this podcast we also look at physically un-mixing, or separating out mixtures into their basic substances.

Cocoa does not like to mix with cold water. Brian and the team use emulsifiers, heating and good old fashioned stirring to get the cocoa to mix in for a delicious beverage!

We've already seen that oil and water don't mix. In this episode, we see how we can use this to propel little paper "boats" on the surface of water.

Magic Sand is specially treated sand that does not get wet! Another way of thinking of it is that it does not mix with water. At all. We play around with magic sand and then find a way to get it wet!

First we play around with cornstarch and water a little bit more. Then we see what happens when you try to mix oil and water!

This is our first podcast from a new EveryDay Science Show. The show is titled Mixtures and we will start off by looking at cornstarch and water. Sometimes it behaves like a liquid and sometimes it behaves like a solid. It all depends on the forces involved!

Do you think the moon looks bigger when it's close to the horizon that when it's straight overhead? Well, it's just an illusion...and we can prove it! And we will take a look at EveryDay Science! behind the scenes!

When you see objects next to each other, your brain makes certain assumptions. It's possible to trick your brain into seeing things in different ways! Magicians use some of these tricks which are referred to as "smoke and mirrors."

You might not think of paper as being exceptionally strong, but the again you might be surprised. In this segment you will see paper pulled as hard as we can and also paper supporting a 40 pound cinder block!

If you pull paper one way it's easy to tear but it you pull it another it's not. Brian and the students see if they can hang from a newspaper.

Students can disappear and seem to catch on fire using a green screen. Check out how this works!

Check out the world of ultraviolet florescence. Plus drinking glowing Martian Soda with mustaches! Also, get out your 3D glasses (or see the video on how to get a pair!)

Brian and the students use tape to make stained glass windows that can only been seen with polarizers! Also, a surgically altered calculator which switches colors depends on the angle!

Light, like any wave, can be polarized. That is to say that the wave can wiggle in certain directions. See what happens when you filter out light that is wiggling in a certain direction!

In this podcast we look at everyday objects using the entire rainbow — the spectrum of light! Then we see what’s missing when we shine light through different colored cups!

This is our first Podcast from the Everyday Science show called Discover a New Dimension. Brian introduces some students from Preston Middle School and illuminates fruit with light from sodium lamp!

Brian shows that nerves in people are electric. What kinds of foods are electric conductors?

Brian talks about lightning and lightning rods!

We introduced Benjamin Franklin in an earlier podcast and now we look at one of his inventions, the lightning rod. How does a lightning rod work? We answer that question and more on this episode of EveryDay Science!

"Would you like to be shocked?" "Yes, please." Liam tries his hand at the Van de Graaff generator and learns a little about how it works. It's a hair raising good time!

When enough electrical charge is built up, you can get a spark! Shocking!

Most often electricity is produced by a magnet rotating in a coil of wire, but something has to make that magnet rotate. There are many different ways to do this, we look at some of these in this podcast.

What can you do with a coil of wire and a magnet? Hint: It has something to do with electricity!

Are there any everyday household items that can make a battery? Yes there are! Want to learn what and how? Watch this podcast and find out!

Is lightning a form of electricity? Our historical scientist Benjamin Franklin found out in a very shocking way!

You are a conductor and so is water! Check out this podcast to learn more about why you are a conductor and about the conductivity of water.

Do you know how insulators and conductors are different? Do you know which one you are? Test your knowledge!

It's time to get sparky! In this podcast, we look at negative and positive charges and how they repel and attract.

This is our first podcast from a new EveryDay Science Show. Electricity is our topic and we start out by introducing static electricity.

We end our series on phase changes with a frosty treat! We use liquid nitrogen to make ice cream and have a very special guest help us out!

We use liquid nitrogen to create a superconductor, which has some amazing magnetic properties. This podcast is a must see!

Last time, we showed you how a bubble can float on gas. We have some special bubbles this time around and the result is pretty awesome! Don't miss out!

Meet our historical scientist, James Watt, an english inventor who used phase change to create a device that turns energy into useful work. Then, we take a look at how bubbles can float on gas!

In this segment, we learn how to cook with energy transfer from a phase transition. It's a melty chocolaty good time!

If something is frozen, does it feel hot or cold? This may seem like a silly question, but we freeze something that may change your answer!

We have looked at different phase changes, and now we are going to look at the energy that is involved, when we make those changes. When a liquid changes into a gas, do you put heat in or take heat out? Find out!

In this podcast, we learn how to make a fancy dessert using phase change. Also, we take a look at how condensation works on a warm, sunny day.

Liquid nitrogen is very cold but boils at room temperature. If liquid nitrogen is boiling, what happens when it condenses? The result is surprising and spectacular! Don't miss out!

Can salt water be easily purified? Check out this podcast to find out!

To begin this series of podcasts about boiling and freezing, we melt spoons...don't think it's possible...watch and learn!

The Little Shop of Physics is teaming up with the Rockies 9News for Weather and Science day Wednesday, April 24th. We will have all kinds of cool experiments for the kids. We have been hard at work making BIGGER versions of some of our classic demonstrations. Check it out!!

We have a special treat for this week's podcast! A time lapse video of the Little Shop of Physics open house 2013. Not only can you watch the actual open house,but also get a behind the scenes look at all the work leading up to the day. Maybe you will see yourself or someone you know!

This podcast finishes out our Everyday Science episode on conservation and we end with an unconventional way of making hot cocoa.

When you drop a bowling ball, it has potential energy that changes into kinetic energy as the ball falls. What happens when the bowling ball lands? The answer may surprise you!

Thermal energy is something we use in our everyday lives and you might not even notice it! In this podcast, we use a thermal camera to learn more about how thermal energy is conserved.