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| If you’ve got a science or engineering question, post it here. We’ll see if one of our NOISEmakers can help you out. They know stuff.
First names only, please – and by the way, NOISEmakers won’t be able to enter into any private correspondence, OK?
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| Here are some of your most recent questions that have been answered by our NOISEmakers. |
 Fayyu from Maldives asked;
Does Photocatalytic Filter really remove bacteria and viruses?
 NOISEmaker Mathew Waugh answered;
Photocatalytic filters should not only remove bacteria and viruses but they should also destroy them. These machines work by sucking air/fluid through a filter membrane which traps the bacteria. They will then use UV light (which is the same as visible light but has a higher frequency and so a higher energy), which destroys the bacteria and viruses. Some filters will also use titania to enhance the bacterial killing. This works because titania is a semiconductor material which absorbs UV light, as it does so exited electrons are created in the material which travel to the surface of the titania where they generate reactive oxygen species in the air. These oxygen species are very efficient at killing bacteria. My laboratory is doing research into changing the properties of the titania so it can absorb normal visible light. This would mean antibacterial coatings and self cleaning windows which do not require UV light. So will work from the energy of lights in say hospitals or room lighting!
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cliff from wiltshire ; england asked;
Suggestions for home experiments to amuse two children (ten and twelve) who show no interest in maths or science, but have the usual attraction to bangs and stinks.
NOISEmaker Mathew Waugh answered;
I run an interactive lecture demo for school students here are a few of the demo's we do: 1)Take an egg in its shell and place it in the flame of a candle till soot forms on it , then plonk the egg in a glass of water the sooty area will go shiny silver because the light reflects/refracts at the interface betweeen the soot and the water. 2)Peel the hard boiled egg, then drop a match into a milk bottle put the egg ontop and it will be sucked into the bottle becasue as the match goes out due to lack of oxygen the air cools down and contracts. 3) add boiled red cabbage water to the egg/bottle the egg will turn green because red cabbage acts as a universal indicator for acids and alkali's(egg is alkaline)/ add lemon juice the water turns bright red!! 4)put the red water in a glass till half full then pour a layer of oil on top ( it is less dense than water). Then add half an alka selza tablet and it forms a DIY lava lamp effect as the alka salza alkaline tablet reacts with the acidic lemon juice to form gaseous CO2.
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Christina from England asked;
How many different kinds of science are there e.g phyisics
NOISEmaker Andrew Russell answered;
This is an interesting question and there's probably a few ways of answering it. So here goes... In the past, the term "science" simply meant knowledge and the ancient greeks, who were some of the first people to think about science as we would understand it, wouldn't have made distinctions between disciplines as we do. They would have just referred to natural philosophy i.e. knowledge of the natural world. Obviously at school when you study science it is split into physics (the science of matter), chemistry (the composition of matter) and biology (life science). There's problems with dividing science like this, though, as there are significant overlaps between physics, chemistry and biology that blur the division. It is also difficult to incorporate maths into this system of division and maths is fundamental to doing science. We also need to consider that a lot of scientific research these days requires expertise in more than one type of science so dividing science up can make some kind of work more difficult to get done! My thinking on this subject is that I try to understand as much science as possible and to describe myself as a scientist with a specialisation in something quite specific (I'm a dynamical meteorologist, which means that I study how small weather systems begin). This does, however, mean that there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of different kinds of science. Have a look at this page from Wikipedia for an idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_of_science I hope this helps!
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Corretta from U.S. asked;
How do you determine the acceleration and distance traveled by an accelerated car.
NOISEmaker Emma Carter answered;
Speed (or velocity which is speed in a certain direction) is the distance travelled per unit of time (e.g. m/s). Acceleration is defined as the rate of change in speed (e.g. m/s/s). To work out the acceleration and distance travelled you use these equations: acceleration, a = (v2 - v1)/t in other words, a = the change in velocity divided by the time interval For a car travelling at a constant velocity (v), the distance travelled = v x t which is the velocity multiplied by the time interval. For a car travelling with a constant acceleration, a: distance travelled = (v1 x t) + (a x t x t)/2 where v1 is the initial velocity is the time interval.
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tasha from jamaica asked;
can noise be classified as pollution
NOISEmaker Emma Carter answered;
Yes! Noise pollution can be defined as 'environmental noise that is annoying, distracting, or physically harmful'.
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| Here are some of your most recent questions that have yet to be answered by our NOISEmakers. |
Sherif from Beirut asked;
What are the affects of head position on the activity of the brain? The right and left hemisphere?
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Emily from Leeds asked;
Hi, I'm currently doing a project trying to make science (in particular biology) appeal to 14-19 year olds through an as campaign. do you have any ideas what would make science appeal to this target audience. and any ideas wy it is becoming so unpopular nowadays?
Thanks
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Sophie Moseley from Bawtry asked;
How do recorders block out sound in recording studios
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conceicao from macau asked;
What is Fencing rapiers and jet plances are made from
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Brian from Columbus, Ohio USA asked;
Mars being too cold, and Venus being too hot, could we (humanity) put mirrors in orbit around Venus, direct heat to collectors beyond the poles of Venus, to relay stations above the poles of the Sun, to collectors above poles of Mars, then to distributors in orbit around Mars? This could cool Venus, warm Mars, and make two planets available for human habitation. Terraforming could begin. Question: Are there bacteria or biological systems to convert the sulphuric acid clouds on Venus to non harmful substances?
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