December 2, 2011 - Atomic News Day

On this day in 1942, scientists Arthur Compton and Enrico Fermi produced the first nuclear chain reaction beneath the West Stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. When an atom of uranium is split by a neutron, it emits more neutrons that can split more atoms...and that chain reaction can result in explosive nuclear power!

On this day in 1957, the first full-scale atomic electric generating station in the U.S. began operation in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.

This YouTube video tells more about fission of uranium and chain reactions. 

Learn about nuclear power...

• with a chain-reaction demonstration.  

• with these videos. 

• with the U.S. Department of Energy's “Nuclear Energy Student Zone.”

September 30, 2011 - World's First Nuclear Submarine

-- 1954

It could dive longer, faster, and deeper than any submarine before it.

The USS Nautilus, commissioned on this day in 1954, wasn't limited in range and speed by the diesel engines of previous submarines. Also, with a nuclear reactor, there was no need to surface to recharge batteries.

Because of the new-found larger range, the Nautilus was the first submarine to travel under the Arctic ice and cross the North Pole. As a matter of fact, in her first years of operation, the Nautilus broke many records. There were also a few shortcomings in design that engineers eagerly learned from; the later generations of nuclear submarines were improved versions.

She was retired in 1980 and now serves as a museum of submarine history in Groton, Connecti-cut.

Watch a video to learn about nuclear power. This one is for older students, 

and younger kids might prefer this one. 

Find out more about nuclear submarines at How Stuff Works.

I found this short video odd because there is no narrator—just a musical sound track—and because, once in a while, someone is on-camera, talking—but we don't hear what he is saying! Still, the video does give you a great idea of the tight quarters and some of the “bustle” of living on a nuclear submarine! 

December 20, 2009

Electricity Theme Day

On this day in 1879, Thomas Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light bulb at his Menlo Park research lab.

Remember, Edison didn't invent or even discover electricity (known from ancient times), and he didn't invent the first light bulb (Sir Humphrey Davy made an arc lamp in 1809, and Frederick de Moleyns got the first patent for an incandescent bulb in 1841). What Edison did was to make the first commercially practical light bulb and an entire system of electric lighting. Edison said on the last day of 1879, "We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles."

<--1904

Today -->

On this day in 1880, Broadway in Manhattan, NYC, became one of the first streets in the U.S. lit by electricity. A mile of the street was lit by carbon-based Brush arc lamps, which provided much brighter light than the incandescent light bulbs of the time. Since then, that section of Broadway, which features the Theatre District and Times Square, has become known as “The Great White Way” because it is lit by millions of lights on marquees and billboards.

On this day in 1901, Robert J. Van de Graaf was born. This American physicist invented a high-voltage electrostatic generator, which looks like a large silver ball mounted on a pedestal. It makes your hair stand on end, but more importantly, it can be used as a particle accelerator in physics research.


On this day in 1938, Russian-American inventor Vladimir Zworykin (sometimes called the “true father of television,” although most give Philo Farnsworth that honor) was finally granted a patent for his iconoscope, an early television camera. (This camera had already been used for the historic TV transmission of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.)


On this day in 1951, the first electricity ever generated by nuclear energy was created near Arco, Idaho. (The Experimental Breeder Reactor in Idaho produced enough energy to light four 200-watt light bulbs that day.)

By 1952, the Paley Commission was already somewhat pessimistic about nuclear power and called for “aggressive research in the whole field of solar energy.” And by 1955, the Arco Reactor was the first reactor in the U.S. to experience partial meltdown.


Have fun with this model of the electric force
Virtually speaking, create electrons and see if you can keep them from getting sucked into the positive-charged proton.

Do some electricity experiments!
Try the ideas here. Or here is a fun website.
These experiments are so easy, they're considered “snack size.”

Build electric circuits with information found here.

Learn more.
Here is an interactive course about electricity.
And here is an interactive diagram that shows the difference between AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current).