December 20 - Electricity Theme Day

Posted December 20, 2020

Here I am updating my post for 12/20/2009:

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."

<--Broadway (Time Square) in 1904

Broadway (Time Square) Today -->

On this day in 1880, the famous street called 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.

Do some electricity experiments!

Try the ideas here. And these experiments are so easy, they're considered “snack size.”

Build electric circuits with information found here.

Learn more.

Here is a great explanation of how electricity works.

Here are some games about the electromagnetic force.
Here is an interactive website about electricity.

Also on this date:

Baseball executive Branch Rickey's birthday

Day of Mourning in Panama

Anniversary of Macau's transfer to the People's Republic of China

Anniversary of an innovation that led to corrugated cardboard

Anniversary of Elvis being drafted into the army

Electricity theme day

(original post)

Anniversary of first cantilever bridge over Niagara Falls

Poet Laureate Day

Birthday of artist Ivana Koblica

Anniversary of Cardiff becoming the capital city of Wales

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest pages on:

• December holidays
• December birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in December

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• January holidays 
• January birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in January

May 27 – Sunscreen Protection Day

Posted May 27, 2015

 Today is an awesome day to get new sunscreen – at least if you live in the Northern Hemisphere (like about 88% of the world's population), and you are heading into summer – or if you live in the tropics (like about 40% of the world's population – note that some of them live in the Northern Hemisphere!), and you are always in the direct-sunshine zone.

Or at least check the expiration date. Many modern sunscreens are designed to work up to three years. Obviously, you should replace any expired sunscreen. The whole idea of using it is, you want it to work!

It's also a great day to remind us of the importance of using sunscreen. Ultraviolet radiation can cause sunburns, skin cancer, sunspots, and premature aging. Sunscreen should even be used on cloudy days, because UV rays penetrate clouds.

Another reason to talk about the importance of sunscreen is the depletion of the ozone layer. That means that more ultraviolet light is getting through to the surface than in past decades and centuries. Hopefully, people are no longer using ozone-depleting substances anywhere in the world, and the ozone layer can repair itself. According to the U.S. EPA, if everyone follows the guidelines established, the ozone layer should be healed by about 2050.

   
Another thing to do today: Do an experiment!

Or two!

Also on this date:

Birthday of “Mother of Modern Dance,” Isadora Duncan  

Physicist Lawrence M. Krauss's birthday

Cellophane Tape Day

Feminist Amelia Bloomer's birthday

Environmentalist Rachel Carson's birthday

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• May holidays 
• May birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in May

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• June holidays
• June birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in June

July 3 – Compliment Your Mirror Day

Posted on July 3, 2013

Today is supposed to be a day to build our self-esteem. A day to look in the mirror and—whether we are young and old, male or female, sick or healthy—assure ourselves, “You look fabulous!”

So, go do that, and then come back!

I'd rather actually compliment our mirrors, rather than ourselves! Our mirrors do a great job of reflecting things for our benefit—and there are a lot of different sorts of mirrors used for all sorts of different tasks, too!

There are tiny mirrors used by dentists and dental hygienists to see the back sides of our teeth.

Mirrors are used inside telescopes and lasers to collect and magnify light.

We have slightly curved mirrors used on our cars to provide a larger view with a small mirror. (That's why some side-view mirrors say, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”)

We have fun-house mirrors that make us look all wiggly, and kaleidoscope mirrors that give us beautiful patterns.

We have one-way mirrors that enable, for example, police to watch suspects in an interrogation room while the suspects cannot see them.

We have beautifully mirrored buildings and memorials.

There are lots of other uses for mirrors, as well—everything from military uses to emergency signaling uses, uses in everything from seasonal lighting and “green” skylights to TVs and cameras.

What did people use as mirrors way-back-when?

Glass mirrors with metal backing date back to the first century C.E. or earlier. However, for a good long while only rich people were able to afford good metal-backed glass mirrors. (The silvered-glass mirrors we use today was invented by Justus von Liebig in 1835.)

People also sought their reflections in highly polished metal or obsidian mirrors—and, of course, in very still water.

Celebrate mirrors!

• Try to print your name so that it looks right in a mirror. Even harder--try to write your name in cursive so that it looks right in a mirror!

• Here is a science “game” that can help you learn about angles of reflection. 

• Try this mirror drawing challenge.

• Here are three simple mirror experiments. Oh, and one more. 

• This PDF offers a lot of mirror activities! 

• Last but certainly not least, create your own kaleidoscope! 

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the first modern strawberries 

“Dog Days” begin

Independence Day in Belarus

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest pages on July holidays, historical anniversaries in July, and July birthdays.

And here are my Pinterest pages on August holidays, historical anniversaries in August, and August birthdays.

January 9, 2012 - National Static Electricity Day

There are two kinds of electricity – the kind that moves briskly along in what we call an electric current, and the kind that sits around, piling up, on a surface of an object. The word static means “unmoving” or “unchanging,” so you can see that static electricity is the latter kind.

Things are made of stuff, what we call matter, and matter is made up of atoms that are usually electrically neutral. That is, atoms generally have no positive or negative charge. The reason that atoms are electrically neutral is that they have the same number of positive particles (protons, found in the central nucleus) and negative particles (electrons, found in the outer cloud surrounding the nucleus).

The thing is, electrons can get bumped off when two surfaces come into contact and then separate again. When it loses an electron, an atom has more protons than electrons, and so it has a positive charge.

Also, an atom can collect the bumped-off electron from another atom; when that happens, it has more electrons than protons, and so it has a negative charge.

Static electricity can build up and build up, with more and more atoms getting brushed together and losing or gaining electrons, until finally it is discharged by flowing to the surroundings. People can feel, hear, and often see a spark as static electricity is discharged.

Examples of static electricity vary from socks rubbing together in the drier to lightning, which is probably caused by ice particles bumping together in a cloud. Static charge can be very dangerous – we are warned, for example, not to repeatedly get in and out of our seats at a gas station, as the rubbing of car seats and clothing could cause a build-up of static electricity, any discharge could cause a spark, and sparks are dangerous at a gas pump! But static electricity can also be harmless fun – such as the crazy hair-dos created by rubbing a rubber balloon on our hair!

Find out more...

Science Made Simple has an article about static electricity and four activity suggestions. Science Kids has a much shorter, simpler article on static electricity. 

I like this simple, clear demo of water and static electricity—this is one experiment that would be easy to do at home! 

People at science fairs use Van de Graaff generators to demonstrate static electricity. Here is a vivid demo of hair “standing on end” because of static electricity. And here is Steve Spangler demonstrating the generator. 

Also on this date:

Balloon Ascension Day 

Anniversary of Columbus spotting mermaids (supposedly!)