Monthly Archives: November 2016

Paper Atom Decoration on a Christmas Tree
Making paper snowflakes is a holiday tradition. Why not “science” up your holidays by making atom paper snowflakes? Making atom paper snowflakes requires only a single sheet of paper, scissors, and paper folding skills. Here are instructions for making the atoms and a template you can print, fold, and cut […]

Make Atom Paper Snowflakes

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Homemade Cellophane Fortune Teller Fish (Anne Helmenstine)
The fortune teller fish or magic fish is a fish-shaped strip of polymer or plastic that bends and twists when placed onto your hand. The fish is red, but there’s nothing special about its color. The polymer absorbs water from perspiration on your skin, changing it structure and warping the […]

Make Your Own Fortune Teller Fish

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Chemistry up your Christmas celebration with this periodic table Christmas tree. This Christmas tree contains all 118 elements of the periodic table including the proposed names of elements 113, 115, 117, and 118. Each tile contains the element’s number, symbol, and name. Wear Your Own Chemis-tree (or enjoy a coffee) […]

Periodic Table Christmas Tree

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Image: NASA/GSFC/Chris Gunn
Science labs usually ask you to compare your results against theoretical or known values. This helps you evaluate your results and compare them against other people’s values. The difference between your results and the expected or theoretical results is called error. The amount of error that is acceptable depends on […]

Sources of Error in Science Experiments

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Time Dilation - Relativity Example Problem
Special relativity theory introduced an interesting notion about time. Time does not pass at the same rate for moving frames of reference. Moving clocks run slower than clocks in a stationary frame of reference. This effect is known as time dilation. To calculate this time difference, a Lorentz transformation is […]

Moving Clocks Run Slower – Time Dilation

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