Physical Science Innovative Uses

Vacuum sealer with Vernier Gas Pressure Sensor connected We sometimes use an inexpensive vacuum sealer here at our offices. I was curious about the pressures involved, and whether these could be used as an alternative to expensive vacuum pumps in the science lab. We put a partially inflated balloon in the sealer and ran it.…

Subjects: Physical Science

Wine pumps If you have a partially finished bottle of wine and you want to prevent the wine from oxidizing, you can use a wine pump. Many different styles are sold. They are usually hand-powered pumps that are used to lower the pressure in a wine bottle so there is less oxygen in the bottle.…

Subjects: Physical Science

A Fizz Keeper is a device that is sold to preserve the carbonation in soft drinks. We decided to see if they really work at maintaining pressure in bottles. We used a special soda bottle to which we attached tubing to connect to our Gas Pressure Sensor. We opened a bottle of soda, poured the…

Subjects: Physical Science

Two groups of local science students from Westview High School, Beaverton, OR, recently won honors with projects using our sensors to monitor their school environment. Julio Montano, Jose Perez, and Josean Perez used our temperature sensors to monitor classroom temperature and how it affects student attention span. The project won awards at the science fair.…

Subjects: Physical Science

Students at Susquehanna Township High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, participated in a program where the students studied the life cycle of the blowfly and its relationship to the decomposition of a deer. This program motivated 9th grade student Drew Evans to do some further investigation for his science fair project. Drew was intrigued with the…

Subjects: Physical Science

Judy Day, with the Science House, a NC State University K-12 science outreach program, has developed an activity investigating a plant’s response to gravity. Judy uses a ProScope USB digital microscope to record changes over time in a plant that has been placed on its side. For best results, Judy recommends using an Arabidopsis thaliana…

Subjects: Physical Science

Parker Moreland, Danbury, CT, has come up with many clever uses of our products over the years. This time, he performed a simple experiment using Logger Pro, LabPro, and four temperature probes. It is a study of how well various insulated tumblers keep a liquid warm. The best was an expensive, vacuum tumbler, followed by…

Subjects: Physical Science