Plasma Science Fair Topics?
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators
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Bri
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:04 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: I am an 8th grade physical science student interested in the physical state of plasma. I am looking for science fair topics having to do with plasma. I have taken the survey on this site and it hasn't really helped me. Could you give me some suggestions or ideas? Thank you very much!
- Project Due Date: Projects must be completed by the end of January.
- Project Status: I am just starting
Plasma Science Fair Topics?
Hi, I am an 8th grader who is in need of a science fair topic. I have searched other websites and taken your survey twice. I am very interested in the physical state of plasma. Could you suggest any experiments on this topic? My project is due at the end of January, so I have plenty of time for experimentation. Thank you so much!
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kgudger
- Moderator
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- Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:20 pm
- Occupation: electronic engineer
- Project Question: n/a
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- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: Plasma Science Fair Topics?
Hello and welcome to the forum!
If you search for plasma science projects, you will find several ideas. We have had a lot of fun creating plasmas in our microwave oven - but I can't recommend that
(you can search for "microwave plasma experiments" and see what others have done).
The most important thing here is to get your question first. What would you like to do with plasmas? Or, what would you like to learn about them?
Please note that a lot of plasma experiments require high voltages. If you don't know how to generate these safely, you may want to think about another area to investigate (just a safety tip).
Good luck and keep us informed about what you find and decide.
Keith
If you search for plasma science projects, you will find several ideas. We have had a lot of fun creating plasmas in our microwave oven - but I can't recommend that
(you can search for "microwave plasma experiments" and see what others have done).The most important thing here is to get your question first. What would you like to do with plasmas? Or, what would you like to learn about them?
Please note that a lot of plasma experiments require high voltages. If you don't know how to generate these safely, you may want to think about another area to investigate (just a safety tip).
Good luck and keep us informed about what you find and decide.
Keith
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Bri
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:04 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: I am an 8th grade physical science student interested in the physical state of plasma. I am looking for science fair topics having to do with plasma. I have taken the survey on this site and it hasn't really helped me. Could you give me some suggestions or ideas? Thank you very much!
- Project Due Date: Projects must be completed by the end of January.
- Project Status: I am just starting
I'm still a little stuck!
I'd like to thank you Keith for the insight on my "plasma topic" questions. They reminded me that any such experiments would require equipment and safety issues that I don't necessarily feel like I should or want to deal with. I need a topic that would be safe and easy enough to do mainly on my own. So, while I'm still interested in plasmas and such, I think I'll steer away from that topic for now. Thank you, though!!!
My past two science fairs at my classical school(which I have been fortunate enough to win), have come from topics that have evolved from my science book and my own interests. Flipping through my book,I see some chapters on friction, forcees, and laws of motion. My book relates such things with swimming. I enjoy competetive swimming, and think an experiment on how to make a swimmer faster would be fun and interesting to me personally. Any thoughts?
My past two science fairs at my classical school(which I have been fortunate enough to win), have come from topics that have evolved from my science book and my own interests. Flipping through my book,I see some chapters on friction, forcees, and laws of motion. My book relates such things with swimming. I enjoy competetive swimming, and think an experiment on how to make a swimmer faster would be fun and interesting to me personally. Any thoughts?
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kgudger
- Moderator
- Posts: 421
- Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:20 pm
- Occupation: electronic engineer
- Project Question: n/a
- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: I'm still a little stuck!
Hi Bri:
Yes, a project on the forces and friction involved in swimming sounds like fun! (Every time I used to swim with one of my friends, he regaled me with the physics of what I was doing wrong...
While experimenting on yourself while swimming might sound like fun, I believe the experiment will be easier to do and give more repeatable results if you work with a model. (After you get results on models, you could try the extension to your own swimming.) (BTW, by a model I don't mean a human model, I mean a scale model
)
You could look at how different types of equipment affects drag (e.g. suits, caps) Looking at how high you ride in the water affects drag might be interesting. You could also look at various strokes and modifications in their application affects speed. What about various kicks? Or lack thereof? I know I never had much of a kick, and I always wondered if it really made much of a difference.
HTH.
Keith
Yes, a project on the forces and friction involved in swimming sounds like fun! (Every time I used to swim with one of my friends, he regaled me with the physics of what I was doing wrong...
While experimenting on yourself while swimming might sound like fun, I believe the experiment will be easier to do and give more repeatable results if you work with a model. (After you get results on models, you could try the extension to your own swimming.) (BTW, by a model I don't mean a human model, I mean a scale model
)You could look at how different types of equipment affects drag (e.g. suits, caps) Looking at how high you ride in the water affects drag might be interesting. You could also look at various strokes and modifications in their application affects speed. What about various kicks? Or lack thereof? I know I never had much of a kick, and I always wondered if it really made much of a difference.
HTH.
Keith