• Question: Whats the most fun experiment you have done?

    Asked by somethingrandom97 to Andrew, Marianne, Emma on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by briang.
    • Photo: Andrew Maynard

      Andrew Maynard answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Hi somethingrandom97 and briang,

      I don’t know. There are a couple of experiments I did at Uni which really stick with me – one was using magnets to change the way electrons behaved in Sodium atoms then using lasers to detect the change. Another was using magnets and microwaves to change the spin of electrons in a substance, and measuring the change. In both cases, I loved the fact that I was not only changing something at the atomic level, but that I could actually measure that change – very cool.

      Thinking about the research experiments I’ve done since leaving university, most of it has been interesting and some has been exciting. But fun? I’m not sure…

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Hi somethingrandom97 (like the name!).. I haven’t done any experiments for a number of years but in my Masters degree I had to do a piece of research work into what nasty substances were in black smoke from fire fighting training and what affect it would have on humans and the environment…oh, and I did get to meet some firemen!:)

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Hello random and brian. There’s loads of cool experiments but how about this?: Take human white blood cells called neutrophils and expose them to a nasty chemical/bacteria that really upsets them. Watch down microscope as cell explodes sending its (fluorescently stained) DNA shooting across the culture dish. This process is called neutrophil NET-osis and means that even when neutrophils die they can take bacteria with them. DNA is sticky and poisonous to bacteria so they get all gunged up in it and die like a sort of spider-web phenomenon.

      You can see this expt. here:http://www.jove.com/index/Details.stp?ID=1724

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