...and physics is just cool has all get-out:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1383137,00.html
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Einstein and BMX bikes to rebrand physics[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] Rebecca Holman
Wednesday January 5, 2005
[/font] [font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Einstein year is being launched today at the Science Museum in London with the first performance of a BMX stunt dubbed the "Einstein flip". [/font] [font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The stunt was created by Cambridge physicist Helen Czerski in collaboration with professional BMX rider Ben Wallace. Ms Czerski claims the stunt is "pushing the boundaries of what it is humanly possible to do on a bike".[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Mr Wallace, 18, a competitor in extreme sports events around the world, will launch off a 1.8m (6ft) high ramp and spin backwards through 360 degrees while simultaneously folding his bike underneath him in a move known to BMX devotees as a 'tabletop'. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]At one point, onlookers should see him upside down, travelling at 15mph, with his head almost 4m off the floor.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Ms Czerski looked at the physics behind different stunts and used computer simulations to determine the limits of what would be physically possible in the manoeuvre. She drew on several theories for inspiration, including the conservation of angular momentum and Newton's laws of motion. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]It is rumoured that Einstein was a keen cyclist who claimed his theory of relativity came to him while he was out riding his bike. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Einstein Year is the contribution by the UK and Ireland to World Year of Physics and marks the centenary of the publication in 1905 of Einstein's three ground-breaking papers on special relativity, the photoelectric effect and Brownian motion. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]These papers provided the foundation of modern physics, and activities throughout Einstein Year will explore ideas in contemporary physics as well as showing how our everyday lives are influenced by Einstein's legacy. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The IoP has organised a series of events throughout 2005 including exhibitions and radio shows. A roving Lab in a Lorry will travel to schools and supermarkets all over the country in an attempt enthuse 11 to 14-year-olds, who are perhaps the toughest group to get excited about the subject. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"We have gone down a very particular path because we have got very particular problems with getting young people involved in physics in this country," said Caitlin Watson, project manager for Einstein year.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"We are aiming at the traditionally hard to reach group of 11 to 14-year-olds, so we decided that calling it the International Year of Physics wasn't doing us any favours. There is, however, a whole mythology surrounding Einstein that young people can relate to more.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"Einstein year is all about challenging people's perceptions of physics and especially young people's perceptions. Physics relates to all of our lives - from fun things like fizzy drinks to life-saving medical imaging technology," she added.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The event will run across the country all year, and will include poster and poetry competitions, as well as interactive exhibitions looking at contemporary physics. The institute is also putting together resource packs, which include hand-held 'magician's' tricks, which explain the physics behind illusions. [/font]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1383137,00.html
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Einstein and BMX bikes to rebrand physics[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif] Rebecca Holman
Wednesday January 5, 2005
[/font] [font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Einstein year is being launched today at the Science Museum in London with the first performance of a BMX stunt dubbed the "Einstein flip". [/font] [font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The stunt was created by Cambridge physicist Helen Czerski in collaboration with professional BMX rider Ben Wallace. Ms Czerski claims the stunt is "pushing the boundaries of what it is humanly possible to do on a bike".[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Mr Wallace, 18, a competitor in extreme sports events around the world, will launch off a 1.8m (6ft) high ramp and spin backwards through 360 degrees while simultaneously folding his bike underneath him in a move known to BMX devotees as a 'tabletop'. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]At one point, onlookers should see him upside down, travelling at 15mph, with his head almost 4m off the floor.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Ms Czerski looked at the physics behind different stunts and used computer simulations to determine the limits of what would be physically possible in the manoeuvre. She drew on several theories for inspiration, including the conservation of angular momentum and Newton's laws of motion. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]It is rumoured that Einstein was a keen cyclist who claimed his theory of relativity came to him while he was out riding his bike. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Einstein Year is the contribution by the UK and Ireland to World Year of Physics and marks the centenary of the publication in 1905 of Einstein's three ground-breaking papers on special relativity, the photoelectric effect and Brownian motion. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]These papers provided the foundation of modern physics, and activities throughout Einstein Year will explore ideas in contemporary physics as well as showing how our everyday lives are influenced by Einstein's legacy. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The IoP has organised a series of events throughout 2005 including exhibitions and radio shows. A roving Lab in a Lorry will travel to schools and supermarkets all over the country in an attempt enthuse 11 to 14-year-olds, who are perhaps the toughest group to get excited about the subject. [/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"We have gone down a very particular path because we have got very particular problems with getting young people involved in physics in this country," said Caitlin Watson, project manager for Einstein year.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"We are aiming at the traditionally hard to reach group of 11 to 14-year-olds, so we decided that calling it the International Year of Physics wasn't doing us any favours. There is, however, a whole mythology surrounding Einstein that young people can relate to more.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]"Einstein year is all about challenging people's perceptions of physics and especially young people's perceptions. Physics relates to all of our lives - from fun things like fizzy drinks to life-saving medical imaging technology," she added.[/font]
[font=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]The event will run across the country all year, and will include poster and poetry competitions, as well as interactive exhibitions looking at contemporary physics. The institute is also putting together resource packs, which include hand-held 'magician's' tricks, which explain the physics behind illusions. [/font]
