In the Lab

The Naked Scientists: Science Radio & Science Podcasts

Crisp Packet Fireworks - Science Experiments to Try at Home
(c) Dave Ansell

Dissolving eggs - the power of enzymes


Dissolve some eggs and find out the difference between Biological and non-Biological washing powders, and that not all washing powders are the same.
(c) Dave Ansell

DIY CD Hovercraft


Make a neat little hovercraft using a CD and a balloon.
(c) Dave Ansell

Mysterious Movements - Surface Tension and a Ball


Can you make a ball float in the centre of a glass? It is harder than you would think. A nice little experiment you can use to challenge your friends...
(c) Dave Ansell

DIY Rainbow - how a rainbow forms


Make your own rainbow with this simple kitchen science, though you will have to provide your own pot of gold.
(c) Dave Ansell

Chlorophyll Chromatography


Find out some of the pigments in a leaf using some easy household materials.

DIY Photovoltaic Solar cell


Find out how to build your own solar cell, it may not solve the world's energy problem, but it is made from recycled components.
(c) Dave Ansell

Water Pressure


Do a classic experiment to show why dams have to be so high and submarines so strong.
(c) Dave Ansell

Wind in a bowl - convection


Make your own model weather system in a bowl of water.

Dancing Raisins


Make raisins dance in front of your eyes using nothing more sophisticated than some fizz.
(c) Dave Ansell

Fun with filters


One of the most basic ways of cleaning water is to use a filter. If you fancy getting a little dirty, why not have a go?
(c) Dave Ansell

Pepper's Ghost


Confuse your friends with ghostly candles, and find out how these are related to Victorian theater and fighter aircraft
(c) Dave Ansell

Exploding Film Canisters


Find out how to make a mini-explosion using a film canister, and find out how your explosion relates to real explosives, such as gunpowder.
(c) Uwe Kils @wikipedia

Melting Ice with Salt


We were asked why councils don't use seawater to melt ice on the roads. Why not find out the answer with an experiment?
(c) Dave Ansell

Swapping Sounds


Completely confuse your sense of direction using a couple of hose pipes and some funnels...
(c) Dave Ansell

Cycle Centrifuge


Use a bike and some salad dressing to find out how blood is separated and how nuclear fuel is made.
(c) Dave Ansell
Part 1 Part 2 Listen
...or download as MP3 [1] [2]

Build your own airbrush - Applying Bernoulli


Find out how to build an airbrush to produce beautifully smooth paint finishes, and what this has to do with a car engine.
(c) Dave Ansell

Margarine Planets


Use a tub of ordinary margarine to model how a planet forms, and to explain why we get different types of meteorite.
(c) Dave Ansell

Shelless Eggs


Make a bizzare, shelless, raw egg in this easy experiment.
(c) Dave Ansell

Build your own helicopter


Build your own helicopter using just a piece of card, some tape, and a few pencils.
(c) Dave Ansell

Lard Mountains - Isostacy


Build some mountains out of lard, and find out why mountains are like icebergs, and what this has to do with England sinking.
(c) Dave Ansell
Part 1 Part 2 Listen
...or download as MP3 [1] [2]

Root vegetable cannon - DIY potato gun


Build yourself a root vegetable based cannon using just a biro, a hacksaw and a potato.
(c) Omegatron

Echolocation


Build your own primitive sonar with a computer and a microphone, and find out how this relates to medical ultrasound.
(c) Dave Ansell

Flying Protractors - the power of ground effect


Make stationery glide serenely across a tabletop, and find out how this relates to some of the largest aircraft ever built.
(c) Dave Ansell

Bendy and Brittle Bones


Bone is an incredible material - as for its weight, it can be stronger than steel. Find out why it is so strong with this kitchen science.
(c) gaetanlee
Part 1 Part 2 Listen
...or download as MP3 [1] [2]

Weighing Buoyancy


Does a glass get heavier if you put your finger in the water? Find out in this experiment.
(c) Dave ANsell
Part 1 Part 2 Listen
...or download as MP3 [1] [2]

Falling Mugs


Scare all your friends by dropping a mug with seemingly nothing to stop it hitting the floor, and find out what this has to do with ice skating.
(c) Dave Ansell

Recycling Paper


Take some of those old bits of paper and recycle them to make some new paper. It is far more fun than buying recycled paper in a shop.
(c) Dave Ansell

Dropping Eggs


How to stop an egg from breaking when dropped without any padding, and what it has to do with a womb.

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