An Oudin coil can take the energy out of your outlet and create sparks you can see! It’s sometimes called a mini tesla coil. The sparks on them usually look violet. If you know the visible light spectrum, you might know that violet light is the most energetic color of light. The oudin coil looks
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Light, it’s properties, and the ways it can be manipulated are as fascinating as they are beautiful. It can be bent, slowed down, absorbed, and reflected. It turns out that the study of optics looks into all of these different interactions. But what happens when you want to mix the science of optics with a
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Fiber optics allow for the transmission of information, like the internet and cable TV. They carry information between two places using entirely light-based technology. In a cable, there can be as little as two fibers, or as many as several hundreds. Each fiber is about as thick as a human hair. But how does it
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It is no surprise that we experience and use scientific phenomenons every day. But, did you know that our eyes do that too? At camp, we have a science experiment that demonstrates how our eyes take in light. This hole in the wall is a great model for an eye. Your eye has a few major
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A constellation is a group of stars that are considered to form imaginary outlines or meaningful patterns on the celestial sphere. They typically represent animals, mythological people, gods or creatures. There are 88 modern constellations, but just because those are the ones that are recognized doesn’t mean that one you make up is less valid.
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Most of us have experienced using a lens in some way, whether it was using glasses, cameras, or our favorite, telescopes. A lens is a piece of glass or other transparent substance with curved sides for concentrating or dispersing light rays. They have the ability to bend light! Did you know that gravity can bend light
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It wouldn’t be surprising if nitrogen was your favorite elements. N2 is the most common molecule found in our atmosphere, making up roughly 78% of it. But here at camp, we have a different reason for why it is one of our favorite things to have around. We have a ton of liquid Nitrogen on
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If you’ve ever done laundry, you know that bleach stains dark clothes and brightens light ones, but why does it do that? Well, the answer is all down to chemistry. Inside the dyes we use in clothes, food, etc., there are chemicals called chromophores. These chromophores reflect a specific wavelength of light, causing them to
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Can’t get enough of bubbles? Here at AstroCamp we love playing with them too! This is a great DIY that you should definitely try at home. All you will need to make fluorescent bubbles is a blacklight, bowl, dish soap, ink from a highlighter, a little water, and a bubble wand. Then let the fun
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There isn’t much that comes to mind when we try to compare the similarities of pyrex glass and vegetable oil. No, we are not baking or cooking, we are simply doing an awesome at-home science experiment. It turns out that these two things have something very fundamentally in common: they have the same index of
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Thermal cameras operate by looking at objects in a different band of light called infrared, which is the way heat transmits. Ordinarily, you could see a person from behind a wall or other solid object by looking in the infrared, as their heat still passes through that object somewhat, like with the garbage bag (DO
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While the eyes of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania are focused on the shadow of a groundhog. We here at AstroCamp have different shadows in mind. Using red, green, and blue lights, we’re making up to seven different shadows at once! The key to these shadows is the different lights, both their colors and their positions. Red, green,
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