Science News 

Science Talent Search Competition

Not having much to do during lockdown, my mother suggested that I should try a few experiments that my grandmother; a science teacher, showed her as a child. Two of these experiments that my mum recommended interested me: creating a density tower and making a pinhole camera. The density tower required me to use various substances from our pantry with different densities. When carefully poured on top of each other, it created distinct layers although they were all liquids. The pinhole camera, on the other hand, taught me the way our eyes work. The camera demonstrated that when light travels in a straight line through a small aperture, it creates an inverted image.

I entered these experiments into two categories of the Science Talent Search Competition (Video Productions and Science Photography), where I received minor bursaries for both entries. I really enjoyed doing the experiments for this competition and I’d like to thank Ms Bonham and Ms Mandeltort for their support and encouragement.

Samudra Pathmasiri

Year 9

I participated in the 2020 Science Talent Search, entering a project based on identifying the effects of different filters on the observation of a planet through a telescope. I won a major bursary for this project under the photography category. 

Throughout the process, I learnt about the effects of Rayleigh light scattering on the observation of Jupiter, and how astronomical filters are effective in countering this, increasing the sharpness of details in the atmospheres of the planet. Each different filter has a different colour, increasing the contrast between different features of the planet, thus revealing them. Overall, I found this a very engaging and rewarding project and gained a wealth of knowledge from it.

Armaan Sandhu

Year 10