Possible topics for investigation

1.The shutter speeds of a camera

2.The accuracy of aim of an air rifle, catapult, or
improvised gun
3.The true path of a ball thrown in air
4.Water drops failing on water (flash pictures?)
5.Splashing of moving drops hitting solids
6.A narrow water trough as an accelerometer
7.The profile of a rotating water surface
8.The precession of a gyroscope
9.Comparisons of human reaction times (between
individuals; for different stimuli)
10. Time taken by a switch to make or break contact
11. Bouncing of relay contacts
12. How much does the air pressure in a football
matter?
13. The performance of a firework rocket The
bounce-time of a ball
14. Factors affecting the friction of steel on ice
15. The effect of oil films between sliding metal
surfaces
16. Does water absorb ultra-violet light?
17. How long does the flash from a flash bulb last?
18. How long does the flash from a xenon
stroboscope last?
19. How does the light coming through a slotted
wheel stroboscope vary with time?
20. Study the motion of a ball rolling on a turntable
21. What does an air track collision look like from a
moving point of view? (Moving camera)
22. The distribution of speed, or of energy, among
balls rolling randomly in a shaking tray
23. The possible orbits of a pendulum bob
24. The motion of the lip of a vibrating wire
25. The performance of a water pump
26. The performance of a fan
27. The thrust of a propeller (in air, or in water)
28. The energy delivered by a catapult
29. Load and speed variations of a model aero-engine
30. The fuel consumption of a model aero-engine
31. The temperature changes and cooling of a model
aero-engine
32. The air supply to a model aero-engine
33. Reduction of noise from a model aero-engine
34. Factors affecting beam bending
35. Factors affecting the buckling of a beam under
compression
36. Factors affecting the flexing of a rotating shaft
37. The strength of girders of different construction
(use balsa wood)
38. The energy stored in a spiral clock spring
39. Factors affecting the design of a good paddle
wheel
40. Making strong concrete bars
41. The fracture of concrete by impact forces
42. Effects of reinforcement on concrete
43. The strength of fibreglass repairs (commercial
fibreglass kits)
44. Ice is said to be made less brittle by freezing
sawdust into it. Is it?
45. Variation of flow behaviour with rate of strain
(silicone putty)
46. Effects of heat-treating razor blades
47. Heat-treatment of steel
48. Heat-treatment of copper
49. Heat-treatment of glass
50. Flow patterns in glycerine (see Shapiro, A. H.
Science Study Series, Shape and flow,
Heinemann)
51. Perspex is said to 'remember' that it has been
deformed, for a while. Does it?
52. The strength of human hair
53. The strength of paper
54. The properties of glued joints
55. Making long lasting soap films
56. Adhesion of glues to metals, fabrics, etc.
57. How finely woven must umbrella material be?
58. The changes in melting point of a solder with
composition
59. What is necessary for solder to flow?
60. The strength of a soldered joint
61. The bouncing of steel balls on glass
62. Impact cracks when steel balls are dropped on
glass
63. Dents made in metals by balls pressed on them
(Brinel hardness test)
64. The heating and cooling of stretched rubber
65. The creep of stretched rubber
66. The strength and fracture of taut rubber bands
67. The effect of temperature on stretched rubber
68. Changes of length of hair with moisture content
69. Factors affecting the growth of crystals
70. The sagging of taut wires loaded in the middle
71. The shape of a suspended loose chain
72. Will a hole at the end of a crack help to stop the
crack from spreading?
73. What factors influence the production of good,
uniform bubble rafts?
74. The effect of various sorts of perforations on
tearing paper
75. The pressure-volume relation for a rubber balloon
76. The effect of temperature changes on the flow of
motor oils
77. The design of a flow meter
78. Reduction in pressure with fast flow (Bernoulli
effect)
79. Calibration of a V-slot flow meter (rate of flow
from height of water in a V shaped slot)
80. The drag on spheres and other shapes in an air
stream
81. The resistance to water flow of various plumbers'
fittings (pipe, bends, etc.)
82. The drag on objects towed in water (changes with
length, depth of water, and many other factors)
83. When does water flow in a tube become
turbulent?
84. The effect of changing the size or shape of the
wings of a glider
85. The penetration of projectiles into soft materials
86. Load and speed variations for a parachute
87. A water-driven rocket
88. Measuring the viscosity of air
89. Factors affecting the performance of an air track
vehicle
90. Making very big drops (oil in water and alcohol
mixtures)
91. How do Plateau spherules form?
92. Soap films formed on spirals and other wire
shapes
93. The behaviour of bubbles rising in liquids
94. The noise made by a kettle just before it boils
(singing)
95. The airflow in a room with a heater
96. Smoke rings (a box with a hole at one end, and a
flexible diaphragm at the other)
97. Vortex rings in water (drop coloured water drops
onto clear water)
98. How much can a container be overfilled with
water?
99. How does water drip from a narrow jet?
100. Variations in damping of a pendulum in air
101. Water from a tap running into a flat basin
sometimes forms a smooth ring of water, with a
circular edge beyond which the flow is rougher.
What decides the size of the ring?
102. Where does dust collect? Why?
103. Stiff standing rods will oscillate in an airflow.
Investigate.
104. The supporting of a ball on a jet of air, or of
water
105. The behaviour of coupled oscillators
106. How much damping is needed to stop
oscillations?
107. Variable damping of a galvanometer
108. Oscillations of drops
109. Oscillations of rubber sheets
110. Oscillations of soap films
111. Oscillations of metal discs
112. Oscillations of thin panels (e.g. doors, sheets
of hardboard, sheets of metal)
113. Oscillations of wire rings
114. Oscillations of solid bars (notes from a
xylophone)
115. The factors affecting the performance of a
sensitive flame
116. How long does a sound last in a large hall?
117. The propagation of sound at low pressures
118. Can the motion of air in a sound wave be
made visible?
119. Slopping modes of oscillation in tanks of
water
120. How to isolate laboratory apparatus from
vibrations
121. 'Pearls in air'- what makes them form easily?
(See Nuffield 0-level Physics, Guide to
experiments IV, experiment 21b)
122. The resonance of a 'ticket timer'
123. The frequency characteristics of a cheap
gramophone pick-up
124. The frequency response of a one-transistor
amplifier with feedback
125. Photographing waves on strings or springs
126. The wakes of boats
127. Waves in moving water
128. Speed of waves in shallow water
129. Breaking of waves
130. The speed of ripples on water
131. What are the shadows of waves on a ripple
tank shadows of?
132. The directional properties of a television
aerial
133. Variation in response of a dipole with length
of the dipole
134. Frequency range of a microphone
135. Audible range of humans and animals
136. The diffraction of sound waves
137. Producing and detecting ultrasonic waves
138. The pressure changes in the sound from an
explosion
139. Reflection or absorption properties of
materials for microwaves
140. Reflection or absorption properties of
materials for sound waves
141. Sound-absorbing tiles sometimes have
perforated hardboard over an absorbent layer.
Does the hole size matter?
142. The behaviour of a loudspeaker cabinet at low
frequencies
143. The penetration of sound through double
glazed panels
144. Waves in circular dishes
145. How good is a wax lens for microwaves?
146. The colours of thin films of oil on water
147. 'Shadows' of hot air from flames or heated
objects
148. The field of view of a simple telescope
149. The depth of focus of a simple telescope
150. The depth of focus of a microscope
151. The resolution of a microscope
152. Depth of focus of a camera
153. Photography through a microscope
154. Patterns in stressed materials between crossed
polaroids
155. Moiré fringes (Patterns from overlapped
regular grids)
156. Detection of small motions by interference
methods (thermal expansion, compressibility)
157. How much light is reflected at various angles
by glass?
158. The sensitivity of Kodak PI 53 paper at
various wavelengths
159. The adaptation to dark of the human eye
160. The resolution of close-spaced objects by the
eye
161. Does photographic film fog equally if the
light is bright and the exposure short, or if the
light is dim and the exposure long?
162. How big are the grains in a photograph?
163. How fast must a flicker be before it stops
being observable?
164. Make a diffraction grating by photographic
reduction, and test it
165. Do people vary in the range of wavelengths
they can see?
166. How quickly does the iris of the eye contract
when the light is made brighter?
167. Does the resolution of the eye depend on the
illumination?
168. The performance of a pin hole camera
169. How much is scattered light polarised?
170. A dynamo as a speedometer (conversion to
accelerometer?)
171. The efficiency of a dynamo
172. The efficiency of an electric motor
173. Load and speed variations of an electric motor
174. Efficiency of a transformer
175. Saturation effects in a transformer
176. Effect of air gaps in transformers or
electromagnets
177. Eddy current losses in transformers (solid
core)
178. Stray fields around transformers
179. The time taken for a fuse to blow
180. The conduction of electricity by pencil lines
on paper
181. Conducting paper as a model for electric
potential variations
182. Potential variations in a tank of conducting
liquid
183. The time taken for ions to recombine (e.g.
blown down-wind of a flame)
184. How good are 10 per cent radio resistors?
185. How good are 20 per cent radio capacitors?
186. Torque-speed variations of a gramophone
motor
187. Energy emitted by a lamp bulb
188. Lifetime of torch bulbs
189. Does a photo-transistor respond instantly?
190. Variations of resistance with strain
191. How sensitive can a Wheatstone bridge be
made?
192. Resistance changes of human beings with
variations in emotional state
193. The running down and recovery of a dry cell
194. How much charge can a home-made
accumulator store?
195. Electrolytic capacitors are said not to lose all
their charge if short-circuited after being charged
for some time. Is it so?
196. An electroscope as a voltmeter
197. The sensitivity of an electroscope as a charge
measuring device Moving coil
198. Milliammeters as ballistic galvanometers
199. Make a capacitor microphone
200. The variation of the field of a small coil with
angle
201. The contraction of a spiral carrying a current
202. The effect of thickness of metal on eddy
current forces
203. How high will a 'jumping ring' jump? (A ring
over an iron core with a coil carrying a.c. on the
core)
204. Frequency dependence of the impedance of an
iron-cored inductor
205. The dependence of the speed of a d.c. motor
on field current
206. Change in length of a nickel rod in a magnetic
field
207. The voltage from a thermocouple
208. Temperature variations of transistor currents
209. Is it true that a dry cell is the most expensive
way to buy electricity?
210. The design of an alternating current ammeter
211. Behaviour of two LC circuits coupled
together
212. The design of an electronic exposure timer
213. The energy balance of a photocell
214. Electrical noise in a hot resistor
215. Does a flame conduct electricity?
216. Does hot air conduct electricity?
217. What factors make for good deposits of
copper in electrolysis?
218. What factors affect heating by eddy currents?
219. How does the resistance between two points
on a conducting sheet vary with distance?
220. How does the resistance between two flat
plates in a tank of conducting liquid vary with
their spacing?
221. Make an electrostatic dust collector
222. Magnesium oxide smoke collects in long
fibres on electrodes at high potentials. Investigate.
(Exclude draughts.)
223. How does the resistance in an LC circuit
affect the resonance?
224. How does the electron current in a radio valve
vary with filament temperature?
225. Temperature variations with depth in soil
226. Temperature variations in air up to the top of a
building
227. Wind speed variations with height
228. Temperature distribution in a room
229. Temperature variation on the surface of an
iron
230. Heat losses from thermos flasks
231. Does anti-freeze freeze?
232. The temperatures in a flame
233. Making a thermistor into a thermometer
234. Absorption of thermal radiation by different
surfaces (colours)
235. Emission of thermal radiation by different
surfaces (colours)
236. Compare glass and polythene as greenhouse
materials
237. How much thermal radiation does water
absorb?
238. The formation of dew
239. The value of insulating materials (tea cosies,
hot-water-tank lagging)
240. The behaviour of a thermoelectric heat pump.
241. The cooling of a cup of tea
242. Temperature distribution along a metal bar
heated at one end
243. How fast does gas burn?
244. Make an air flow meter using a hot wire
(resistance change)
245. Small drops of water dance about on very hot
metal surfaces, without evaporating (the
Leidenfrost phenomenon). How hot must the
metal be, and how small the drop?
246. The flow of heat through double glazed
panels
247. The effect of pressure changes on the
behaviour of a spark plug
248. The value of fins for cooling purposes
249. The growth of frost on cold surfaces
250. Variation in range of alpha particles with air
pressure
251. Variation in range of beta particles in different
metals
252. How many beta particles are scattered back
from various substances?
253. The natural radioactivity of potassium salts
254. Can the background radiation be reduced by
screening?