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Summer quiz: ingenious experiments

Bursting balloons and exploding cans – and some weird behaviour from suitcases. Experiments play a vital role in unlocking new knowledge about the natural sciences. This quiz has some surprises in store for you.

by Florian Meyer

Would you have believed it? In the summer quiz series, we take you on a tour of discovery through remarkable, peculiar and fun facts from ETH Zurich’s research and teaching. This issue is devoted to the teaching and experiments seen in physics lectures.

The Department of Physics at ETH Zurich has set up a website to showcase its lecture experiments. This online collection includes videos, photos and descriptions of more than 650 experiments that support physics teaching. The collection serves as the basis for this quiz.

Summer quiz: Smart experiments

  1. Question 1 of 7

    1. Let’s start with an easy one: what’s this?

    • ✓ Correct It’s a luminous gherkin. This is just one example of more than 650 experiments in the collection of lecture experiments from the Department of Physics. (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

    • ✘ False It’s a luminous gherkin. This is just one example of more than 650 experiments in the collection of lecture experiments from the Department of Physics. (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

  2. Question 2 of 7
    Picture from the physics lecture experiment series

    2. Some forms of nature are fascinatingly exotic. Who or what can we see in this photo?

      • ✓ Correct It’s a picture of lead deposits: when electricity flows between an anode and a cathode in a lead acetate solution, the chemical reaction is demonstrated by the growth and fall of lead deposits in the form of a “lead tree”. Detailed explanation of this experiment (Photograph: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

      • ✘ False It’s a picture of lead deposits: when electricity flows between an anode and a cathode in a lead acetate solution, the chemical reaction is demonstrated by the growth and fall of lead deposits in the form of a “lead tree”. Detailed explanation of this experiment (Photograph: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

    • Question 3 of 7

      3. This video shows two balloons: a red one inside a transparent one. What causes the red balloon to burst?

        • ✓ Correct The balloon is shot with an argon-ion laser. This experiment demonstrates that the red balloon absorbs green light more strongly than a transparent or green balloon. More information on the Physics Lecture Experiments website. (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

        • ✘ False The balloon is shot with an argon-ion laser. This experiment demonstrates that the red balloon absorbs green light more strongly than a transparent or green balloon. More information on the Physics Lecture Experiments website. (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

      • Question 4 of 7
        A suitcase with special properties

        4. Depicted in the image above is a centrifugal suitcase with a gyro inside it, which allows the suitcase to do things ordinary suitcases can't. Which of the three tasks cannot be done by the special suitcase?

          • ✓ Correct The first two answers are correct. The experiment with the centrifugal suitcase illustrates an effect known as precession. This is a physical phenomenon that affects bodies rotating about an axis, such as the planet Earth. The term precession is used to refer to a change in the direction of a rotating body’s axis. For example, the centrifugal suitcase can influence the direction in which the swivel chair moves. See more in the video. (Photograph: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

          • ✘ False The first two answers are correct. The experiment with the centrifugal suitcase illustrates an effect known as precession. This is a physical phenomenon that affects bodies rotating about an axis, such as the planet Earth. The term precession is used to refer to a change in the direction of a rotating body’s axis. For example, the centrifugal suitcase can influence the direction in which the swivel chair moves. See more in the video. (Photograph: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

        • Question 5 of 7

          5. This video shows an exploding can. What causes the two halves of the can to fly apart?

            • ✓ Correct An aluminium can is enclosed by a coil. The discharge of a battery of high-voltage capacitors produces a very powerful current flow in the coil. As a result, the can is torn apart in spectacular fashion. Further information (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

            • ✘ False An aluminium can is enclosed by a coil. The discharge of a battery of high-voltage capacitors produces a very powerful current flow in the coil. As a result, the can is torn apart in spectacular fashion. Further information (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physicsh)

          • Question 6 of 7

            6. Another spectacular experiment! What do we see here?

              • ✓ Correct It’s a vaporising steel wire. For this experiment, a large capacitor is charged up until it discharges through an iron wire, releasing so much energy that the wire vaporises. Further information (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

              • ✘ False It’s a vaporising steel wire. For this experiment, a large capacitor is charged up until it discharges through an iron wire, releasing so much energy that the wire vaporises. Further information (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

            • Question 7 of 7

              7. A reel of thread sits on a track; you can pull on the thread from the right. What determines whether the reel of thread then moves to the right or the left?

                • ✓ Correct One of the strengths of physics as a discipline is its precise terminology: this experiment illustrates the difference between force and torque. A roller is pulled by a cord. Depending on the angle of the cord to the horizontal, the torque is positive, zero or negative, and the wheel rolls away from the person pulling it, or slips or rolls towards them. Further information (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

                • ✘ False One of the strengths of physics as a discipline is its precise terminology: this experiment illustrates the difference between force and torque. A roller is pulled by a cord. Depending on the angle of the cord to the horizontal, the torque is positive, zero or negative, and the wheel rolls away from the person pulling it, or slips or rolls towards them. Further information (Video: ETH Zurich / Department of Physics)

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                1 Comment

                Additional comments are available for the German version of this article. Show all comments

                • Jishnudev Pg15.08.2019 10:31

                  Summer quiz was a good experience. It helps to ignite a scientific temper in young minds. And congratulations for the ETH family to sharing all these information through these kind of media.