Toothpaste, ketchup and water are just some of the fluids that will be analyzed during the next CU Wizards show "Go With the Flow" on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 9:30 a.m. in the Cristol Chemistry and Biochemistry Building, room 140.
University of Colorado at Boulder faculty members Janet deGrazia, of chemical engineering, and Brian Argrow, of aerospace engineering, will investigate the mysterious properties of several kinds of fluids, some of which move very slowly and others that move at supersonic speeds.
For example, audience members will learn why toothpaste doesn't become a fluid until pressure is exerted, such as squeezing the tube.
During the show, several audience members will be called on to help with experiments, including weighing objects in air and in water, and making strange fluids of their own.
"We will talk about surface tension, and demonstrate for the audience that the surface tension of water is strong enough to pick things up," said deGrazia, who is director of outreach for CU-Boulder's Integrated Teaching and Technology Laboratory. Kids also will learn why soap destroys the surface tension of water.
The CU Wizards series is an annual, nine-month-a-year program that introduces audiences to astronomy, chemistry and physics. Though intended primarily for students in grades five through nine, shows are educational and entertaining for people of any age.
DeGrazia was featured with NEWS4 anchor-weatherman Larry Green in a weeklong educational show "The ABCs of Engineering," in which she and Green explained scientific concepts in fun and visual ways to third- through fifth-graders.
The weeklong show appeared in October 2001 during the 4 p.m. newscast.
Free parking for the Dec. 29 show is available in lot 169 northeast of Folsom Stadium off Folsom Street, lot 396 off Stadium Drive, lot 378 southeast of Folsom Stadium, lot 436 east of the Engineering Center and lot 308 south of Regent Drive and west of Kittredge Loop Road. Parking also is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark for a nominal fee.
For general information about the CU Wizards series call (303) 492-6952.