Physics Quiz Finals at Electra 2013

QUIZ FINALS…

RULES OF THE GAME

POINT SCALE• 10 points for a direct question• 5 points for a passed question• Part points will not be awarded

TIME LIMIT• 20 seconds for a direct question• 10 seconds for a passed question

ROUND 1

1. Gravitational attraction brings tiny bits of matter together. But there are points at which there is neither matter nor electromagnetic radiation. Still, a strange quantum-mechanical potential lurks there. What is being described?

Zero point energy

2. X’s most important scientific contribution may be his idea that geostationary satellites would be ideal telecommunications relays. He described this concept in a paper titled Extra-Terrestrial Relays — Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?, published in 1945. The geostationary orbit is now sometimes known as the X Orbit or the X Belt in his honor. Who is X?

Arthur C Clarke

3. A ___________ , also known as a shock cord, is an elastic cord composed of one or more elastic strands forming a core, usually covered in a woven cotton or polypropylene sheath. The sheath does not materially extend elastically, but it is braided with its strands spiralling around the core so that a longitudinal pull causes it to squeeze the core, transmitting the cores elastic compression to the longitudinal extension of the sheath and cord. Fill the blank

Bungee

4. This class of particle derives its name from the Greek word for intermediate, because its predicted mass was between that of the electron and proton.

What are we talking about?

Mesons

5. The first known mention of the term Panspermia was in the writings of the 5th century BC Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. In the nineteenth century it was again revived in modern form by several scientists, including Berzelius, Kelvin, Helmholtz and Arrhenius. There is no evidence to support or contradict Panspermia. What is Panspermia?

Panspermia Theory suggests that life seeds came from outer space and planets

exchanged life. Panspermia literally means seeds everywhere.

ROUND 2 IDENTIFY THE SCIENTIST

1. That story says he was testing what would happen when electric sparks pass through a dark tube with certain gases. He was alone at night doing his experiments, in the dark, and noticed a glow on the wall caused by the experiment. Since these strange new rays of light were not caused by fluorescence or other visible light, he named these new, unidentified rays ‘X’. Identify this famous experimentalist.

Wilhelm Roentgen

2. When asked by Gladstone whether his research in electricity had any value, he promptly replied: “Sir, one day you will tax it.”

Who is he?

Michael Faraday

3. ‘Since I was aware that there exists an infinite number of points on the orbit and accordingly an infinite number of distances the idea occurred to me that the sum of these distances is contained in the area of the orbit. For, I remembered that in the same manner Archimedes too divided the area of a circle into an infinite number of triangles’. Who said these words while he was describing a law formulated by him?

Johannes Kepler

4. Some of his research papers have been rated as the ‘most influential paper of the year’. He has also been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in the year 2007. His principal fields of research are Cosmology and the interface between Gravity and Quantum theory. His work has won awards from the Gravity Research Foundation, USA five times. He is an elected Fellow of the three National Academies of Science in India.

Who is he?

Thanu Padmanabhan

5. X, a Nobel laureate, died of the harmful effects of X’s own discovery. X’s research papers have been stored in lead boxes because it is too dangerous to handle without protective gear. X is the discovered 2 elements of the periodic table, one of which is named after X’s hometown. Identify X.

Marie Curie

AUDIENCE QUESTION

Why do we celebrate 28th February as National Science Day?

ROUND 3

1. It is a magneto-optical phenomenon. This effect is due to the rotation of a light beam, which is plane polarised by a magnetic field. It occurs in liquids, gases and in solids as well. Name the phenomena.

Faraday’s effect

2. Whose memorial is this?

3. XYZ (Name has three parts) is an Indian nuclear experimental physicist, though he is presently working on nanocrystalline magnetic materials and alloy systems. He is also, however, interested in Earth Sciences like extinction boundaries and meteorites. XYZ sometimes talks about India’s cultural values and ancient heritage . He is an avid Hindi poet. But most of all, he is best known for two of his works that has changed the lives of a lot of young people in India. Identify XYZ.

Harish Chandra Verma

4. He noticed that if he puts hot ice-cream mix into the freezer, it freezes more quickly than the cooled ice-cream mix of his fellow classmates. What effect did he discover with this observation?

Mpemba effect

5. When round projectiles were fired from a firearm, the ball would grip one side of the barrel, making it spin, and instead of flying straight would curve off right, left, up or down. This was rather frustrating and there are some estimates that old unrifled missiles managed to hit their intended target less than 5% of the trials. What effect does it depict?

Magnus effect

ROUND 4CONNECT THE PICTURES

1.

Manhattan Project

2.

Superconductivity

3.

Challenger Disaster

4.

All have elements named after them

5.

CERN

AUDIENCE QUESTION

Who won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Physics? For what?

ROUND 5AUDIO VISUAL

1. Why does not the water boil and leave the pan as vapour?

Leidenfrost effect. The layer of water in contact with the pan vaporizes and thus insulates the water above it from further vaporization.

2. How does the bug walk on water?

The water strider's legs are covered with microscopic hairs that trap tiny air bubbles, allowing the insect to simply float.

3. Explain what is happening in the video.

Faraday's law of Electromagnetic Induction at work.

4. What is being made in this video?

Graphene

5. Why do you see the blue light?

The astronaut kicks off fine dust from the surface of the Moon. When the sunlight is incident, it gets scattered. As the particles are fine, blue light gets scattered (Rayleigh scattering)

ROUND 6RAPID FIRE

RULES

• Every team gets 20 seconds to answer 5 questions.

• PLUS 10 for the correct answer and NEGATIVE 5 for a wrong answer

• The question can be passed. Passed questions will be asked at the last.

THANK YOU!