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4 MATHS AND SCIENCES
A Trip To The Stars
Imdad Kadir, 5W
On Thursday 20 October a group of Fifth Formers
went on a physics trip to the Royal Observatory in
Greenwich along with Miss Korcz and Mr Ceeraz. We
all eagerly anticipated the chance to visit London’s
only observatory and marvel at the sights of outer
space. The building is hundreds of years old and
set in beautiful grounds with a magnificent view of
London - perfect for taking selfies.
The planetariumwas like a tour bus of the universe taking us on an
amazing journey to explore and experience the wonders of space
accompanied by expert commentary from an astronomer. She talked
about her profession and how physics is the most important science
as it opens doors for both biology and chemistry. As we were shown
vivid images of all types of stars throughout space she gave us a vast
amount of information about the constellations and the life cycle of
stars, from nebulae where stars are born to stars billions of years old.
It was very interesting to have a professional astronomer tell us about
things we are currently learning in lessons and incredible to widen our
knowledge beyond what we learn from the curriculum.
Afterwards, we got the opportunity to explore the museum filled
with fascinating exhibits. We engaged with interactive displays and
always found something new to spark our interest. My favourite
exhibit was the meteor rock. I was taken aback by sheer age of this
rock - over four billion years old - and the fact that you could touch
it made it all the more astonishing. There was also an interactive
game which challenged us to build the best spaceship possible. It
involved calculating the most efficient methods and thinking of ways
to observe the planets and stars. This gave an insight to how space
organisations, such as NASA, operate and the different
careers available.
At the end of the trip we were all left amazed by how big our universe
is and howmany things there are that scientists have yet to discover
about the mysteries of outer space. Maybe one of us could be the
next scientist to uncover them.
JET
Laeticia Juanto,
L6W
JET, the Joint
European
Taurus,
is currently
the world’s
largest fusion
tokamak; on Tuesday 6
December, fifteen of us were lucky enough to view
this feat of engineering. By the end of the century, it
is estimated that our population may double whilst
our energy usage is forecast to triple, causing a
critical demand for a safe and sustainable alternative
to fossil fuels. For thirty three years, scientists at JET
have been studying nuclear fusion, aiming to design
the conditions that will be required for a commercial
nuclear fusion power plant.
Fusion is the nuclear reaction in which lighter nuclei join to form a
heavier nucleus whilst releasing energy. To inspire JET, the scientists
and engineers turned to a nuclear fusion reactor they knew was
already in existence – our sun. The sun’s core reaches 15,000,000°C
and is approximately 150 times denser than water; to mimic these
conditions would be an incredible advance in science. At JET they
have managed to heat the core of their tokamak to a temperature
of 150,000,000°C, ten times that of our sun, thus compensating for
not being able to match its extreme density. They have achieved this
through a combination of radiofrequency heating and neutral beam
injections of tritium (a super heavy isotope of hydrogen) into the
tokamak. The extreme heat causes the deuterium-tritium fuel mix
to become plasma – the state beyond gas. The plasma is conductive
and thus able to be magnetically confined in a torus shape. This
combination of features provides the conditions for the fuel to fuse
and release energy.
So far the energy required to reach the conditions needed at JET
outweighs the energy which is released by the fusion, however, JET
remains at the forefront of nuclear fusion research. Currently JET
carries out experiments to assist with the construction and design of
ITER, a new nuclear fusion tokamak under construction in Provence,
France. This is a collaboration and endeavour of thirty five nations,
and it is hoped that by 2050 we will be able to efficiently generate
nuclear energy in order for it to be available to a consumer market.
We would like to thank the teachers who made this trip possible; it
was both eye-opening and enjoyable.