Physics In The Field

Physics In The Field

The Physics in the Field team from the Institute of Physics pitch their tent at Camp Bestival this summer, where they plan to perform eye-catching physics tricks to an unsuspecting audience. These will be hand-held demonstrations using things you can find at home - some are messy, some are noisy, but all of them are proven crowd pleasers. Festival-goers will also be encouraged to find out how to do the tricks themselves and give on-the-spot performances to their friends and families.

"It’s brilliant working with festival-goers because they are really interested in what we are doing and want to find out more," said Liz Jeavans, outreach officer at the Institute of Physics. "What is really satisfying is when you show someone a trick, and they relate it to something they have come across in everyday life – but just hadn’t thought of it as physics before."

And if you want to score a quick heads-up, all the tricks performed by the team (including making balloon kebabs, launching Alka Seltzer rockets or turning pints of water upside down over a friend’s head without drenching them) are available on www.physics.org with full explanations.