"J-PARC Outreach Lecture" held in December 2025
◆◇◆Muramatsu Elementary School, Tokai Village (Tuesday, December 2, 2025) ◆◇◆
Dr. KAMIYA Junichiro from the Accelerator Division and Mr. YASU Toshiyuki from the Tokai Village Board of Education delivered a science class titled "What Is a Vacuum?" for 5th grade students.
The class began with experiments that helped students understand invisible air, such as floating a ping-pong ball above the nozzle of a hair dryer. They then carried out experiments to observe what happens to balloons, hot water, carbonated water, and marshmallows when they are in vacuum. The instructors also guided the lesson by asking questions such as "Why does a loud burglar alarm become silent when there is no air?"
At the end of the lesson, the students counted down as a ping-pong ball was launched into an aluminum can using a vacuum cannon.
The instructors also explained that at J-PARC, maintaining a vacuum is extremely important because air molecules can interfere with the proton beam and reduce its intensity.
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◆◇◆Nakamaru Elementary School, Tokai Village (Tuesday, December 16, 2025) ◆◇◆
A special science class on the theme of "vacuum" was conducted by Ms. MOROHASHI Yuko of the Accelerator Division and Dr. UZUMAKI Tatsuya of the Public Relations Section for 4th- to 6th-grade students in the science club at Nakamaru Elementary School. The students took part in a variety of experiments using a vacuum desiccator--such as observing what happens to balloons and marshmallows, or to hot water and carbonated water--and deepened their understanding of vacuum and atmospheric pressure in an enjoyable, hands-on way. They also learned that the accelerators at J-PARC operate under an extremely high-vacuum environment, comparable to the conditions at an altitude of about 40,000 kilometers, where many geostationary satellites orbit.
Finally, in the "vacuum cannon" demonstration, where students could experience the immense power of atmospheric pressure, loud pops accompanied the bursting of ping-pong balls and cans, prompting surprised reactions and excited cheers from the students.
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◆◇◆National Institute of Technology, Kagawa College, Takuma Campus (Friday, December 18, 2025) ◆◇◆
A special outreach lecture titled "How Accelerators Reveal the Microscopic World" was delivered by Dr. OTANI Masashi from the Accelerator Division at National Institute of Technology, Kagawa College, Takuma Campus.
Dr. OTANI explained the basic principles of accelerators and highlighted their broad applications in fields such as industry and medicine, along with recent technological developments. Participants shared comments such as, "I would like to learn how accelerators are built and how accelerators in Japan compare with those in other countries."
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