"J-PARC Outreach Lecture" held in December 2024
◆◇◆ Sakuto Junior High School, Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture (Friday, December 6, 2024) ◆◇◆
Dr. KOBAYASHI Takashi, Director of the J-PARC Center, gave a special lecture on "The secrets of the big universe, the secrets of the microscopic world and with accelerators" to about 50 first- and second-year students at Sakuto Junior High School in Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture.
After listening to the lecture, the students tried their hand at making "cloud chamber", that makes invisible radiation visible. Students commented that "I wasn't really interested in science or science lessons, but today's lesson made me a bit more interested, and I think I might even like it." and "It was a good experience to be able to see mysterious things I've never seen before."
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◆◇◆ KIPP Nakameguro Children's Class at Nakameguro Elementary School (Saturday, December 14, 2024) ◆◇◆
A lecture titled "The world's smallest? Let's touch the world of elementary particles by making a mysterious top" was held at the Nakameguro Children's Class in Nakameguro Elementary School. Dr. OTANI Masashi, Accelerator Ⅶ Section, gave a lecture on top spinning for 13 students from 1st to 5th grade.
After an introduction to J-PARC and an explanation of elementary particles, the children spun the gyroscope and observed the change in direction of precession by spinning a top or changing the center of gravity of a top they made. They learned that precession is similar to the spin nature of elementary particles.
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◆◇◆ Nakamachi Elementary School, Hitachi City (Wednesday, December 18, 2024) ◆◇◆
Dr. KAMIYA Junichiro, Accelerator Division, and Dr. UZUMAKI Tatsuya, JAEA Media Relations Section, conducted a science experiment class on "Vacuum" for 5th and 6th graders at Nakamachi Elementary School. This was in cooperation with outreach activities conducted by the Hitachi Civic Center for elementary schools in the city. The children enjoyed and deepened their understanding of the forces of vacuum and atmospheric pressure through questions such as "What happens to balloons and marshmallows in a vacuum desiccator?" "Can sound be transmitted in vacuum?" and "What happens to hot water and soda water in vacuum?"
The lecture also introduced the fact that a vacuum equivalent to the height of a satellite (about 40,000 km above the Earth) is created inside the J-PARC accelerator.
Finally, the children were surprised and cheered when pin-pong balls and cans exploded with a loud noise in the "vacuum cannon" experiment, which allowed them to experience the ultra-powerful force of the air (atmospheric pressure).
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