eCosmology

High School Physics projects?

I was looking for a cool physics project for high schoolers, I was thinking of showing the properties of electricity or magnitism? Any ideas on a project that could hold their attention while still trying to teach them something?

Public Comments

1. build a motor from scratch and see whose is most poweful and cost effective and efficient
2. well. u can use liquid nitrogen and a ping pong ball ( with 2 little hole) and use it for your physic project. put 2 little hole in the ping pong ball and put it on liquid nitrogen
3. Build a hydrogen generator. I dont think it would take much, some knowledge of electronic assembly (soldering) or if you have the money just buy most of the big parts. Basically how you generate hydrogen is run high voltage through water. You will have to research and experiment with this and get the advise from an expert. With alternative fuel research going on today, im sure this would be a great project. Just remember that you can get the sh** shocked out of you, so be careful. So my idea is you take or make a stun gun or a telsa coil. You can purchase a stun gun for relatively cheap and i think Edmund Scientific has Tesla coils. I have seen electronic kits where you can assemble a stun gun from plans if you know how to soldier. Assembling a electronic kit from scratch, would add an extra dimension to your project. Add a solar cell to charge the batteries for your electronics. You can use a balloon to capture the hydrogen gas to show you are actually generating hydrogen. Before you buy anything do some research on what the minimum current and voltage it takes to separate hydrogen from oxygen or create hydrogen from water. I am pretty sure that a telsa will do it but think a stung gun would work as well. Im sure you can find that info on the internet. Let me know how it goes if you decide to build a hydrogen generator. Ohh yeah...dont blow yourself up.
4. Obtain a 'Newton's Cradle' (6 suspended balls showing the transfer of Kinetic Energy from the first through to the last ball in the line). Leave it running while continuing with your lesson, then ask questions about it).