Kyra Johnson:

The Year 12 Physics Trip was certainly one to remember. Once we arrived in Christchurch, we went straight to Alpine Ice and gave the Rutherford Den a miss since we were short on time. After hiring our ice skates, we had a 20 minute introductory lesson to skating where we covered moving forward, backward, one- and two-feet gliding, and stopping. Then we joined the rest of the ice skaters in the rink. The physics concepts behind ice skating were friction, momentum, rotational velocity and balance. There is a low level of friction between the skate and the ice. This low friction is what allows skaters to go fast. However, because of this low level of friction, the skater must apply a force perpendicular to the blade in order to move forward. We moved forward by turning our feet out to apply this perpendicular force. To help our balance when we first began skating, we spread our arms out either side of us. This spread-eagled position improves our balance by distributing the mass of our bodies more evenly. It is also distributed further away from the pivot point (our feet/skate) which helps with balance.

After ice-skating, our next activity was go-karting. This was very helpful to do as we are doing an internal on the physics of go-karting, especially the concepts behind cornering and the safety features the kart and the track has to prevent injury in the event of a crash. Linear motion is converted into rotational motion by the crankshaft of the kart. The friction between the track and the kart’s tires is what provides the kart with centripetal force. This is a force which acts inwards towards the center of the corner when the kart goes around it. Centrifugal force, meanwhile, is the apparent outward force which the driver experiences. The features of the kart and track - such as the seat contour, seat belts, braking system, grippy tires, banking of the track, barriers on either side of the track, and bumpers - all increase the overall safety of this recreational activity by taking into account the physics concepts of it.

Our second day was spent at the stunning campus of the University of Canterbury, specifically the Ernest Rutherford (Science) Building. During the first session we worked in the labs looking at radioactivity and half-lives. Although we had already covered this earlier in the year, it was good to do the experiments themselves using UC’s equipment. Before lunch we were in the geography lab using tools such as the liquefaction machine, an infrared sensor, microscopes and a map which changed the contour constantly. After lunch, we were in another lab looking at Rutherford’s model of the atom, along with previous models as early as Dalton’s billiard ball model, JJ Thomson’s ‘Plum Pudding’ model. We also looked at the models which were developed from Rutherfor’s revolutionary model: Neils Bohr’s planetary model and Erwin Schrodinger’s Quantum model. Rutherford created his model from the famous gold foil experiment - of which we also looked into at UC. Overall, a very interesting trip!

Zak Klempel:

The two-day physics trip to Christchurch was jam-packed with exciting activities that allowed us not only to experience some of the physics concepts we had covered in class for real, but also to learn a bit too. During ice skating, I practiced the art of balancing, while the others learned about the effects of gravity, and the hardness of ice. At the Go-Karting, after wishing each other to feel the impulse of being rear-ended, we learned that perhaps knowing some physics does help in the race. Billy got second to the Buller High teacher. At the University of Canterbury, I learned firsthand that carrot slices exposed to radiation are safe to eat, and just taste like normal carrot. We also got to hold nuclear fuel rods and throw ping-pong balls at Jono. Overall the trip was great.

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