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Re: Arcs off the fingers and getting killed in the process...
Hi Ralph,
Since I don't think you have seen one of my presentations, I assume that you
are basing your feelings on some program you have seen. I agree that doing a
demonstration like this just for the sake of wowing a crowd is not science
education. On the other hand, there is a long history of using dramatic
demonstrations to present science. Faraday, Franklin and even Tesla
presented science for the public with a combination of astonishing
demonstrations and scientific information. In 45 minutes, you can't hope to
teach an entire course in the subject, but you can get across some of the
basic concepts in a way that will stick in their memory.
Programs similar to mine played a large part in my love of science. It would
be interesting to know how many people on the list got their first exposure
to a tesla coil from a demonstration at school or a science museum. Has
anyone even done a survey of list members to find out how they got into the
hobby?
Robert Krampf
Science Education Company
http://www.krampf-dot-com
Get my Free Experiment of the Week by sending an e-mail to krampf-at-krampf-dot-com
In a message dated 2/6/00 12:37:30 PM, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com writes:
<< Our avocational interest in the
Tesla technology
is real learning. Sitting in the stands at the Indy 500 watching the cars
speed around a track for 500 miles while hoping to witness (not too closely)
some guy do a triple
fireball flip into the spectators caters to a prurient and morbid interest.
It is to automotive engineering what standing barefoot on an energized Tesla
coil is to electrical
engineering and "science education." >>