Error Bars this Year - 2009
Pi Appreciation Party
13th March
Attendees: 44
We're sure the universal constant felt loved at this celebration in its honour. 129 digits so far?
Demo Show
20th March
Attendees: lots
Fire. Ice. Lightning. We're sorry, you thought of something better to do?
The Scientific Method
27th March
Attendees: ?
Determination of universal constants via the use of chocolate. That's a pretty good science experiment if you ask me.
Trivia
24th April
Attendees: The fifth letter of the Greek alphabet
For once, nothing to do with physics, mathematics or sci-fi. Amazing. Nowhere was this more noticeable than the blank expressions given to the more well-cultured questions.
Superheroes
1st May
Attendees: Infinite (someone please get this joke)
Batman vs. Superman is now an age-old question; thus completely ignored. Instead were scenarios pitched between far more obscure characters, with resultant confusion.
Rocket Science
8th May
Attendees: 24
Landing a rocket on someone's head was a dream unfortunately missed out on this time round as several safety measures were taken to ensure that no one wandered
into the firing area, like pointing at people off in the distance and asking if they were safe.
Movie Outing: Star Trek
15th May
Attendees: 10 000
It happens only upon the rarest of occasions, but this was one of those occasions: PAIN headed off campus; to see a movie in fact. And not just any movie; one with more nerdiness
stuck to it than almost any other out there. So, anyone going to confess and admit that they enjoyed it?
Talk: Fractals
22nd May
Attendees: The Hausdorf dimension of a Sierpinski Triangle
A fairly interesting talk granted upon us, with special guest the Dragon fractal, masquerading as a piece of paper. Concepts on how certain fractals can be displayed to trap people into doing mathematics was one of the topics.
Student Presentations: Electromagnetism
29th May
Attendees: Enough to not make them feel bad.
Presentations of work done by students this semester in the area of electromagnetism - important stuff; you know how much electomagnetic equipment you use?
Bad Movie Physics I: Galaxy Quest
5th June
Attendees: Well, it was the last day of semester. How many do YOU think?
Does badly mangled physics in an otherwise decent movie make you cringe? If so, this kind of night is for you!
Non-Newtonian Fluids
31st July
Attendees: Probably 25?
If you hold it, it melts out of your hand! If you try stirring it, it goes solid and your fork/spoon gets stuck! What is it? Oobleck!
Construction Challenge
7th August
Attendees: Enough to use up all the newspaper.
One task: Build a chair that can support a decent weight in a half-hour. Sound easy? You only have two materials: Newspaper and masking tape!
Microwaves
14th August
Attendees: ?
Microwaves want to be your friend! (Don't let them, problems from association include all kinds of nastiness)
Poetry Night
21st August
Attendees: ?
A poem: ... maybe not. But everyone (well those brave enough) showed off what 10 minutes of spare time can produce.
Demoscene
28th August
Attendees: ?
PRETTY COLOURS!
Logic Puzzles
4th September
Attendees: ?
There is a way to solve every problem... well at least all the ones presented.
Physics Pictionary
25th September
Attendees: ?
Try and draw Newton's First Law of Motion without using words, numbers or symbols. I dare you.
Lab Tour
9th October
Attendees: ?
Ever wanted to see what an actual research lab looks like? Well, this was your chance.
Last Years' Error Bars - 2008
Liquid Nitrogen
29th February
Peddlers of icecream beware, this error bar shows that you're not needed... at least as there's LN2 available.
Logic Puzzles
7th March
Wracking your brain for the appropriate response is always a good way to pass the time.
Pi Day Celebration
14th March
That ever-mysterious yet greatly used natural constant has never been celebrated so well, with all kinds
of treats and yes, pies.
Mouse-trap Cars
4th April
The challenge of building the greatest racing machine, the thrill of testing your methods, then the frustration
of watching it smack into a wall.
Bell Ringing
11th April
Learning the finer points of how to ring out a round of tonal patterns. As always marred by those who just really
like making loud noises.
Experiments
18th April
What physics society night wouldn't be complete without an array of interesting experiments, such as
measuring the speed of light using everyday chocolate.
History of A.I.
24th April
Chronologically, A.I. hasn't been around for very long, but its history is already convoluted with different aspects.
Trivia
2nd May
Knowledge of trivial facts in a variety of areas such as history, mathematics and science fiction came in very
handy for this evening.
Music
9th May
A practical demonstration of the physics behind simple instruments. Great accolades were heaped upon those who could make
the most annoying tunes using just straws, cardboard and a bit of string.
Treasure Hunt
16th May
A challenge of wits and endurance, teams raced all over the campus looking for elusive clues to guide them to the finish
line: the roof of the physics building. Many glowsticks were harmed in the making of this error bar.
101 Things you shouldn't put in a Microwave
23rd May
"Let's stick it in the microwave and see what happens" was the general thought pattern of the evening. Plasma,
letters of fire (oops) and explosive lightbulbs were just some of the things created.
Bad Movie Physics I
30th May
Take Back To The Future pt. 1, what could possibly be wrong with the physics in this movie?
Liquid Nitrogen 2
25th July
This time round, rather that icecream, a display of the various tricks you can perform using LN2 were demonstrated.
Professionals only, you don't want to lose fingers!
Pseudoscience
1st August
Phrenology - determination of a person's personality based on the shape of their skull. Is this accepted as science?
A brief history and example of it were shown, as well discussions on many other pseudosciences.
Elections
8th August
How exactly are votes counted in our wonderful electoral system? How about others overseas? This question and
more were answered, such as if you vote for someone really obscure, can you track where your individual vote goes?
The answer: Yes.
Theremin
15th August
Warped electronic warbling is the hallmark of this unusual instrument, as well as frustration in getting it to work
properly. For all your sci-fi needs.
Puzzle Solving
22nd August
If you're given A amount of materials, and you have to solve problem B, how do you go about it? If this sounds like
an engineering problem, don't worry, it is! Well, maybe; Superman got involved somehow along the way.
Astronomy
29th August
Astronomers are all insane. At least according to the brief history of some of the more famous ones told to us.
After that stirring session, it was off to the roof of the Physics building for some stargazing.
Patterns
5th September
Patterns are everywhere if you just look hard enough. Like at a set of squares with bits of a pattern on them, especially
when if you assemble them first you get chocolate.
Poetry Night
12th September
Twas much rhyming to be heard this merry evening, or perhaps not in some cases. But poetry was had in any case.
International Talk Like A Pirate Day
19th September
Pirates are (arr?) cool, right? The rum, the sailing, the swashbuckling (what does that even mean?), the not washing
for months, all add up to a very unique experience. Hence ITLAPD.
Science Of Magic
26th September
Now magic is supposed to be about knowing one extra fact, but is it really? Technique comes into play a surprising
amount, as well as amateur psychology in order to play the crowd.
US Election
10th October
An election the whole world was talking about, a bit of the historical backdrop was explained as well. But now we all
know the result, don't we? If you don't, we won't spoil the surprise.
Honours Error Bar
17th October
A night for all those interested in learning about Physics Honours. You don't have to be doing physics to attend, it might
be interesting to find out what goes on behind all those closed doors.
Bad Movie Physics II
24th October
Take Back To The Future pt. 2, what could possibly be wrong with the physics in this movie? If the previous sentence
sounded familiar, that's because we went back in time and repeated the situation of Bad Movie Physics I.
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