Science Faculty in Focus

Monday 14 February 2011

Humans have developed incredibly imaginative ways of communicating.

About 200 years ago, two new forms of communication were developed. One was entirely visual: semaphore. If you click on the link below you can see how complicated it is to learn. You might want to try the activity to work out how to send a message! The other method is entirely non-visual and is dependent only on touch. It was designed by Louie Braille as an alphabet for blind people and was based on raised dots. It is still used in books and other items today, including medicine boxes. The link below shows the Braille alphabet. As a challenge, you can try to read the Braille on a medicine box at home – it’s really difficult at first!

Semaphore
Braille

Nowadays, most of you will have mobile phones to communicate with, which require microwaves to transmit their information. Not everybody believes that they are safe, because of the possible effects of microwaves on the brain, especially of children. For a really unscientific experiment, you way want to watch Brainiac’s attempt to use 200 mobile phones to cook an egg. You can compare it to when an ostrich egg is cooked in a microwave oven, at much higher microwave intensities. Even if you have an ostrich egg to hand, don’t try it at home! Ask your Science teacher to show you the clips in your lessons this week. You might want to read the evidence on the internet for and against mobile phone safety and make up your own mind.