Explaining everyday physics, everywhere

Why does food cook faster in a pressure cooker? Why do tires squeal on braking? Can a rainbow be circular? These and 47 other questions—and their answers—form the core of “Science in Public Areas,” a public-education campaign unveiled on 9 October by the European Physical Society.

A poster with one of the questions might be placed at the entrance of a bus, and a second poster with the answer at the bus’s exit, for example. Or the posters could go at the beginning and end of a line at a theme park or theater, at swimming pools, in train stations, and so on, says Ophélia Fornari, project leader of EPS activities.

The campaign aims to improve the public perception of physics and physicists, to explain “simply and in an amusing manner” basic principles of physics, and to excite the curiosity of the general public and of young people in particular, Fornari says.

“Science in Public Areas” grew out of a World Year of Physics 2005 activity organized by Hisa Eksperimentov, a science center in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Posters can be obtained, in English, French, or German, with your logo added for a donation or by joining EPS as an associate member; without added logos, the posters are available free of charge. For more information, contact o.fornari@eps.org or visit http://www.eps.org/sponsor.html .