Pippard Lecture Theatre, Cavendish Laboratories, University of Cambridge

On the 13^th October, 11 pupils from Stewards visited The Cavendish Laboratories in Cambridge. The aim of the visit was to see a lecture about bubbles by Dr Gianluca Memoli. We arrived in good time and were ushered into the lecture theatre and shown where to sit. The students were excited to see the size of the lecture hall, with the rows of seats and the big screen down at the bottom.

Dr Memoli was very entertaining and funny. He told us about some of The Guinness World Records on bubbles and then demonstrated by attempting to put some of the audience inside a bubble! We also learnt that bubbles can be used to treat cancer, by injecting them into the blood and targeting ultrasound waves at them so that they penetrate the cell membrane and burst, releasing drugs, which then destroy the cell.

Dr Memoli also discussed the use of bubbles in food and drink and how they can alter the flavour and texture. He taught us that there is a relationship between bubbles expanding and collapsing and the sound they make. This is why a bottle of fizzy pop hisses when you open it and this is the noise we hear as the tide goes in and out and waves rush up and down the beach. He gave many more examples of bubbles found in nature and how scientists have applied this knowledge to come up with new and exciting solutions for problems faced by astronauts, the fashion industry and general society.

The students really enjoyed the demonstrations and were involved in one of them when they demonstrated to the rest of the audience, the noise you get when you open a bottle of fizzy pop!

Alex Dodd 8MT: 'It was a good experience; very educational and I learnt new things about bubbles. I also now look at things in a completely different way.'

Miss N Pennington, Science Teacher