For
release: April 26 , 2007
Contacts:
Steve Karsjen, Public Affairs, 515-294-5643
AMES LABORATORY/IPRT DISPLAY
A BIG HIT WITH VEISHEA GOERS
AMES, Iowa – Taking a quiz was never so much fun as it was at the Ames Laboratory/IPRT (Institute for Physical Research and Technology) open house display at the 2007 VEISHEA celebration on the Iowa State University campus on Saturday April 21.
The Ames Laboratory/IPRT quiz asked four questions that quiz-takers could find the answers to on the 11 posters that made up the display, which was a timeline of Ames Laboratory and IPRT history. Approximately 175 VEISHEA-goers studied the posters to find answers to questions, such as “The Ames Project received the Army/Navy E Flag for Excellence in Production of:
- yttrium,
- thorium,
- rare-earth metals, or
- metallic uranium.”
Those who answered all four questions correctly, or any questions correctly for that matter, received a small prize, such as an Ames Laboratory or IPRT magnet (correct answer to the quiz question above is d) metallic uranium).
Ames Laboratory Deputy Director Bruce Harmon was also a crowd favorite in the booth with his liquid nitrogen experiments. In one, Harmon blew up balloons and then shrunk them in liquid nitrogen. The audience then watched them transform from flat pancakes to robust balloons again as the air inside warmed up. In another experiment, Harmon demonstrated how extreme cold can make ordinary items very brittle. Harmon dipped a pair of latex gloves in liquid nitrogen and then shattered them when he crinkled them in his hands.
Ames Laboratory, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2007, is
operated for the Department
of Energy by Iowa State
University. The Lab conducts research into various areas
of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed
computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and
the synthesis and study of new materials.
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To see photos of the display, go to the photo gallery.
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