Megha and Karan Sharmas, Amdavadi student, experiment “One medium - multiple refractive”
indices is among the final entries to a global science competition
Two school kids from the city have secured a berth in the
final of a global science competition, YouTube Space Lab. And if they win, their
experiment will be live streamed from International Space Station to classrooms
across the world.
For siblings, Megha Sharma, age 17 years, and Karan Sapolia Sharma,
age 15 years, “the journey from enrollment to selection has been thrilling.
For us, making it to the finals of the contest is a big achievement. The most challenging
part of the competition was the hypothetical experiment, conceived under controlled
parameters like temperature, time and area to suit a microgravity (space) situation”,
said Megha, a class-XII science student. “I am very much excited that we will be
judged by Stephen Hawking, a well- known theoretical physicist and cosmologist”,
said Karan, a class-X student who wants to be an astrophysicist. Stephen Hawking
is his inspiration. Students of Zydus School of Excellence, Megha and Karan are
among the nine students from the country who have reached to the finals. Apart from
Indian students, 51 others from across the globe have made it to finals.
THE CONCEPT:
The concept of our experiment is that in the absence of convection in micro-gravity
(space) when a part of the medium is heated, the medium would acquire multiple refractive
indices. This means that a ray of light travelling through a medium in micro-gravity
would bend due to the presence of these refractive indices, Megha said who wants
to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If we heat a part of air in the
outer space telescopes (like the Hobble telescope) to a particular temperature that
it bends the light rays to a point. By measuring the extent of light bent, we will
be able to determine the exact location of galaxies and stars in space without the
use of bulky and brittle lenses used in such telescopes, she said. To vote for them,
click on the direct link,
http:/goo.gl/ZOzRs. The name of their video is,
“One medium
- multiple refractive indices”. One has to cast the vote once a day till the January
25th, 2012.
THE CONTEST:
The competition received around 2,000 entries from more than 80 countries. The participants,
divided in two age groups 14 to 16 years and 17 to 18 years, had to submit YouTube
videos describing their experiment. The winners can either opt for cosmonaut training
in Russia after they turn 18 or can either watch a rocket blast off into space at
Japan with their experiment.
Courtesy: Times of India
