Ask a Scientist Celebrates Fifth Anniversary

Next Tuesday, August 19th, Ask a Scientist will celebrate their fifth anniversary in San Francisco at the Axis Cafe. The anniversary celebration will feature an interactive physics circus with live demonstrations and a Q&A session.

To help us celebrate this momentous milestone, ringmaster Zeke Kossover and his crew of sensational sideshow scientists are returning to the big top to astound, confound, and expound! Zeke will perform a whole new set of dazzling demonstrations that illustrate physical principles — this time kicking it up a notch with torches, machetes, and broken glass. Why is a wooden stake better than steel for killing a vampire? What happens to an iPod dropped into liquid nitrogen? Will a toy boat float on gas? Can Zeke break a stack of wooden boards with his hand? How much fun is it to ride a hovercraft?

For those not familiar with the Ask a Scientist events, it is series of talks held once a month in cafes around San Francisco. Various scientists give a short presentation about their research and take questions from the audience. It’s a great opportunity to learn about interesting research from a wide range of scientific fields.

photo by Dave Schumaker