Learners have a whole lot of fun with physics

Terminator: Case Rijsdijk vents his energy during the Phenomenal Physics afternoon.

More than 200 grade 11 learners were recently treated to a showcase of fun experiments at the Department of Physics' annual Phenomenal Physics afternoon.

The event, designed to pique learners' enthusiasm for the subject and possibly lure them to UCT classrooms once they've finished school, this year drew about 250 students and teachers from a spread of local feeder schools.

Over the afternoon, UCT lecturers illustrated some of the fundamentals of physics - pressure, force, gravity, et al - through a selection of quirky and fun experiments. This involved crushing cans, shooting pellets at moving targets and shattering wooden slates with baseball bats, among other things, while learners had to come up with possible explanations for the phenomena witnessed up front.