Yannick

Turning ordinary materials into precious silver or gold has been the ultimate goal of alchemy for centuries. The mythical "Philosopher's stone" was thought to be the missing key needed for that, but much to the disappointment of generations of alchemists, the elusive Stone was never found, and the promise of unlimited wealth remained a dream. Until less than a century ago. When British physicist James Chadwick discovered the nature of the neutron in 1932, it soon became apparent that these subatomic particles can change the composition of an atom's nucleus. By adding neutrons to a nucleus, or removing neutrons from a nucleus, the atom can be made unstable and forced to undergo changes, now known as radioactive decay. These nuclear reactions can change an isotope of an element into another isotope of the same element, or even into an entirely different element. By choosing nuclear reactions and decays carefully, it becomes possible to turn other materials into gold. Traditionally, nuclear reactions require a very large and expensive nuclear reactor or particle accelerator, but a clever hacker doesn't need any of these! This workshop starts with a 30 minute entry level introduction to nuclear physics to explain attendees the scientific principles of elemental transmutation. Attendees then build together their own Philosopher's stone with components that can be found in any hardware store, and finally use it to transmute (a few atoms) of liquid mercury into gold. After the workshop, attendees have the option to take their creation home.

Ionizing radiation, resulting from nuclear reactions or radioactive decay, is invisible to the human eye yet it is all around us. Whether it's coming from space, from radioactive elements in the Earth, or from human activity, ionizing radiation is passing through us everywhere we go, anywhere on the planet. Radioactive decay producing alpha, beta, or gamma radiation is happening all the time, and curiously, some objects in daily life are noticeably more radioactive than others! Welding rods, camping gas mantles, smoke detectors, granite table tops and even bananas, they all produce radiation of different types and different energies. One instrument to detect ionizing radiation is a Geiger-Müller tube, a simple gas filled tube. When exposed to high energy radiation, the inert gas inside is ionized and able to transport electrical charges. These charges can be detected using an electronic circuit, and visualised or sent to a speaker to produce the typical ticking sound often associated with radioactivity in popular culture. In this workshop, attendees learn about the different types of ionizing radiation, and proceed to build their own Geiger counter based on an authentic 1970s Soviet Geiger-Müller tube. Because let's be honest: everyone loves a bit of Soviet nostalgia! This requires basic soldering and electronics skills. Once built, attendees calibrate their instrument and test it with different radiation sources. Attendees can choose to take their Geiger counter home after the workshop.

Ionizing radiation, resulting from nuclear reactions or radioactive decay, is invisible to the human eye yet it is all around us. Whether it's coming from space, from radioactive elements in the Earth, or from human activity, ionizing radiation is passing through us everywhere we go, anywhere on the planet. Radioactive decay producing alpha, beta, or gamma radiation is happening all the time, and curiously, some objects in daily life are noticeably more radioactive than others! Welding rods, camping gas mantles, smoke detectors, granite table tops and even bananas, they all produce radiation of different types and different energies. One instrument to detect ionizing radiation is a Geiger-Müller tube, a simple gas filled tube. When exposed to high energy radiation, the inert gas inside is ionized and able to transport electrical charges. These charges can be detected using an electronic circuit, and visualised or sent to a speaker to produce the typical ticking sound often associated with radioactivity in popular culture. In this workshop, attendees learn about the different types of ionizing radiation, and proceed to build their own Geiger counter based on an authentic 1970s Soviet Geiger-Müller tube. Because let's be honest: everyone loves a bit of Soviet nostalgia! This requires basic soldering and electronics skills. Once built, attendees calibrate their instrument and test it with different radiation sources. Attendees can choose to take their Geiger counter home after the workshop.