(Posted April 12, 2004)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Lying on a bed of nails on the stage of Alumni Hall in the Brumbaugh Science Center on the Juniata College campus isn?t exactly fun, but it entertainingly demonstrates physics principles during Physics Phun Night at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 14.

Physics Phun Night, sponsored by the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and the physics department, is free and open to the public. Glow sticks and glow necklaces will be on sale for $2 each.

James Borgardt, assistant professor of physics and sponsor of the SPS club, says John Teacher, technical manager for Oller Hall, will lie on a bed of nails to demonstrate how force is distributed over a wide area.

Other demonstrations will include making a pickle glow, burning bubbles and crusing a 55-gallon drum using air and liquid nitrogen.

?Using props like the bed of nails makes teaching some fairly complex science memorable and fun,? Borgardt says. ?It's not every day you get to put someone on a bed of nails and perhaps even learn a little about physics during the evening.?


Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.