There is a growing
worry in British industry. There is a dire fear that we might not have enough
engineers and physicists coming up through the educational system to satisfy
the needs and demands of our technologically advancing society.
It is
certainly a fear of which Richard Noble, past holder of the land speed record
and Director of ThrustSSC, the company behind the vehicle which holds the
current speed record, is well aware. That’s why he is working with schools and
the education system to encourage interest in his forthcoming land speed record
attempt.
But two
youngsters from Bromsgrove have proved they are already ahead of the game.
Dylan and Oscar Rees, along with some help from their dad, Olly, a teacher, recently
launched a teddy bear successfully into space, capturing the whole thing on
film. Using items they sourced themselves along with their dad’s help, the boys
used a polystyrene box that had been used to deliver fish as insulation, along
with heat packs from a local discount store, GPS equipment from a mobile phone,
and a weather balloon, to fashion the craft which got as high as 80,000 feet,
twice the height the average aeroplane flies at.
The family
were granted permission from the Civil Aviation Authority and given several
launch dates which were dependant on weather conditions. It was particularly
important to the boys that they could retrieve the bear, ‘Uranus’, after his
voyage.
“We knew the
risks because it was going 80,000 feet,” said Dylan, 12. “We waited two days to
get it back and had a two hour drive.”
And it seems
that the successful experiment may have far-reaching consequences. Already it
has sparked much media interest, with national newspapers clamouring to get the
story and the YouTube video is receiving world-wide interest. The footage has
been shown in the boys’ schools and classmates have been enthusiastic about the
event.
So could a
new generation of physicists and engineers have been sparked by this project?
It certainly seems that way. Dylan was already very interested in science and
maths, having won the Ogden Trust Award for science in schools when he was 11,
but the project has given him further insight into what a career in the
sciences or engineering could offer and he hopes to eventually become a
physicist or astrophysicist. He said of
the event: “It has given me something that I can say, I have done this.”
Brother
Oscar, 9 agrees: “I think it will change my future a little bit. I wouldn’t
think we couldn’t do that because we are just ordinary people. We did it. When
I am older I will do it again. Maybe even in on a bigger scale.”
Dad Olly was
also fired with enthusiasm: “We might try a rocket car next.”
So watch out
Richard Noble - there might just be an up-and-coming challenge to your
supersonic car and its land speed record attempt!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNtHVlQTzGk
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