This issue of Catalyst contains the following articles:

Could purple tomatoes help us be healthier?

This Catalyst article looks at the Rosetta mission: to rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko where it will study the nucleus of the comet and its environment for nearly two years, and land a probe on its surface. The article also describes how gravity assists, also known as slingshot manoeuvres, are used...

Working in a school without a physics specialist, Catherine contacted STEMNET for help with meeting the specifications of a new curriculum. As a result, the school gained help from a STEM Ambassador who not only explained particle physics in an accessible way but also showed how exciting careers in physics could be...

This very short video demonstrates the experiment that led Thomson to conclude that all atoms contain electrons and helped him to create his ‘plum pudding’ model of the atom.

This collection of resources was devised and published by Association for Science Education (ASE) in the last decade of the twentieth century to celebrate the centenaries of a number of key discoveries in the history of science.

The titles

• Beyond the Visible - One Hundred Years...

This video demonstrates how two masses, one free-falling and the other falling but attached to a chain, accelerate at different rates. Students are asked to make a prediction.

Slow motion video shows that the mass attached to the chain accelerates faster than the free-falling mass.  This because as the chain...

This simulation allows students to arrange positive and negative charges in space and view the resulting electric field and electrostatic potential. They can plot equipotential lines, discover their relationship to the electric field and create models of dipoles, capacitors, and more!

Sample Learning...

This collection of resources, from the Royal Society of Chemistry, contains activities about solar power and atmospheric chemistry. They have been brought together to link in with ESA astronaut Tim Peake's flight to the International Space Station. The space station requires huge arrays of solar panels to power all...

With the aid of animations, ESA’s CHEOPS (CHaracterising Ex...

The award of a Royal Society Partnership Grant allowed Chichester College to purchase a powerful telescope for use in teaching and by their STEM Club. The project aimed to give learners the opportunity to select and use equipment whilst working with external partners and organisations, including STEM Ambassadors,...

This series of science experiments from the National STEM Learning Centre and Network are presented as Christmas table demonstrations, using household equipment, but are also suitable for use in the classroom at both primary and secondary level to illustrate a range of scientific concepts.

This simulation allows students to build circuits with capacitors, inductors, resistors and AC or DC voltage sources, and investigate current and voltage.

Sample Learning Objectives include: *Build circuits from circuit diagrams. *Use an ammeter and voltmeter to take readings in circuits. *Discuss basic...

Ball on a tether released (horizontal plane)

Circular motion: ball on tether released (vertical plane)

Circular motion: horizontal ball in a hoop (Tim holding)