A1_5 Let’s Disko para-para-paradise

During this paper, the idea popularised by Coldplay’s recent sustainable concerts is explored to be utilised in the O2 Academy during Let’s Disko. By using the conservation of energy and power equations, it is found that by fitting the venue with kinetic dance floors, it would take 11 Let’s Disko nights to power the Physics Department for one day. However, if all of the energy exerted by 1500 club goers was converted into electricity, then only half of a Let’s Disko night would be required

A1_6 The Planet Phaeton

Whilst the main theory of the asteroid belt’s origin is left over remnants from when the protoplan- etary disc formed our Solar System, on theory is a destroyed planet: Phaeton. This paper aims to explore the characteristics of such a planet forming from the asteroids in the main belt. It is found to have a density of 2188.8 kg/m3, a radius of 6.4 × 105 m, orbital period of 1620.2 days, and an eccentricity of 0.2

A1_7 No Strings Attached

This paper will discuss the possibility of using electromagnetic phenomena to levitate the author of this paper by inducing a safe and non-lethal current through her. It is found that if the current is at a non-lethal level, then the magnetic field required for levitation is 1670 T and if the current is safe, then the magnetic field needed is 3.33×108 T. Both of these magnetic fields are far larger than those available on Earth with current technology. However, by investigating magnetic levitation using a superconductor, the magnetic field strength required is minimised to 0.0457 T

A1_1 Making a house go ‘Up’!

This paper will find that the number of helium balloons required to lift Carl’s house is around 456, 000 by using displacement and Archimedes’ Principle, therefore requiring over 20 times the amount of helium in Earth’s atmosphere. Continuing from this, the suggestion of using 423, 000 hydrogen balloons is made, as the synthesis of hydrogen via electrolysis of water could provide the 48,000 m3 of the gas

Site fidelity and habitat characteristics of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) nursery areas in Wabakimi and Woodland Caribou provincial parks, Northern Ontario / by Natasha Lynn Carr.

To prevent further range recession, habitat features essential to the life history requisites of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) such as calving and nursery areas need to be protected for the persistence of the species. Forest-dwelling woodland caribou may minimize predation risk during calving by either spacing out or spacing away from predators in the forest to calve on islands, wetlands, or shorelines. The first objective of this thesis was to determine if in fact the same female caribou was using the same area for calving and nursery activity year after year. Caribou faecal samples for DNA extraction were collected from nursery areas in 2 provincial parks in northern Ontario: Wabakimi and Woodland Caribou Provincial Parks. Extraction yield was poor in summer-collected faecal samples and site fidelity on a specific lake could not be demonstrated. However, differentiation of caribou DNA samples between parks suggests that caribou may be exhibiting female philopatry during the nursery period: female caribou typically return to a particular area year after year for calving and nursery activities (Brown and Theberge 1985, Gunn and Miller 1986, Fancy and Whitten 1991). Another objective was to determine the fine-scale characteristics of shoreline habitats used as calving and nursery areas by female woodland caribou in the 2 parks. Detailed vegetation and other site characteristics were measured at shoreline nursery sites used by cow-calf pairs and compared to shoreline sites that were not used by caribou within each park. Important characteristics were used to develop and evaluate Resource Selection Functions (RSFs) for calving woodland caribou in northern Ontario. Habitat characteristics determined at nursery sites were postulated to reflect predator avoidance strategies. Observed differences in habitat variables selected by female caribou in the 2 study areas primarily reflected broad ecoregional differences in vegetation and topography rather than differences in female choice. In Wabakimi Provincial Park, higher understorey tree density and lower ground detection distance played key roles in distinguishing nursery sites from sites that were not used. In Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, groundcover vegetation and shrub density were important in the selection of nursery sites by female caribou. Generally, female caribou in both parks selected nursery sites with greater slope, lower shrub density, but thicker groundcover vegetation, and higher overstorey cover than shoreline sites that were not used. The last objective was to determine what physical characteristics caribou might be using at a larger scale (i.e., distance to nearest land feature from nursery sites, distance to closest fly-in outpost from nursery sites). In Woodland Caribou Provincial Park more nursery sites occurred in the coniferous forest landcover type when compared to unused or random sites. In Wabakimi Provincial Park, there was no difference between nursery activity and landcover types randomly available in the study area. Generally, female caribou in both parks selected nursery sites with shorter escape distances than provided by unused or random sites, and islands were the feature type most frequently used for nursery activity. Female caribou also used clusters of land features within shorter distance of one another as compared to random points along the shoreline. Caribou cowcalf pairs typically used areas for nursery activity that were 9.0km (± 6.5km, range 2.3-20.6km) in Wabakimi Provincial Park and 10.0km (± 6.9km, range 0.7 - 32.6km) in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park from any human recreational disturbance. The identification of these important characteristics of caribou nursery areas at 2 different spatial scales provides baseline information that may be used to predict the locations of potential caribou nursery sites both within protected area boundaries and across the broader range of this valued species in northern Ontario. It is suggested that a first iteration spatial model be developed from the outcomes of this study to enable validation and refinement and to enhance the management and understanding of this critical life history requisite

A1_10 As much use as a chocolate teapot

This paper tackles the age old insult of ’You’re as much use as a chocolate teapot!’, showing that a chocolate teapot is in fact useful and can boil water when taken to an altitude of 50,000-55,000 feet. This is found by using the Clausius-Clapeyron method and atmospheric physics

A1_2 Boxing Trees

This paper looks into how a professional boxer could punch a tree down in the style of the videogame Minecraft, calculating forces required to do so and comparing them against the main characterfrom the game, Steve. Data from a range of average professional boxers gives a punch forceof 3450 N and this has been used to determine that it takes 826,000 punches to fell an EnglishOak Tree, compared to Steves punch force of 1.1 GN. The JANKA hardness test has been usedto find the force and volume per punch removed from the tree and how many punches this wouldtake. Overall, it is concluded that a professional boxer would become exhausted before removinga 1m high section of English Oak

Introduction: the Public Archaeology of Treasure

Open-access book chapter. Permission granted by Archaopress.Setting the stage for The Public Archaeology of Treasure, this chapter presents the complex intersections of ‘treasure’ in archaeological teaching and research and archaeology’s interactions with a range of different publics on local, regional, national and international scales. The chapter also identifies the global issues in heritage conservation, management and interpretation as well as the looting of archaeological sites and the illicit trade in antiquities relating to ‘treasure(s)’ as legally defined, popularly perceived and metaphorically articulated. Having introduced the breadth and complexity of ‘treasure(s)’, we survey the 2020 student conference from whence this project derived before reviewing the span and foci of the book itself

A1_9 A Relativistic Chicken Nugget

This paper looks into using highly relativistic velocities to store food for longer than its used bydate on Earth. Based on the calculations made using Einstein’s special relativity, we found thatstoring a chicken nugget at higher and higher velocities increasingly raised the time before which it was considered inedible. However, this method of food storage is impractical in reality

Caribou nursery site habitat characteristics in two northern Ontario parks

To prevent further range recession, habitat features essential to the life-history requisites of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) such as calving and nursery sites need to be protected for the persistence of the species. Woodland caribou may minimize predation risk during calving by either spacing out or spacing away from predators in the forest to calve on islands, wetlands, or shorelines. Our objective was to determine the characteristics of shoreline habitats used as calving and nursery sites by female woodland caribou in northern Ontario. Detailed vegetation and other site characteristics were measured at nursery sites used by cow-calf pairs in Wabakimi and Woodland Caribou Provincial Parks for comparison with shoreline sites that were not used by caribou within each park. Differences in habitat variables selected by female caribou in the two study areas reflect broad ecoregional differences in vegetation and topography. In Wabakimi Provincial Park, understorey tree density and ground detection distance played key roles in distinguishing nursery sites from sites that were not used. In Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, groundcover vegetation and shrub density were important in the selection of nursery sites by female caribou. Generally, female caribou in both parks selected nursery sites with greater slope, lower shrub density but thicker groundcover vegetation, including greater lichen abundance, and higher densities of mature trees than shoreline sites that were not used. The identification of these important features for caribou nursery sites provides a basis for improving their protection in future management policies and legislation