Space Physics!

The 2019-20 SOCK explores the physics of... awesome things we can learn from space! The demos focus on celestial collisions that result in craters and how to explain LIGO to a broad audience. SOCK users will be able to work with students from elementary school age (5-10) up through high school. In this two part sock:

Craters in Cake (Cakeraters): Falling space rocks collide with the surface of planets and moons to create impact craters which can be found all over our solar system: www.spsnational.org/programs/outreach/cakeraters

Jello Ligo: Movement of massive objects in space create gravitational waves that travel outward in spacetime and bend light along the way. We detect these waves by using lasers and watching changes in how light moves through space. This demo uses clear jello and a laser to show how collisions create ripples that radiate outward from the source, which are able to bend light. www.spsnational.org/programs/outreach/gravitational-waves-jello