Thursday, November 26, 2009 9:30 PM CST
Mattoon native returns to get students excited about science
By NATHANIEL WEST, For the JG/T-C
MATTOON — University of Illinois chemist Jesse Miller didn’t really expect the Mattoon Middle School students watching his science demonstration Wednesday to remember the name of the gas he inhaled that made him sound like Darth Vader’s evil twin brother.
(FYI, it was sulfur hexafluoride, an inert gas that is denser than air and consequently has the opposite effect of helium on the vocal cords.)
Instead of only retaining specific facts about science, Miller, a Mattoon native and host of the weekly Chemist Corner on WCIA’s The Morning Show, wants students to become enthralled with chemistry, physics and biology. And in an era where scientists often are given a bad rap, this can be a challenge.
“My purpose is to get them interested in science,” said Miller, who also directs the Reaching and Educating America’s Chemists of Tomorrow program at the U of I.
He cited sometimes-maligned research in genetics or scientific contributions to warfare as examples why young people may not trust scientists.
In his demonstrations, like the show he put on for MMS sixth graders Wednesday with fellow U of I chemist Don De Coste, Miller tries to get students to see that science “has got practical applications and it’s fun to do.”
He opened the demonstration with a card trick, in which he revealed the image of the card chosen by the student volunteer — a jack of clubs — suddenly tattooed on his forearm. While he kept the details of the card trick itself secret, Miller confessed he earlier had painted an image of the jack of clubs on his arm with iodine, which blended with his skin but turned black when sprayed with a solution of water and starch.
“It’s not magic, it’s chemistry,” Miller told the students of the school he once attended.
The 1982 graduate of Mattoon High School also discussed how sodium reacts with electricity by running a current through a pickle, causing it to light up like a fluorescent light.
Miller played with liquid nitrogen, freezing and shattering such items as a rubber ball and flowers.
He caused the liquid in a container to change color repeatedly by adding substances with varying levels of acidity.
And, of course, there was fire: Miller piped flammable methane gas through soapy water, creating explosive bubbles, and he also ignited a balloon filled with hydrogen gas.
If Miller’s goal was for students to be impressed by science, he succeeded.
Sixth grader Blake Alvis said his favorite part of the demonstration was “when the balloon blew up and made a big fireball.”
He noted he previously didn’t realize the properties of liquid nitrogen.
Student Molly Nguyen said she also enjoyed the frozen flowers. “I didn’t know it could be so cold,” she said.
Jordan Katz said he was thrilled when Miller used a homemade device to blow smoke rings across the room. “I didn’t know you could actually do that, make smoke rings,” he said.
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~STRANGER~ wrote on Nov 27, 2009 8:38 AM: