To celebrate the World Year of Physics, NASA invited teachers to submit experiments run in reduced gravity. The following experiments were selected to ride aboard NASA's parabolic aircraft, which flies a series of arcs to provide periods of weightlessness.

Teams of teachers will have an opportunity to perform their experiments during free fall at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Training and flights will take place during the week of April 28-May 6, 2005. AAPT congratulates the following winners:

Electrostatics: A Study of the Properties of Granular Materials
Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook, Illinois
Lead Teacher: Lynne Zielinski
Co-teachers: Nathan Unterman, Vince Pinelli

A uniform electric field will be generated inside two cubic chambers, which hold different size grains. Two cameras will record grain movement as the electric field changes, making it possible to create three-dimensional modeling of particle interactions. The experiment was chosen by the students in part because of the application it had to the clumping of dust inside interstellar clouds and dust devil/storm formation on places like Mars.

Improving Space Communication Technology Through the Study of Induced Spacecraft Tumbling
Columbus High School, Columbus, Georgia
Lead Teacher: Luther Richardson
Co-teachers: Chris Spraggins, Gail Sinkule

This experiment is designed to measure tumble rates to aid in the design of a small satellite with an antenna switching algorithm that allows for consistent directional information exchange, even when tumbling. Three micro-satellites (aluminum pellets) will be released in microgravity with a rotational movement that will be recorded.

Magnificent Magnets
Greendale High School, Greendale, Wisconsin
Lead Teacher: Wade Bosworth
Co-teachers: Kolin Golchert, Robert Ligocki

Multiple magnetic experiments will be set up to collect data in a variety of situations, such as how magnets move in the absence of gravity.

The Motion and Mathematics of Objects in Microgravity
Circle High School, Towonda, Kansas
Lead Teacher: Danny Mattern
Co-teachers: Michelle Nibarger, Merle Craig

A fan will be used to accelerate a ball out of a tube. Students will be able to explore the relationships between mass, weight, and apparent weight in the microgravity environment. The students can also calculate the thrust force generated by the propeller as the tube moves.

Robot Pointer
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, Washington
Lead Teacher: Eric Muhs
Co-teachers: Judson Miller, Amy Schwentor

A small, battery-powered, free-floating robot will keep itself pointed at the same direction in space. This might be useful for deploying a remote camera outside a space station to follow and record an astronaut's motion.

The Stability of Free-Standing Liquid Bridges Under Varying Total Body Force
Beaumont High School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Lead Teacher: Greg DiLisi
Co-teachers: Gretchen Santo, Jennifer Freeman

This experiment involves three steps. First, liquid bridges will be created with different slenderness values. Next, a parabolic aircraft will be used to create sudden changes in Bond number. Finally, stability will be measured visually, using a vide monitor and recording system.