Superconductivity: A Mobile Museum Exhibit

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Superconductivity A Mobile Museum Exhibit

• By Ken Bowles Brian McClain
• (Apopka High School) (Godby
  High School)

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Why Is a Museum Exhibit on SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
Needed?

• Little public knowledge beyond basic definition.
• Applications of superconductivity currently do
  impact many lives.
• Applications will expand and influence additional
  areas of our lives.
• Increasing economic impact of technology
  industry, with some tax payer-financed and
  government regulated endeavors.

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Module 1 What Is Magnetism?

• Visitors should be able to understand
• That there are different types of magnetism
• That there are different types of magnets
• All magnets have a magnetic field
• The history of magnetism

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Module 1 Exhibits

• Each exhibit will ask
• What to do.
• What to notice.
• What is going on.

• Visitors will be able to experience
• Hands-on demonstrations that include
• Iron filings suspended in oil with magnets
  visitors can touch
• Various demos that when the current is turned on
  the magnetic field is visible with a compass
• An electromagnet the visitor can turn on and pick
  up various items

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Module 2 What Is Electricity?

• Visitors should be able to understand
• The difference between a conductor and an
  insulator
• The importance of current in a circuit
• The role of resistance in a circuit
• The importance of voltage in a circuit
• How different devices (resistors,voltmeters,
  ammeters,bulbs, etc.) can be arranged in a
  circuit to produce different effects

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Module 2 Exhibits

• Visitors will be able to experience
• Hands-on demonstrations that include
• An ammeter that detects current via a rotating
  hanging magnet
• A bulb that lights with different of batteries
• A variable resistor demo
• A java program that allows the visitor to drag
  and drop electrical devices to build a virtual
  circuit

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Module 3 Electricity and Magnetism Working
Together

• Visitors should be able to understand
• That there is a cause effect relationship.
  Example current creates a magnetic field and a
  magnetic field can create current
• The relationships between force, current, and
  magnetic field according to the right hand rule

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Module 3 Exhibits

• Visitors will be able to experience
• Hands-on demonstrations that include
• Bars and wires that move when current is turned
  on
• Items that spin with no physical touch
• A current balance experiment

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Module 4 What Is Superconductivity?

• Visitors should be able to understand
• The difference between the 3 temperature scales
• That superconductors have 0 resistance at a
  critical temperature
• Superconductors trap magnets

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Module 4 Exhibits

• Visitors will be able to experience
• Hands-on demonstrations that include
• A Superconducting light switch
• Meissner effect
• A levitated rotating cylinder

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Module 5 Superconductors A Historical Timeline

• Visitors should be able to understand
• Important discoveries in the past and their
  impact on science
• Present theories
• Possible open-ended questions for the future

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Module 5 Exhibits

• Visitors will be able to experience
• An interactive computer based timeline of events
  and people important to superconductors
• A predict the graph activity to help explain
  the way scientists were thinking about resistance
  and temperature

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Module 6 SuperconductorProduction

• Visitors should be able to understand
• How mixing, pressing, and heating are related in
  building a superconductor
• Alternate production techniques such as drawing
  wire, thin film deposition, melt texturing

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Module 6 Exhibits

• Visitors will be able to experience
• Possible models of all equipment used in
  production
• Superconductor chemistry lesson
• How pressure effects matter

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Modules 7 Superconductor Characterization

• Visitors should be able to understand
• How scientists determine whether the production
  process was successful
• The devices scientists use to analyze
  superconductors after the production process

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Module 7 Exhibits

• Visitors will be able to experience
• How a scanning electron microscope works with a
  possible interactive model
• How a SQUID works
• How X-RAY diffraction works

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Modules 8-9 Superconductor Applications in
Society

• Module 8 superconductor uses in utilities
• Power cables, storage supply
• Module 9 superconductor uses in space
• Space telescopes space elevators

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Modules 10 11 Superconductor Applications in
Society

• Module 10 superconductors in medicine
• MRI, NMR, SQUID technology
• Module 11 superconductors in transportation
• MAGLEV

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Module 12 Superconductors in Electronics

• Exhibit will focus on
• Superconducting supercomputers
• Transistors
• Electric memory
• Switches

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In Conclusion

• A museum exhibit for public education on
  superconductivity is needed.
• The exhibit and materials should be flexible to
  address a variety of audiences.
• For this to be done well, additional resources
  should be pursued.

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Sincere Thanks to Those Who Assisted Us

• Dr. Justin Schwartz and Dr. Sastry Pamidi
•  
• Dr. Pat Dixon, Gina Hickey, and Karl Hook,CIRL
  staff of the NHMFL
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• Sue Butler and Brenda Holt, Texas Center for
  Superconductivity, University of Houston
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• Heather Whitaker of the Brogan Museum of Art and
  Science
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• Gerry Hart of the FSU Department of Physics