News

Scopic: Stargazing down a microscope

(19 June 2008)

The Tonsilrainbowlitis Virus - Emily Cutmore, 9

Scopic, a schools science-art project coordinated by Dr Pete Edwards in physics together with the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre and Royal Albert Hall Education, has generated a stunning exhibition of art work by young people aged between 10 and 16 from eleven schools in County Durham and London. Inspired by microscopic and telescopic images, Scopic is an insight into how young people perceive their universe and interpret images from inner and outer space. Following an exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall in London the final pieces are now on permanent display in the Calman Learning Centre, where the exhibition opens officially on 19th June. The Scopic project was covered by the leading international journal 'Science' in its May 16th edition. Further information can be found at the Scopic website: http://www.myscopic.co.uk/

THE TONSILRAINBOWLITIS VIRUS – Winner best microscopic work and overall competition winner Emily Cutmore, 9 Newker Primary School, Chester-Le-Street My picture started as a mystic rose pattern. It is what I think a virus might look like for a disease called Tonsilrainbowlitis. The virus measures 0.0017 mm wide and 0.01 mm long. I have had tonsillitis so I have written an acrostic poem about it. Throat is red and hurting. Oh, the painful small gland! Need to get some medicine. Swelling has started to disappear, Infection almost gone. Lucky me! I feel much better now. RED HOLE – Winner best telescopic work Lakshmi Piette, 10, and Catherine Duffell, 9 St Godric’s RCVA Primary School, Durham Far away, in a galaxy not yet researched, lies the Red Hole. This deadly creation has an enormous appetite. Eventually the whole universe will get gobbled up if we don’t react quickly. The Red Hole will consume anything including satellites and novas although its main meal is stars. The Red Hole attracts stars with a blue magnetic force laid inside the hand. The bright red colour of the hand is thought to be fluorescent. According to satellite images we think that the stars somehow get hypnotised but await further research on this theory. The Red Hole is 87 light years wide and 172 light years long and it grows progressively the more it consumes. SUPERGIANT STAR ILLUMINATING DUST Laura Davies, 14 Park View Community School, Chester-Le-Street The telescopic image I chose was a supergiant star illuminating dust. The bright colours remind me of a rainbow with a wide spectrum of different shades. SUPERDUPER SUPERNOVA Adam Syson, 11 Newker Primary School, Chester-Le-Street When I went on holiday to northern Canada, I was peering out from my window one freezing night looking at the Northern Lights when something caught my attention. At first I thought it was a firework but it got much bigger and looked much hotter. It must have been the Superduper Supernova which has rays of gas hotter than a furnace. It was caused by a dying star twice the size of Mars, which exploded and became four times bigger than Mars.