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Much Excite, Much Ignite

  • Sometimes cars don’t start—but when they do, how does it happen? Explore the ways in which cars can be powered on. And that’s only the start(er): once a car is moving, it speeds away propelled by a series of mini-explosions that keep moving it along until the next traffic jam. With your team, explore the science behind internal combustion engines. How do they work, when were they invented, and are they obsolete? Be sure to consider the following topics:

    • internal combustion engine | heat engine | gas turbine engine | Wankel rotary engine

    • Otto engine | reciprocating piston engine | rotary engines | continuous combustion engines

    • hydrocarbons | diesel | biodiesel | bioethanol | ETBE | hydrogen

  • Long before Elon Musk’s Tesla, electric cars were already popular for their convenience, quietness, and lack of horse manure aroma. Electric cars were poised to dominate the twentieth century—and then they disappeared for a hundred years. With your teammates, explore the invention and spread of early automobiles. What happened to electric cars and what led to their return? What were some of the key innovations in automobiles? Have you ever gotten stuck inside a self-driving taxi? And, most importantly, where are our flying cars?

  • Even the sun is just a gas puddle—but someday that puddle will run dry. While some people worry about whether they will be able to afford a house in their thirties, and others about whether humanity will survive to see the 22nd century, a few very long-term thinkers are already concerned about the sun going dark—and are contemplating whether it could be revived. Read about the fate of the sun, and study how the sun and other stars actually work (for one, they aren’t technically burning), then discuss with your team: when is it worth it to think about problems that are still far in the future? How soon do they need to be expected to happen for them to become urgent considerations?

  • Volcanoes explode, and it’s not baking soda bubbling up inside of them. Explore the science of volcanic eruptions and study their consequences. Review the following cases and research: when and why do dormant volcanoes reawaken, and does human activity play a role? Also, what is an igneous rock?

    • Mount Vesuvius | Huaynaputina | Unzendake | Tambora | Krakatoa

    • Lake Nyos | Mount St. Helens | Eyjafjallajökull | Hunga Tonga | Yellowstone

  • Like dormant volcanoes, not every war can be suppressed forever. Treaties break; truces fail to hold. Explore why some periods of conflict lasted as long as they did, then discuss with your team: what does it take to “put out” a war so that it doesn’t reignite? To what extent were there periods of quiet within the larger scope of the violence around them? Is the best way to achieve a lasting peace for one side to win a conflict decisively?

    • Punic Wars | Hundred Years War | Wars of the Roses

    • Mongol Invasions | Reconquista (Spain) | 335 Years War

  • Sometimes cars won’t start—but when they do, how does it work? Learn about the different ways cars turn on. That’s just the beginning: once moving, a car uses tiny explosions inside its engine to keep going—until it hits traffic. With your group, explore how internal combustion engines work. When were they invented, and are they still useful? Learn about these ideas:

    • internal combustion engine | heat engine | gas turbine engine | Wankel rotary engine
      Otto engine | piston engine | rotary engines | continuous combustion engines
      fuels: hydrocarbons | diesel | biodiesel | bioethanol | ETBE | hydrogen

  • Before Elon Musk’s Tesla, electric cars were already popular—they were quiet, clean, and didn’t smell like horses. Electric cars almost became the main type in the early 1900s—but then they disappeared. With your group, learn what happened to early cars and what brought electric cars back. What are the most important inventions in car history? Have you ever been stuck in a robot taxi? And... where are our flying cars?

  • The sun is a huge gas ball—but one day it will stop shining. Some people worry about houses or jobs, but a few scientists already think about the sun’s end. Could we restart it? Learn about what keeps stars burning (they aren’t actually on fire!). Then talk with your group: when should we care about very far-away problems? How close must they be to matter today?

  • Volcanoes erupt—and it’s not baking soda inside! Study what causes volcanoes to explode and what happens afterward. Look at these volcanoes and find out: why do sleeping volcanoes wake up? Can people cause eruptions? What is igneous rock?

    • Mount Vesuvius | Huaynaputina | Unzen | Tambora | Krakatoa
      Lake Nyos | Mount St. Helens | Eyjafjallajökull | Hunga Tonga | Yellowstone

  • Like volcanoes, wars can also come back. Treaties may fail. Ceasefires may end. With your team, explore why some wars lasted so long. How can a war really end for good? Were there peaceful breaks during the violence? Is full victory the only way to stop a war forever?

  • Sometimes a car won’t start. But when it does—how? Cars turn on in different ways. Then, when driving, the engine uses small explosions to keep the car moving. Learn with your group: How do engines work? When were they made? Are they old now? Talk about:

    • car engines | heat engines | gas engines | rotary engines

    • types of fuel: diesel | biodiesel | ethanol | ETBE | hydrogen

  • Before Tesla cars, old electric cars were quiet and easy to use. They almost became the most common cars—but then they were gone. Learn what happened. Why did electric cars go away? Why did they come back? What are big changes in car history? Have you ever been stuck in a robot taxi? And… where are our flying cars?

  • The sun is just hot gas. One day, it will stop shining. Some people worry about money or jobs. Others worry about the far future—like when the sun goes out. Learn how stars really work (they don’t “burn” like fire). Talk with your group: When should we care about problems far away in time?

  • Volcanoes can explode. It’s not from baking soda! Learn why volcanoes explode and what happens next. Look at these volcanoes: why do they wake up? Do people help cause it? What is igneous rock?

    • Mount Vesuvius | Tambora | Mount St. Helens | Hunga Tonga | Yellowstone

  • Some wars don’t stay quiet. Peace ends. Fighting comes back. Talk with your group: Why do some wars last so long? How can war stop forever? Is it better if one side wins?

  • 有时候汽车无法启动——但当它能启动时，是怎么做到的？探索汽车如何被启动的各种方式。但这只是“启动器”的开始：一旦汽车开始移动，它会被一系列小型爆炸推进，不断前进，直到下一个交通堵塞。与小组一起探索内燃机背后的科学：它们如何运作，何时发明，它们是否已经过时？请考虑以下主题：

    • 内燃机 | 热力发动机 | 燃气涡轮发动机 | 瓦克尔旋转发动机
      奥托发动机 | 往复式活塞发动机 | 旋转发动机 | 连续燃烧发动机
      碳氢化合物 | 柴油 | 生物柴油 | 生物乙醇 | ETBE | 氢燃料

  • 在埃隆·马斯克的特斯拉之前，电动汽车就因其便利、安静以及没有马粪味而受欢迎。电动车本来有望在20世纪占据主导地位——结果却消失了一百年。和你的团队一起探索早期汽车的发明与发展。电动汽车发生了什么？它们为何会重新流行？汽车历史中有哪些关键创新？你是否曾被困在无人驾驶出租车里？更重要的是，我们的飞行汽车在哪里？

  • 即使是太阳也不过是一滩气体——但有一天它也会耗尽能量。有些人担心自己三十岁时能否买得起房子，有些人担心人类是否能活到22世纪，而另一些思考更长远的人已经在担忧太阳熄灭——他们甚至在考虑如何“重启”它。阅读有关太阳命运的内容，研究太阳和其他恒星的运作机制（例如它们实际上并不“燃烧”），然后与你的团队讨论：我们什么时候应该开始思考遥远未来的问题？一件事需要多快发生，才应该成为紧迫问题？

  • 火山会爆发，而且不是因为里面有小苏打。探索火山爆发的科学并研究其影响。查阅以下案例并研究：休眠火山为何、何时会重新爆发？人类活动是否发挥了作用？此外，什么是火成岩？

    • 维苏威火山 | 华亚纳普蒂纳火山 | 云仙岳 | 坦博拉火山 | 喀拉喀托火山
      尼奥斯湖 | 圣海伦斯火山 | 艾雅法拉火山 | 洪阿汤加火山 | 黄石公园

  • 就像休眠的火山，并非所有的战争都能被永远压制。条约会被破坏；停战协议会失效。探索一些冲突时期为何会持续那么久，然后与你的团队讨论：要如何“熄灭”一场战争，使其不再重燃？在长期暴力中是否曾有过和平时刻？要实现持久和平，是不是只有让某一方彻底胜利才有可能？

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