Aquila Children's Magazine The Electric Issue | Page 2

Hello AQUILAnauts
and welcome to
this, our epic
Electric edition of
AQUILA.
S
ometimes in life all you need is a goal – an achievement to set
your sights on. For some it might be as small as stuffing 24
marshmallows into your face while still being able to sing all the
words to ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, by Bonnie Tyler (don’t judge
me, ed). For others it might be slightly more significant, something
that takes time, effort and a big fat dollop of chutzpah to achieve.
The history of science and exploration is chock full with men and
women who adopted a goal (sometimes a very silly one) and just
point blank refused to give up until the job was done.
In 1959 the famous scientist Richard Feynman offered a prize of
$1,000 to the first person to invent a motor no larger than 1/64th
of an inch square. In so doing, he inspired the field of
nanotechnology.
Here at AQUILA HQ we love a
hair-raising stunt, and this certainly
fits the bill. Have a go at making
little lightning in this month’s
science scene.
Harvey’s positively buzzing with
excitement over this month’s topic,
but what exactly is electricity
anyway? Let’s find out.
The story of electricity is full to the brim with
big intellects and even bigger egos! Here
Aquila tells the story of a world-altering
rivalry: Thomas Edison, the Wizard of Menlo
Park versus Nikola Tesla, the man who
invented the 20th century.
In 1975 the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking bet the physicist Kip
Thorne that the X-ray source Cygnus X-1 did not harbour a black
hole. In 1990 Hawking was forced to concede and pay up.
Way back in 1870, the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace accepted a
challenge from John Hampden to prove that the world is round (it
is). Using three objects placed three miles apart, Wallace was able
to demonstrate this. Hampden accused him of cheating and
Wallace ended up suing his adversary for libel!
The CEO of Tesla, the billionaire Elon Musk, has recently set himself
100 days to build the world’s largest lithium ion battery plant for
the people of South Australia. The challenge came about after
South Australia’s renewable storage failed, causing an enormous
blackout.
Musk’s system will store and intermittently release energy into the
state’s electrical infrastructure. If it works, the plant could provide
enough energy to power 30,000 homes and businesses. If Elon
fails to complete the project within the 100-day time limit, it’s free.
The South Australian state government won’t have to pay a penny
for it. Instead Monsieur Musk will bear the cost – that’s $50 million,
or maybe more.
Do you think Elon will achieve his goal?
What crazy challenge have you set yourself? Why not write and let
us know.
We hope you have a newsworthy (but not
too newsworthy) November. Don’t forget
to join us back here in December for our
plucky Polar Explorer issue.
Over 200 years ago, during a cold, damp holiday
in Switzerland, a young woman sat down to write
a story ‘which would speak to the mysterious
fears of our nature and awaken a thrilling horror
– one to make the reader dread to look around.’
Wordworm investigates Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein. BOO!