This week we're going to measure the speed of light using a chocolate bar and a microwave! Sounds impossible? Try it and see!
What you will need:
A large chocolate bar (at least 18cm by 8cm)
Some toothpicks
A ruler
A piece of paper
A glass
Water
A microwave oven
- Unwrap the chocolate and place it on the paper.
- If your microwave has a turntable, disable it by turning the glass upside down. Be very careful handling the glass plate - consider asking a grown up to do this for you.
- Put some water in the glass and put it at the back of the microwave.
- Place the paper with the chocolate bar in the microwave. Make sure that the longer side of the chocolate bar is parallel to the longer side of the microwave.
- Set the microwave for twenty seconds.
- Start the microwave, but make sure that you watch through the door.
- As soon as you see parts of the chocolate begining to melt, stop the microwave. NOTE: the chocolate will melt unevenly, so watch closely.
- Leave the chocolate on the paper and take it out of the microwave. Be careful because the chocolate will be hot.
- Put a toothpick in each soft, melted spot.
- Measure the distance between each toothpick and write it down.(Catherine Thomas, staff writer)
這個星期我們要用巧克力棒和微波爐測量光速！聽起來不太可能嗎？讓我們來試試看吧！
所需材料︰
一條大巧克力棒（至少十八公分乘八公分大小）
一些牙籤
一把尺
一張紙
一個玻璃杯
水
一台微波爐
- 將巧克力棒拆開並把它放在紙上。
- 如果你的微波爐內有玻璃轉盤，將它倒過來放，讓它不會轉動。請小心放置玻璃轉盤，如有需要，請大人幫你用。
- 裝些水在玻璃杯內，並放在微波爐的最裡面。
- 將巧克力和紙放進微波爐裡，請確認巧克力的較長一邊和微波爐的長是同一個方向。
- 將微波爐設定在二十秒。
- 啟動微波爐，務必注視著微波爐內部。
- 當你一看到巧克力開始溶化時，立即將微波爐停止運轉。注意：由於巧克力會不均勻地溶化，所以要仔細觀察。
- 將巧克力留在紙上，並將它拿出微波爐。請小心拿，巧克力會燙手。
- 在每一溶化處，插上一支牙籤。
- 測量每支牙籤間的距離，並記錄下來。（翻譯︰楊鴻泰）
What's the Science? 科學原理
A microwave produces a series of standing waves to heat food. Normally the turntable moves round, ensuring that the food is heated uniformly. If it is disabled, hotspots will be created at the crest and the trough of the standing wave. In other words, the greatest heating (hotspots) occurs where the amplitude of the wave is the greatest. The water, oil and fat molecules in the chocolate will quickly melt under these circumstances. This allows you to measure the distance between each half wave (the distance between two toothpicks). One wavelength includes a crest and a trough. This is why you mulitply the distance between the toothpicks by two. Microwaves are electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light. Therefore, if you can measure the wavelength of the standing wave in a microwave, you can calculate the speed of light using the formula c = l * f.
微波爐製造一系列的駐波來加熱食物。通常轉盤之所以旋轉，是確保食物受熱均勻。如果轉盤不動，熱點會在駐波的波峰或波谷處產生。換句話說，最大加熱處（即熱點）發生在波振幅最大處。巧克力中的水分子，油分子和脂肪分子在這些條件下會迅速地溶化。藉此你可以測量出每半個波長間的距離（即兩支牙籤彼此間的距離）。一個波長包括了一個波峰和一個波谷。這也就是為什麼兩支牙籤間的距離要乘以二的原因。微波是電磁波，以光速進行。因此，如果你能測量出微波爐駐波的波長，你就可以利用光速公式 c=l * f 計算出光速了。
The measurement 測量方式
The equation that defines the speed of light is c = l * f
c is the speed of light
l is the wavelength
f is the frequency
To find out the frequency of your microwave, look for a label on the inside of the door or the back of the microwave. If you can't find it, don't worry, nearly all microwaves operate at a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz. Therefore, frequency (f) = 2,450,000,000.
To work out the wavelength, take the distance between the
toothpicks and multiply it by 2 (see "What's the science" to see why).
This is the wavelength in cm. You want the wavelength in m so move the decimal point 2 places back (eg 6.0cm will become 0.06m).
This is the value of l.
Now do the calculation and see what the speed of light is!
光速公式為 c = l * f
c 為光速 l 為波長 f 為頻率
看看你微波爐門的內側或是微波爐後面是否有標示微波爐的頻率，如果找不到，不用擔心，
幾乎所有微波爐的頻率為二點四五千兆赫。因此，頻率為2450000000。
將牙籤彼此間的距離乘以二算出波長。（請參考「科學原理」）
波長現在的單位是公分，你要將波長單位換算成公尺，因此將小數點往前移兩位（如6公分變成0.06公尺）。這即是波長值。
現在計算出你的光速！
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