CONTENTS2. From the Editors

3. From the President

4. Science Reports

6. Call for Staff: The Siemens Science Experience

8. The YSA Sydney Ball

10. Chaka Tang: Level 5 SCARS

From the EditorsIn Canberra, where this intrepid editor chooses to spend the majority of his time, there is a change in the air. Birds are chirping, ducklings are hatching, and trees are coating the lawns with a strange white fluff. Of course that can only mean one thing: Spring is (actu-ally) here! And to prove it, a fresh newsletter, Spring Mark 2, if you will, to satisfy your scientific cravings until summer hits and it’s time for TSSE season!

Victor

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12. Upcoming Socials

13. Call for Applications: ISS 2009 Socials Coordinators

14. Did you know...? Aqua Regia and the Nobel Medals

15. Competitions

Victor: I wonder who you’d have to sleep with to get up there?

Bec: Pigeons.

Salutations, my dear friends, and welcome to the sprightly and slightly spry Spring newsletter (try saying that quickly!). Since I’ve last spoken with you, YSA Sydney has been in the middle of a veritable maelstrom of events – National Science Week with the Australian and Powerhouse Museums and National Geographic; sherbet shenanigans at Sydney Uni Live!; and most recently UNSW TSSE. But of course, all work and no play makes happy Dunstan a dull boy, so we shouldn’t forget reporting on one of the best socials of the year, the 2nd Annual YSA Sydney Ball (look for the pictures further on...we’ve all shined up pretty well I must say!).It’s also been a very happening time for Science around the world. On one hand,

there was the risk that the world could be swallowed by a black hole following the turning on of the Large Hadron Collider; and on the other, we have increased talk regarding Climate change following the release of the final Garnaut report, which essentially recommends the best course for the Australian Government to try and tack-le this very imminent problem (I would recommend having a look if you have a chance – it’s a report that will underpin fu-ture discussions in this country about this issue).Keeping this all in mind, I invite you to pe-ruse the rest of the Newsletter at your lei-sure, and I hope that you will continue to be challenged, excited, surprised, inspired and most importantly entertained by that funny thing we call science.

Matthew

From the President

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ScienceWhen the frosty grip of winter begins to wane, it means one thing: it must be Au-gust. Therefore, National Science Week must also be nearby!Well, it was nearby, seeing as now we’re swinging merrily through spring. Na-tional Science Week is one of the biggest festivals in Australia, and is character-ised by a glut of cool science activities across the nation. Once again, YSA was in the thick of it: we helped out with Sci-ence in the City at the Australian Mu-seum, the Scienteering event as part of the Ultimo Science Festival, performed demos at Australian Geographic Stores and distributed sherbet to the masses at Sydney Uni Live!

Thank you to all the YSA people who vol-unteered their time for National Science Week – we always need more volunteers so please keep an eye out for more opportunities like this. Special thanks go to Bernie Phu who did a wonderful job as YSA Sydney’s repre-sentative on the NSW National Science Week Organising Committee. See you there next August!

Patrick Mahony

NationalScience Week Reports

Well that’s longer than your one.

- Emily

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From the very first day, there was never a dull moment at the University of New South Wales TSSE. From pickled organs in the Museum of Human Diseases to the al-leged “hot” psychology lecturer, there was something to keep both students and staff entertained. And let me tell you, there’s a psychology PhD in finding how to get the attention of the Staffies back once he’s in the room!Then there was the egg drop challenge. To the surprise of the egg, one team actu-ally managed to engineer a safe landing. There’s no need for modesty; yes, it was my group. After a quick check over by the paramedics, the egg returned to Clem’s where it underwent surgery to become my egg and lettuce sandwich for lunch. God I love Clem’s.Meanwhile Prof Joe Wolfe from the Phys-ics Department unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide three times in front of the students. Apparently lying on a bed of nails wouldn’t do it, nor will driving a wooden stake into his chest. Better luck next year Joe.

Finally the relay quiz brought out a frankly disconcerting side to many students. It was bad enough that Fergie’s “My humps” was the song of choice for many groups, but the dancing... [Editor’s note: Refer to Adam on the front cover to see how it’s done.] All things considered, at least nobody died... or got stuck in a lift (we think). Our sincere heart filled thanks go out to C6H1206, without whom, nothing would have been possible.

Adam Smallhorn

UNSW TSSE ‘08

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Applications for TSSE Staff in January 2009 are now open!

The Siemens Science Experience (TSSE) is a 3-day science camp for students entering Year 10. YSA Sydney is providing Staff for three schools: University of Sydney, Mac-quarie University and University of Wollongong. The dates are as follows:Campus Training Orientation TSSEMacquarie University 10-11 Jan 2009 12 Jan 2009 13-15 Jan 2009University of Sydney 10-11 Jan 2009 13 Jan 2009 14-16 Jan 2009University of Wollongong 10-11 Jan 2009 20 Jan 2009 21-23 Jan 2009

Call for Staff:

The Siemens Science Experience

As a TSSE “staffie” you will be expected to:- Supervise students at activities and dur-ing free time. This will include engaging with them, encouraging their participation, and promoting science and YSA Sydney. -Assist the coordinators and director with the running of events- Conduct yourself in a responsible, appro-priate manner at all time- Attend and participate in appropriate training sessions- Have fun!NB Due to concerns raised about the su-pervision of children, this year we will be restricting group staff to those aged 16 years and older. If you are under the age of 16, you can still help out, however, you will be part of the Support Staff (“Winged Monkeys”). You will help out the coordi-nators with running the event, including things like meals, Relay Quiz, socials, etc. It is still a rewarding experience, and those who volunteer for Support Staff roles will be looked on favourably for future schools and events.

Senior Staff PositionsIf you have staffed a number of TSSEs, then you will be eligible to apply for the position of Senior Staff Member (“Senior Staffie”). This is in recognition of your experience and skills as a staffie. You will have responsibilities, as you will also be in charge of mentoring new and less experi-enced staffies. You will be expected to as-sist with the General Staff training in Janu-ary, and to attend extra briefing sessions with relevant coordinators and directors. There will be a maximum of one Senior Staffie per group. Please note that Senior Staff positions are not available at Wollon-gong TSSE. The criteria for selection of Senior Staff Members are:

Necessary- Age: Over the age of 18 years at the start of TSSE.- TSSE Experience: at least 3 TSSEs over-all or 2 TSSEs at the one campus. The more experience, the better. - Demonstrated leadership, initiative and communication skills.

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INTERESTED IN TSSE EXCHANGE? Keep your eyes on www.ysa.org.au/sydney for more details. Applications close November 16th.

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Desirable- First Aid qualifications- Teaching experience or qualifications (or studying a teaching qualification)- Other leadership experience, both within YSA Sydney and in other organisations

Science Show PresenterThis year, science show presenters will be selected well in advance. Each campus will have a team of 4 presenters, who will work under the guidance of a Mentor (a Level 4/5 Science Communicator) to develop their own science show for TSSE. All staffies are encouraged to apply – no experience is necessary. Within the team, there will be 1 inexperienced science show presenter, at least 1 experienced science communicator, with the remainder to be made up of pre-senters with some experience. Performing in a science show is a Level 2 SCARS Ac-tivity, and is a useful experience to have to progress between levels. Support Staff are particularly encouraged to apply for a Sci-ence Show Presenter Role.

SCARS GradingsTSSE Support Staff Level 1(“Winged Monkey”)TSSE Group Staff Level 2TSSE Senior Staff Level 3Science Show Presenter Level 2Science Show Team Leader Level 3Running a Training Session Level 3

How to ApplyGo to the YSA Sydney website www.ysa.org.au/sydney and fill out the on-line ap-plication form. Applications close 30th November 2008. You will be notified of receipt of your application and requests for any further information. You will receive an information pack in early December with further TSSE details.Non-members are encouraged to apply, however, they will need to become full members of YSA Sydney (unless part of a YSA TSSE Exchange program).

EnquiriesIf you have any questions regarding TSSE in January 2009, please contact Pat Maho-ny at sci-liaison@sydney.ysa.org.au.

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The YSA Sydney BallSeptember 27th saw forty-five gorgeous-ly glammed-up YSAers converge on the Sydney Park Pavilion for a night of good company, good music, good food and more jelly beans than you could poke a test tube at.

While everybody looked amazing in their dresses and suits there were a few “Best Dressed” awards (and it must have been a very tough choice). Best Dressed Girl went to Sarah Iversen for her amazing ball gown designed specifically for her by a design student friend! Best Dressed Guy went to Kiah Westlund with his awesome tie with the periodical table on it. And then there was the Best Dressed Couple, for a pair that didn’t realise they were a couple, and this went to Pat Mahony and Matt Hes-kett for their very bright suits (one blue, one green) and matching ties. Nice coordi-nation boys!

Lastly there was a very special award pre-sented, the first ever SCARS Level 5. This was awarded to Checks Tang for his out-standing contribution to science commu-nication. Well done Checks, you’ve been amazing asset to YSA.

A huge thanks must go to Jo, Jun and Sam, our brilliant social coordinators, for orga-nizing an incredible night, to all the people who came early to help set up, and finally to everybody who came and made the night a wonderful one.

Bec Sellars

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You keep your nozzles to yourself!- Pat

It’s like luxury on my bum!- Checks

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MK: It works really well with bbq chicken...

Anne: And cats.

Level 5 S.C.A.R.SChaka Tang

At the recent YSA Sydney Ball, the first ever level five Science Communication Accreditation and Recogniton Scheme (SCARS) award was presented to Chaka Tang for his ongoing efforts to support and improve YSA.

Name: Chaka Tang

Aliases: Checks

University Education: MBiomed/BEng(Bioinformatic)/ BYsa(procrastination)

Date of YSA membership: Have you ever asked your aunty how old she was? The answer I always got was ‘Young enough to fool you, but old enough to know better than to comment’. When I was a kid, this roughly translated to ‘You know when the Earth was still flat...’ and when I got a bit older “Please don’t ask me that question, I might cry if you ask me again”

Positions held in YSA: Member, So-cials, Vice President, Webmonkey.

Profile:

He didn’t really ask permission, it just came out...

- Checks

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MK: It works really well with BBQ chicken...

Anne: And cats.

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Staffie ‘parent’ to: After consulting a genealogist, it was decided that the YSA family tree could not really be described in words less mini black holes be created. Instead, I list my ‘meta-children’: Spongie - the magical sponge, Eddy (Ethidium Bromide) - the carcinogenic polar bear, Whole Grain - the loaf of bread, Chloe - the psychotic worm that came from Dorothy the Dinosaur and Checks’s Cream - the dead patch of grass where C10 used to be.

Favourite YSA experience: Having UNSW TSSE staffies from YSA Sydney in-side the starlab in my lounge room calling UNSW TSSE staffies from YSA Bris-bane driving back home from the TSSE week. Apparently spending 24hrs a day with each other for the week was not enough. I love YSA.

Advice to the young and crust-free: The trick to developing a healthy crust is to get involved and do things that you may not be comfortable with. Join the commit-tee even if you aren’t sure - there is plenty of help and you will learn a whole lot while you are there. Go to the bowling social even if you spend most of the time in the gutter - you can bowl in my lane with the bumpers. Go staff a TSSE - who knows what offspring you will end up with. YSA is a fantastic organisation from which I have learnt, laughed and gotten much support from. I hope everyone will go out and do something a little bit different in YSA - how else are you to develop a healthy crust?

Observatory Social YSA will be seeing stars at the Obser-vatory social. There will be a guided tour at the Sydney Observatory for those wishing to attend a night of in-sight and wonder. You will have the chance to look through one of Sydney’s largest telescopes and have some of the mysteries of the cosmos unravelled. There are limited places available, so RSVP now!

When: Saturday, 25th of October. The tour begins at 8.30pm but you are ad-vised to be ready by 8.15pm.Where: Meet at the Sydney Observa-tory. It is located at Watson Road, Ob-servatory Hill, The Rocks.Cost: $10 for a guided tour.RSVP: socials@sydney.ysa.org.au by Thursday 23 October.

Upcoming Socials

Post HSC Dinner (Everyone’s invited!)

Join in the celebrations as our year 12s finish their HSCs with scrumptious wood fired pizza in the most vibrant of restaurants. If have just completed your HSC, your dinner’s on us! When: Saturday, the 15th of November.Where: E-Lounge, 92 Glebe Point Rd, GlebeWhen: 7pmCost: $20RSVP: socials@sydney.ysa.org.au

The Christmas PartyThe jolly season is approaching and YSA is once again throwing its nowlegendary Christmas Party and rumour has it that Santa will be dropping by.So join us in celebrating the end of the year, the start of a new one andthe upcoming TSSE season. Did I men-tion that there will be Santa? He’ll havepresents. When: Friday, the 19th of December.Where: Ice + Slice, 135 King Street, Newtown.When: 6.30 pmCost: $20RSVP: socials@sydney.ysa.org.au

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For further enquiries about any of the above socials, please contact Jun at 0433 879 102 or Sushi at 0415 689 783.

What river has an element named after it?Which animal has the most neck bones?Where is the longest suspension bridge

found?

Do you know the answer? The YSA Trivia Night is coming

in February 2009...

If the bear counts, you’re doing something wrong.

- Steph

Once again, YSA Sydney will be organis-ing and running the socials programme for the International Science School in 2009. The 35th Professor Harry Mes-sel International Science School, titled Genes to Galaxies, will be held at the University of Sydney from 12-25 July 2009, with students and staff staying at The Womens College.

YSA Sydney is looking for a Socials Coordinator and 2IC to run the socials programme for the students over the two weeks. The successful applicants need to be able to ‘live in’ at the College for the two weeks of the School itself, and to work together in the 3-6 months be-forehand to plan and book the various events.

Responsibilities include:- Work with the Science Foundation for Physics to plan the socials programme- Book socials with the various venues- Promote the socials programme to the scholars, including production of a booklet describing the socials for the In-formation Pack- Oversee the running of the socials over the two weeks, including collecting money from scholars, coordinating staff for the socials and ensuring the socials themselves run smoothly.

Call for Applications:

ISS 2009 Socials Coordinators

Successful applicants must:- Be a current member of YSA- Have excellent organisational abilities- Be able to keep a cool head in a crisis- Have access to email, landline tele-phone and a mobile phone, and prefer-ably a fax machine- Have a good working knowledge of Excel- Be prepared to meet on a number of occasions between November 2008 and July 2009 with Science Foundation staff at University of Sydney during office hours- Have experience of ISS Socials- Be over 18 years of age at the closing date for applications (Coordinator only)

To apply, email Michelle at m.dodd@ysa.org.au with a letter outlining why you would like to take the role and address-ing the eligibility criteria. Full training will be provided to the successful appli-cants.

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Applications close 5pm 16th November.

Did you know...?

Aqua Regia and the Nobel MedalsCopenhagen, Denmark, April 1940.Hitler’s Germany has occupied Denmark. The Nazi forces are marching through the streets. Soon they will reach the Institute of Theoretical Physics. Inside, the Hungar-ian-Jewish chemist George de Hevesy is frantically trying to dissolve the Nobel Prizes of two German physicists, James Franck and Max von Laue. The removal of gold from Germany is illegal, and as the Medals awarded have the Nobel Laureate’s name in-scribed upon them, their discovery could have dire consequences for Franck and von Laue, and for the Institute. The Institute was founded by the great physicist Niels Bohr, and became a haven for Jewish-German physicists fleeing from persecution in Hitler’s Germany. This is why it had been targeted by the Nazis. They arrive, and conduct a thorough search for the No-bel Medals. They search through all the laboratories, offices, chemical stores and around the grounds. They do not find the medals – George de Hevesy has succeeded, and the gold has been dissolved into one of the many bottles of liquid chemicals in the labora-tory. Gold is a noble metal and renowned for being extremely unreactive – how did de Hevesy dissolve it?The answer is aqua regia – “royal water”. Aqua regia is mixture of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids (in the ratio 1:3 by volume). It has been known since the 9th Century, when it was discovered by the Arab alchemist Geber. Its name derives from its ability to dissolve gold – royal water for a royal metal. Neither hydrochloric nor nitric acids can dissolve gold on their own, but together they can. Here’s how:Nitric acid is able to dissolve tiny, imperceptible amounts of gold metal to form gold ions:

Au(s) + 3NO3-(aq) + 6H+(aq) --> Au3+(aq) + 3NO2(g) + 3H2O(l)

If there is a large number of chloride ions (Cl-) present (as there is in concentrate hy-drochloric acid), these can react with the gold ions:

Au3+(aq) + 4Cl-(aq) --> AuCl4-(aq)

The product of this reaction is called a “chloraurate” ion. This system is an equilibrium reaction – the formation of chloraurate ions means gold ions are being removed from the system. According to Le Chatelier’s Principle, the system will attempt to minimise the change. This means that the formation of gold ions – that is, the dissolution of gold – is favoured.After the war, de Hevesy returned to his laboratory, and found the bottle of aqua regia intact. Through a reversal of the dissolution process, he was able to recover the original gold. He returned the gold to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, (which presents the Nobel Prizes) who recast von Laue’s and Franck’s Medals. The new Medals were presented to the two physicists at a ceremony in 1952.

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By Patrick Mahony

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CompetitionsPresident’s Perplexing Puzzles

Two postmen meet on their routes and they start talking.Postman A says: “I know you have 3 sons, how old are they?”Postman B says: “If you take their ages in years, and multiply them together, the result is your age.”A: “That’s not enough info.”B: “The sum of the 3 numbers equals the number of windows in that building over there.”A: “Hmm... that`s still not enough.”B: “My middle son is red-haired.”A: “Ah, now I see!”How old are the 3 sons?

I live above a star, and yet I never burn,

I have eleven neighbors, and yet none of them turn,I am visited in sequence, first, last or in between,

PRS (& sometimes Q)are my initials, now tell me what I mean.

Remember, the first to send the correct responses to president@ysa.org.au will

win a $10 socials voucher!

And on the topic of socials vouchers, congratulations to Bernie Phu, winner

of this edition’s photo competition! Remember to keep uploading your pho-tos to the YSA Sydney Facebook page

for your chance to win.

Copyright YSA Sydney 2008