Taking science and technology to new heights. Rocket science includes ideas of forces and motion, how rockets work and some of the challenges for those wanting...
Isn’t it funny to think that the Earth is moving! If we stand perfectly still and look into the distance, the Earth appears to be perfectly...
Position: Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Canterbury University and Director of the Advanced Energy and Material Systems Lab. Field: Energy and materials engineering. Professor Susan Krumdieck...
Position: CEO and technical director, Rocket Lab Field: Rocket engineering Sir Peter Beck is CEO and technical director of Rocket Lab, a New Zealand rocket technology...
How does the acceleration of a model rocket compare to the Space Shuttle? By using the resultant force and mass, acceleration can be calculated. Forces acting...
Hypersonic vehicles are perhaps a dream of the future, but if they have a chance of happening, research is important to develop materials that will handle...
Chemical rocket engines use a fuel (something to burn) and an oxidiser (something to react with the fuel). Together, they are referred to as the propellant....
What is a rocket pushing against to make it start moving? Is it pushing against the ground? The air? The flames? To make any object start...
Dr Susan Krumdieck from the University of Canterbury is helping to develop new materials for possible future hypersonic vehicles that travel 10 times the speed of...
University of Canterbury PhD students Malcolm Snowdon and Avinash Rao are developing flight control systems for rockets. They use electronic sensors to measure any changes in...
Rocket science includes ideas of forces and motion, how rockets work and some of the challenges for those wanting to make rockets go faster and higher....
An inquiry approach is a method often used in science education. The question bank provides an initial list of questions about rockets and places where their...
Scientists researching and mapping Auckland’s volcanic field thought they had discovered a hitherto unknown crater lying beneath the suburb of Grafton. However, it turned out early...
Competitive cyclists have power meters to carefully monitor their training and race performance. Power is a measure of how much energy is being changed every second....
Aerodynamics is the study of how air flows over objects and the forces that the air and objects exert on each other. Drag is the force...
Dr Mark Jermy and his team are using the Canterbury University wind tunnel to analyse airflow and drag as high-speed wind moves over cyclists. For cyclists...
Rolling resistance is one of the forces that act to oppose the motion of a cyclist. It is caused mainly because of deformation of the tyre...
Uncovering our explosive past How do volcanoes work? Where do they form? And what does this mean for the people that live around them? This resource...
Position: Associate Professor, Faculty of Science, Environment, University of Auckland. Fields: Volcanoes, volcano hazards, petrology, geochemistry. Dr Phil Shane has a PhD from Victoria University of...
The city of Auckland is built on a volcanic field. There are 50 volcanoes within an area of 1,000 square kilometres, forming the hills, lakes and...
The Earth rumbles and a hiss of steam issues from the top of Mt Ruapehu. Are these two events related? Is the earthquake caused by the...
Scientists use a range of different methods to learn more about volcanoes. A volcanologist may start by conducting fieldwork, collecting rocks and samples, and then move...
The high temperatures (900°C) and extremely high pressures that occur in the mantle layer of the Earth are enough to melt rock. The high pressure changes...
Everyone knows what a volcano looks like – isn’t it a steep-sided cone with wisps of ash coming from the top, just like Rangitoto, White Island,...
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