What are the most amazing science projects done at school?

BUILD YOUR OWN CAR

Using a carcass sold at a bargain price and scrap metal parts, a group of 15 high school students in Philadelphia (USA) built a vehicle powered by biodiesel for an automobile contest. The team didn’t take the US$ 10 million for first place, but made it to the semifinals, competing with teams composed of up to 70 engineers and an investment of thousands of dollars!

ENDANGERED PLASTIC

Scientists have spent years looking for a solution to the problem of discarded plastic degradation, but it was a 16-year-old boy who came up with the solution. Canadian Daniel Burd researched a method of plastic biodegradation using bacteria. In the experiment, the material, which takes about 1,000 years to degrade in nature, was reduced by 43% of its initial volume in about six weeks.

HOME MILL

Nuclear fusion usually takes place inside stars, where hydrogen nuclei fuse to generate energy. But, at the age of 15, Thiago Olson developed the same process in the basement of his house, in the state of Michigan (USA), building a reactor. The fun didn’t come cheap. Nearly R$7,000 was spent on materials such as a neutron bubble dosimeter and sources of deuterium (a type of hydrogen) – most of which were purchased on eBay. After two years of work, the reactor was ready and gained fame. Today, at the age of 23, Thiago works for the US Department of Defense. For his discovery, he was decorated in 2000 with a planet in his honor, 23262 Thiagoolson

ZERO EMISSIONS

Inhabitants of one of the most polluted countries in the world, the Chinese Alec Wang and Jun Bing invented, at 13, an anti-pollution device. Coupled to the car exhaust, it neutralizes about 90% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted. They started testing on Jun’s father’s car and intend to improve the idea to store and reuse the CO2 trapped in the exhaust pipes.

WEAKENED DISEASE

The Indian Shree Bose started to shine in the science fairs creating blue spinach. At age 15, she created a new treatment for ovarian cancer patients immune to traditional chemotherapy. With the project, she earned $50,000 and presented the research to President Obama at the 2011 Google Science Fair. year by Glamor magazine

LONG JOURNEY, SHORT MONEY

Since the age of 16, North American Erika DeBenedictis has been thinking about strategies for saving fuel in space travel. She created software that identified the best «transit routes» in the solar system for ships to avoid gravitational pull, moving faster and more energy efficiently through space. By her discovery, the girl pocketed the equivalent of R $ 200 thousand

SNILL ROBOT

In the hands of the American Anna Simpson, 14 years old, simple pieces of Lego turned into a robot capable of identifying odors of toxic substances. When approaching one of them, the chip’s sensor becomes active and the robot beeps to warn of danger. For her invention, Anna has already received more than R$ 100,000 in awards all over the world.

STRATOSPHERIC PHOTOS

Using a simple Nikon camera and a R$150 latex balloon filled with helium gas, a group of Spanish high school students captured images of the Earth at 32 km altitude. Monitoring the balloon’s trajectory via Google Earth and meteorological instruments, the boys programmed the camera to take periodic pictures and retrieved the balloon 10 km away from the launch site.

IMAGE SEARCHER

Chinese student David Liu has been programming computers since he was 6 years old. At 18, he created an internet search engine from images instead of typing in a keyword. The project was presented at a science fair in California (USA). One jury, impressed, even invited David to continue research with him… at NASA!

RECIPE AGAINST CANCER

Competing in science fairs since the age of 7, at 14, the English Lauren Hodge observed that mixing chicken with certain types of sauces on the grill can release carcinogenic compounds. She analyzed and listed the most toxic sauces and even listed a list of seasonings that could reduce the production of these substances, such as lemon sauce and brown sugar.

DIVING INTO A COLD

Americans Ryan Garner and Amanda Wilson, 16, have developed an underwater robot equipped with cameras to operate under the polar ice. With a budget of US$ 5,000, they designed an automaton that could be used to carry out the genetic mapping of fish in Antarctica and also to study soil conditions in the region.

ATOMIC PRODIGIUM

Taylor Wilson, 16, defines himself on his website as a «teen nuclear scientist obsessed with all nuclear and radioactive technologies». At 11, he created a sensor capable of detecting nuclear weapons and explosive materials. Additionally, Taylor was the youngest person in the world to create nuclear fusion at age 14 and the 31st to do so at home, away from government and industry.

THE POWER OF THE MIND

At just 14 years old, Anand Srinivasan took a big step towards bionic science. By studying the frequencies of various electroencephalograms, he developed a method to improve mental control over artificial prosthetic arms and legs. For the feat, Anand took R$ 20,000 and also presented the project to US President Barack Obama

The Google Science Fair is an online science competition for students between the ages of 13 and 18 from around the world with prizes in excess of BRL 100,000!

See Thiago showing off his invention:

SOURCES Discovery Magazine, TedX Women, Popular Mechanics, Mother Nature Network, Grid Magazine, Febrace, Fox News, University of California, Cogito, and National Science Foundation