The Future Scientific Elite. Young Physicists from Vitebsk Gymnasium Compete with Lyceum Students from Across the Country

A seemingly simple task turned out to be many times more difficult than expected. And when it was presented at the tournament, many admitted that they had racked their brains and didn't know how to approach it at all. "We even took the theory of impact from the 2nd-year university 'Theoretical Mechanics' course, and used some additional devices. We even had to buy a leaf blower to prove that it wasn't atmospheric pressure. It's a leaking airflow that creates reduced pressure. And this effect holds the ruler," Nika Tishchenko explains energetically.

Having prepared everything necessary for the experiment, tenth-grader Kirill Sukharev throws a ball onto a ruler covered with an A4 sheet. After the impact, it changes position but remains on the table. He repeats the same action without the paper. "The differences are noticeable to the naked eye," the young man concludes. Another tenth-grader, Stanislav Garanin, clamps a spring with a caliper and dips it into soapy water. "Then the slinky stretches. Coils form, we pierce the soap film with a needle. We filmed slow-motion video and analyzed the film's movement," he clarifies.

The teacher adds that only the film's movement when the puncture is made from below was considered on the internet. "It was also positioned vertically," someone from the young physicists chimes in.

"In the version that was on the internet, only one parameter was taken; we, however, investigated many at once. Additionally, we found different forms of slinky. Everyone expected the film to run downwards faster. And when we saw that the soap spiral ran upwards faster than downwards, we started to study it further and found the reason for this effect. The soap film breaks down. Where it is thicker, the speed will be lower," Nika Tishchenko says during the demonstration of the experiment.

When Internet Arguments Are Misleading

Sometimes, the team comes up with solutions unexpectedly. Nika Gennadievna often looks through books and the internet for new or popular experiments for her subject's school curriculum. The World Wide Web throws up tricky problems when the provided answer is fundamentally incorrect.

"We browse the internet to see what experiments are available. And it turns out that many of these problems are not solved at all," she says. "That is, these are open problems whose solutions are currently unknown. We mainly take children's research, and if the material is from a dissertation or another source of that level, I process it and present it to the children in a way they can grasp. When we look, we see: m

much of what was written is fake: a theory is developed, an experiment is started, but it doesn't work out." One of these myths concerned the "Ping-Pong Rocket" experiment. A table tennis ball is placed in a container of water, which is dropped onto the ground. After the container falls, the ball can fly to a great height.

"The cumulative effect is studied here. When the container with water falls to the ground, a small jet is formed, which can throw something up. Effects were indicated there, the wetting effect was mentioned. In fact, when we started conducting the experiment, we lubricated the ping-pong ball with oil, glycerin, and so on - the opposite was true. Without glycerin lubrication, the ball jumps 1.5-2 m, but here the result was 4.26 m," explains the teacher.

The children conducted this experiment on the porch in the presence of numerous spectators - half the gymnasium watched the launch of the "Ping-Pong Rocket."

Physicist's Ingenuity. And How Remer Appeared in the Team's Name

Great discoveries begin with small steps, sometimes with a brief answer in class. In this case, it's about the talent of children, which an experienced teacher noticed in time. The current composition of "RemerUmok" was formed last academic year, completely updating the team. Graduates of the gymnasium entered various universities in Belarus.

"Every case is special," says Nika Gennadyevna, about how the children joined the team. "Kirill Sukharev, in the 7th grade, when he just started studying physics, got grades of 5-6-7. But he gave specific answers in class, truly non-trivial, where ingenuity and a sharp eye for a situation were needed." It was then that she noticed the talent in the gymnasium student that was worth developing. Kirill himself explains that he once observed older students working during a basic lesson. They were preparing for the tournament of young physicists. The team, with excitement, conducted an experiment, discussed the process. The gymnasium students investigated the sound produced when a metal ball hit a rubber membranephysics. Last academic year, there was a regional Olympiad in this subject among 7th-grade students. Milana Shcherbik became its absolute winner. She also performs well: sometimes she shows a real knack for physics. Few people possess this physical acumen; scientists' research has even proven this. In general, I give everyone a chance. There are also children who help us in our work. Due to various circumstances, they cannot devote as much time and effort to physics, but they participate in a targeted manner."

Nika Gennadyevna tries to recall in detail how the team got its name. The ninth-graders had just begun studying some sections of physics, moving on to optics. And since the teacher advocates for a comprehensive approach, the class studied not only the paragraphs themselves but also the history of the subject, and the biographies of scientists related to certain discoveries.

"The children became interested in the scientist Rømer, who first determined the speed of light," the teacher smiles. The gymnasium students suggested combining the words "Rømer" and "mind" in the team's name, but Nika Tishchenko gently corrected them: due to their age, they were still "little minds" (umki).

Route Planned

The teacher admits that the team initially went to the tournament for young physicists to gain experience. "But I saw that they have a really high potential (I didn't expect them to show such results last year either). Imagine, Lyceum of BSU, BNTU (11th grades) were among the competitors. And our Vitebsk tenth-graders received a third-degree diploma – that's a very high award. Even in an Olympiad, for example, only 12 diplomas are awarded, at a conference – 10-11, but here, for the entire republic, there are only 7-8 diplomas," the teacher cites figures. "And besides the Vitebsk team, teams from other regions haven't gone this far for a long time. It's mainly Minsk, Minsk Region, and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) from Dolgoprudny. We scored the same number of points as MIPT, and after the first round, we were in second place overall."

Representatives of the country's leading universities took notice of the Vitebsk team's results. The energy faculty of the Belarusian National Technical University has already become interested in the children, and BSU is also happy to welcome the young physicists from Gymnasium No. 5. At the tournament, all five received commendations from the jury, renowned in the scientific world, and its chairman awarded Kirill Sukharev a special prize.

By the way, the tenth-grader has already decided on his future profession: "I have twice attended the National Children's Technopark for the 'Future Energy' program. I plan to go again.to study remotely and then enroll in the Faculty of Energy at BNTU." When asked if the university had already invited him, the gymnasium student modestly replied, "The President invited me."

The fact is that the Head of State visited the children's technopark in September. Kirill Sukharev asked the Belarusian leader questions and asked for a joint photo. The picture now adorns the classroom and the gymnasium hall.

"The President visited all areas in the technopark, and he stayed with us the longest. He gave us the opportunity to visit the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant. It was interesting," shares the gymnasium student.

It's Cool to Work, or Riding the Wave of Physics

When discussing how to energize children for results and awaken their interest in their subject, the teacher immediately comes to the conclusion: it is "mutual charging."

"A cycle of energy exchange," smiles Nika Tishchenko. - The law of conservation of energy applies here too. A very good team has come together. It's really cool to work with them. We start an experiment. I sit down, start fiddling with something from memory. They silently approach and do something in parallel themselves."

And this is not surprising at all, because in Nika Gennadyevna's lessons, gymnasium students simultaneously delve into biology, astronomy, and other subjects. This provides an opportunity to study cause-and-effect relationships and see the whole picture. A teacher with over 30 years of experience acknowledges an exclusively comprehensive approach. Even when "RemerUmki" are on the road, at a conference, tournament, or festival in another city, they study all subjects together. Tired of preparing for a physics performance, they open books on other disciplines and learn together. And they consolidate the material with tests on a given topic, which the teacher prepares in advance, even if it's not her subject.

"You can't do it like that - relying only on dry information from textbooks. If you just learn a formula without the context that shows the true picture, there will be no prospects. When you talk to a child at a conference or tournament, you can immediately see if they have simply memorized the formula and recited it. But when they truly possess the information, there is a completely different sparkle in their eyes," concludes Nika Tishchenko.

She is incredibly pleased to see the victories of "RemerUmki" and to discover new effects with them. The successes of her mentees (who have won two dozen different diplomas this academic year alone) provide an incentive to move forward and a desire to show more and more gymnasium students how wonderful physics is.

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by