New Toy

I'm so happy! Yesterday, along with an order of batteries, magnets and all the usual stuff, I got this:

Can you guess what it is?

It's my new soldering iron kit. Isn't it beautiful?

I've needed a new soldering iron for ages and when I saw this kit, I just couldn't resist. It has 3 different sized bits and even a desoldering pump. Can't wait to get soldering. :)

It's raining!

Well, of course it is. It's October and that's what the weather does lately - rain. This rain, however, is slightly different because it's not in the usual place (outside) but is instead happening in lab 3.

We are on the ground floor of the science block, and directly above us is the chemistry department. They seem to have issues with the sink traps in one of their labs which become dislodged when the kids kick or rest their feet on them. If no one notices that the trap has become dislodged then every time water (or anything else) is poured down the sink it comes through the ceiling into the lab below.

3 times so far this term we've had this problem and it's getting beyond a joke. It's not so bad when it's just water. The clearing up is a nuisance, but not major. What worries me is that sooner or later it won't just be water and someone could get chemicals in their eyes. Alternatively the ceiling might collapse. Either way, not good.

We keep reporting the issue, but I'm not holding my breath that anything will happen.

Is that my job?

Every day I get asked to do a wide variety of stuff, some of which is very clearly a part of my job, but some of which really isn't. So, I present:

Stuff that's my job

• Preparing equipment for practical physics lessons and ensuring that it's in the right room at the right time.
• Repairing any bits of equipment which get broken. (Mainly changing batteries and fuses, sometimes a bit of soldering)
• Sourcing new equipment and dealing with ordering.
• Managing the budget
• Trialling new experiments eg ISA practicals
• Helping out in the lab during practicals
• Demoing experiments during lessons
• First Aid

Stuff that's not my job, but which I still get asked to do

• Booking plane tickets
• Invigilating exams when they can't find anyone else
• Contacting kids' parents
• Entering exam results onto the system
• Photocopying
• Setting work when a teacher is away but hasn't sorted out any cover
• Taking phone messages from my HoD's wife

And today's prize example - find out where the course is which my HoD is supposed to be on. Seiously, he called me at 9.15 to ask me to log on to his e-mails and check the venue for his course because he'd forgotten to write it down. Sometimes I despair.

Gold Leaf Electroscope

Got my Gold Leaf Electroscopes out this morning, ready for a lesson, only to discover that 4 of them have no gold leaf. Not a problem - I quite like fitting new gold leaf. It's a bit fiddly but not difficult.

Here is my 'how to' guide to fitting gold leaf.

Disclaimer - this is not the only way, probably not even the best way. It's just my way.

Remove any traces of old gold leaf or adhesive from the stem of the electroscope and clean off any grease with a little ethanol.

With the gold leaf (actually it's an alloy called dutch metal) between 2 thin pieces of paper, cut a strip 40mm by 5mm.

Cut a thin strip of sellotape and stick it to the top end of the gold leaf  then carefully position onto the stem. Reassemble electroscope and admire your handywork!

There's a guide here on the lovely TechKnow website which shows a different way to attach the gold leaf, using spit. I've not tried it, but it may be worth a try!