• Question: What sort of equipment do you use in your subject of science??

    Asked by swaggymcyolo to Ben, James, Jen, Michael, Susanna on 8 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Jen Todd Jones

      Jen Todd Jones answered on 8 Mar 2013:

      I use a lot of different equipment in my study of science, from just a computer with a mouse or microphone up to an MRI scanner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging). I also use an EEG machine to record brainwaves (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalography) and an eye-tracker to record where people move their eyes around a screen while reading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_tracking).

      It’s an awful lot of different things but I’ve always been interested in knowing about a lot of different technology and there are a lot in science which is great!

      My subject specifically is language, so all of these kinds of technology help me understand which bits of the brain we use while reading and speaking, and when they happen, even in the first half of a second of reading – before you even consciously know you’ve read a word!

    • Photo: Susanna Martin

      Susanna Martin answered on 8 Mar 2013:

      My PhD research has been about looking at Dataloggers, this a piece of equipment you might have in your school (ask your science teacher). This piece of equipment can allow students to automatically take sensor measurements such as sound and light levels. You can also add other sensors on such as pH recorders or flow meters. I’ve used these a lot as i’ve been exploring how using tools such as this can help you in the class room. When i’m conducting my experiments I use video cameras to record the students as they use the equipment, and then I use computer software to help me analyse my video recording.

    • Photo: Ben Brilot

      Ben Brilot answered on 11 Mar 2013:

      Sadly nothing very fancy. I often videotape animals feeding and moving around and then we do have some neat software that can track their movement patterns and automatically record what they’re doing. Other than that, it’s bits of cardboard, sellotape and the one thing that every scientist needs to hold their lab together: gaffer tape.

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