In FameLab scientists speak in human voice

"I'd like this competition not to be regarded as entertainment for the kids, or more mature audience. Rather, it is a form of talking about science to people who are not closely linked to it, or who are experts in a different field" - said Dr. Stolarski of the Space Research Centre. "I have to give my presentation in a simple language so that I - space engineer - can understood by a professor of philology, who does not know my complex language" - he added.

According to the winner of FameLab, an example of simplifying the language can be ... colors. "We have light green, dark green, khaki, and we have one white. An Eskimo has bright white, dark white, mid-white and one green. We live in worlds so different that I have reduce all shades to one green, and he should speak only of white" - described Dr. Stolarski.

In his winning FameLab presentation he spoke of "Murderous nature of giants", about how "human giants" threaten "baby transistors" in our cellphones and laptops. "Our clothes produce a lot of static electricity. We can feel it when we take of a fleece blouse. We feel our hair bristle and we can strike something with a small lightning" - described Dr. Stolarski.

For us, "human giants" it's just a small experience. However, transistors are very small, and for them it is the equivalent of lightning from a clear sky, which can kill them. One killed transistor in a computer can render the computer useless.

"But damaging the computer completely is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is when the computer is slightly damaged, and only when we sent it into space, it turns out that something is wrong. Due to a small mistake, all efforts of engineers who build the computer on Earth, and efforts of engineers who build a rocket, go to waste" - he emphasised.

This is why researchers working in the laboratory use a variety of safety measures. "In the finals I spoke about electrostatic discharge protection, but there is much more to protect against. We care about cleanliness, we check to see if the device can withstand shocks while being carried by a rocket" - he said.

In June, Dr. Stolarski will represent Poland in the international finals in Cheltenham in the UK. "Now I will have to translated the presentation into English and find nice English terms for things such as +baby transistors+" - he said.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland