Walnut Springs Science Students Explore the Physics of Weather

9/21/2012

The 60-foot solar tube helps students to understand weather in dramatic fashion.

Seventh grade students in William Wetta’s science classes at Walnut Springs Middle School have been studying weather by looking at warm air masses and related concepts of density, buoyancy, solar energy, and Charles' Law (also known as the Law of Volumes.) To demonstrate these principles, a 60-foot long solar tube is being used, which gives a clear example of what happens to the air inside as it heats, expands, and becomes less dense.