Star in the Jar

Product Information

The drawing and coloring here is a bit whimsical, but clear enough for a young reader/read-to. The narrative is crisp, but with mellow overtones, a light sense of humor, (he took the star in the jar with him on the toilet!), and a clear storyline. The tale makes sense and doesn't wander off into anything that makes you scratch your head and wonder what the point of that was. It’s a dazzling delight that will truly shine on your bookshelf. Full of feeling, friendship and fulfilment brought to life and beautifully realised with the finest of writing and illustrations.’

So what exactly is sonoluminescence? The short answer is as the name suggests: a release of light caused by sound. In [Justin]’s case, he used an ultrasonic transducer to set up a standing wave at the resonant frequency of a flask of water. A drop of water is used to entrain a small air bubble, which is held in a stable position in the flask in much the same way as styrofoam beads are in an acoustic levitator. Turn off the lights and you’ll see that the bubble glows with a ghostly blue light.What causes the glow? Good question. According to [Justin], we just don’t know for sure what causes it, although the leading theory is that cavitation of the bubble causes the trapped gas to compress and heat violently, turning into a brief bit of plasma. But there are problems with that theory, which is one of the reasons he wanted to show just how easy the process can be – now that he’s shaken out the bugs with five years of effort. It wasn’t easy getting the transducers attached and the driver circuit properly tuned, but with little more than a signal generator, an audio amp, and a spool of magnet wire, you too can make your own “star in a jar.”

Perfect for sharing just before sleep but too enjoyable to be restricted to bedtime reading only' – Red Reading Hub Full of warmth, this is a lovely story of siblings, friendship and doing what's right that is perfect for sharing just before sleep but too enjoyable to be restricted to bedtime reading only', Jillrbennett, Red Reading Hub -When a little boy stumbles across a special star, he puts it in a jar and takes it on adventures. Together with his big sister, he takes his special treasure with him everywhere – to the cinema, to the swimming pool and even to the toilet! Samen met zijn zus probeert hij eerst uit te zoeken van wie ze kan zijn, als dat niet lukt beslist hij de ster te houden, in een potje. Samen beleven ze allerlei avonturen, tot dat hij merkt dat de ster triest is en zijn thuis mist… It seems sort of odd to need to be celebrating siblings who cooperate, kids who know enough to do the right thing, and endings that are bittersweet happy, but there it is.