University of Colorado at Boulder physics Professor John Taylor, known to many as the original "Mr. Wizard," will suspend himself from the ceiling using the pressure of moving air molecules during the Jan. 27 CU Wizards show "Hot and Cold."
The free hour-long show will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30 on the CU-Boulder campus. CU Wizards is an annual series of science shows intended primarily for students in grades 5 through 9.
Taylor's show will delve into the properties of heat and he will perform several experiments to help explain what heat really is. In one demonstration he will use thermal contraction to snap an iron bar. In another, with help from a microscope, he will show the audience the zigzagging motion of molecules.
He also will perform a simulation of a chain reaction by using 100 snapping mousetraps and will show a video of himself firewalking.
Taylor and former CU-Boulder Professor Jim Scott created the CU Wizards program in 1976. He received an Emmy Award for the television series "Physics for Fun" which he helped produce and which aired from 1988 to 1990.
Free parking for the Jan. 27 CU Wizards show is available in lot 169 northeast of Folsom Stadium off Folsom Street, lot 396 off Stadium Drive, lot 436 east of the Engineering Center and lot 308 south of Regent Drive and west of Kittredge Loop Road. Certain parking spots are reserved for permit holders at all times and vehicles parked in these spots without permits will be towed.
Parking also is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark for a nominal fee.
Anyone with a disability or special need should notify the physics office at (303) 492-6952 a few days prior to the show. For information about CU Wizards call (303) 492-4318 or visit the Web site at .