PHYSICS TRIP TO ICELAND Charlie Roberts (Year 12) reports on an unforgettable trip to Iceland, where the students learnt about the physics of plate tectonics, the aurora borealis, geothermal energy and geysers, while enjoying the picturesque landscape of the island
pool table, air hockey and table tennis for the remainder of the night. The following day, Mrs Smalley introduced us to our own tour guide, Haflidi, a fellow Icelander who would be accompanying us for the next few days. Our first stop was the Hellisheidi Power Plant, where we learnt about geothermal energy. We discovered that this individual plant generates 303 MW of electricity per year, making it one of the world’s largest geothermal power plants by capacity. Later we travelled to Reykjavik to see the Perlan Centre, which contains a huge planetarium, teaching us the wonders of the aurora borealis on earth as well as other planets in our solar system. The centre also had an explorable man-made ice cave, kept at –15 degrees Celsius. After returning to the warmth of the lobby, we were given some time to roam the city, where ferocious snowball fights ensued. After our evening meal at the hotel, we departed to see the northern lights, arriving in a deserted field at –10 degrees to await the glow in the sky. After an hour, and almost frozen, we saw a subtle ember of green in the black sky. We all became very excited, taking hundreds of photos before going back to the hotel amazed but also exhausted. The next day started with a trip to the Lava Centre, a museum south-east of Reykjavik. The museum has earth- quake simulators and various other interactive exhibits, as well as a viewing platform, revealing a relatively active volcano in the distance: Hekla. Next stop was the Rey- nishverfi Beach, nicknamed the ‘Black Beach’. We took lots of pictures before stopping in the town of Vik to have lunch. We then made our way to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and the Sólheimajökull Glacier, both of which were
A s with all school trips, the Year 12 Physics trip started early in the morning, when we were greeted by a grinning Mr Rowney at Stansted Airport. After checking in, we boarded a three-hour flight to Iceland. We touched down at Keflavik Airport, where we became enamelled in the vast abyss of snow (and frigid temper- atures). Our first stop was the Saga Museum, where we found large wax figures portraying early Vikings in Iceland who had survived earthquakes, eruptions and even pandemics. Next, we went on a virtual rollercoaster with FlyOver Iceland. Strapped in, we were thrown about as our eyes were transported to Iceland’s stunning water- falls, mountains, volcanoes and towns, through the four seasons. We arrived at Hotel Ork shortly afterwards, where we ate dinner and entertained ourselves with the
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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