On Saturday, May 21, the 25th Science Picnic of Polish Radio and the Copernicus Science Center took place. The theme of this year’s Picnic was water – its role in nature and human life, as well as its properties and phenomena related to it. The event took place at the Copernicus Science Center. NCBJ also exhibited its stand, prepared by the Education and Training Department.

The leitmotif of the 25th Science Picnic was water. During the Picnic, popular science lectures, discussions and demonstrations were held to introduce guests to the properties of water, the areas of life, science and industry in which it is used, as well as the risks associated with its shortage or excess and its contamination. Over 50 exhibitors took part in the picnic, who prepared detailed demonstrations about specific properties of water, or the areas and ways in which it is used.

The NCBJ stand was located in pavilion 512 (at the Vistula boulevards) and was number 507. The stand was organized to show what properties make water important from the point of view of physics, especially nuclear physics, reactor physics and radiological protection.

One of the topics of the shows at our stand was the role of water in nuclear power plants. Visitors could learn how a PWR nuclear reactor and a power plant with this type of reactor are built, as well as what tasks in such a power plant do water, which cools, transports heat, slows down neutrons and provides a shield against radiation.

In the part of the stand devoted to the GOSPOSTRATEG HTR project, the operation and design of gas-cooled high-temperature reactors were discussed. The issue of plans to implement such reactors in the Polish industry and the advantages of this solution were discussed.

The properties of water as a barrier against ionizing radiation were developed in the next demonstration. Using Geiger-Müller radiation counters and watches with radium paint, the guests were able to measure the dependence of the intensity of radiation passing through the water layer on the thickness of this layer.

Water activity was also the subject of the demonstrations presented by the employees of the Education and Training Department. The site contained both radioactive household items and naturally occurring radioactive materials. Thanks to this, visitors could see that ionizing radiation is present everywhere, in the ground, in the air and in the water we drink. The healing properties of „radon waters” were also mentioned and information on how NCBJ monitors the level of activity of rivers, municipal wastewater and drainage waters was reported.

The shows at our booth were very popular with both young and older visitors. We would like to thank all those thirsty for knowledge who have decided to listen to our stories about the importance of water in nuclear physics.