So You Want To Be A Scientist?The Shortlist

About the shortlist

Here are the 10 shortlisted entries in our search for the BBC's Amateur Scientist of the Year.

Discuss the ideas on the Radio 4 Blog or Radio 4 Facebook page.

Find out who the finalists are on Material World (22nd April 2010).

Listen to the shortlisted entries

• Sam O'kell: Measuring the Mosh-pit

  

  Occupation: Croupier

  Idea: "I believe the greatest crowd density at a music gig is not at the front, next to the barriers, but three rows back between 6-10 feet from the front. I would test this by wearing a pressure sensing vest beneath normal clothes, and take readings at different locations in the crowd".

  Listen to Sam O'Kell's idea for measuring the mosh-pit

• Ruth Brooks: Homing Snails

  

  Occupation: Retired special needs tutor

  Idea: "What is the homing distance of the Garden Snail (Helix aspersa) that decimates my plants? How far away do I have to dump them before they find their way back to my garden?"

  Listen to Ruth Brooks' idea for tracking snails

• Shane Record: Model Customers

  

  Occupation: Artist and gallery owner

  Idea: "Because people are reluctant to enter my art gallery when I am in there alone (painting, mostly) I put a realistically dressed mannequin in, her back to the gallery entrance, staring at the work to bring people in. But does it work or am I just an eccentric artist?"

  Listen to Shane Record's idea for attracting more customers

• Nina Jones: Facebook Photo-fit

  

  Occupation: A-level student

  Idea: "What makes up a typical Facebook profile picture? Adults seem to choose pictures showing an event in their lives - their wedding, or a photo with their children - whereas teenagers seem to show themselves having a good time, often with friends at a party. Through investigation, I will test these predictions, and also look into why this occurs."

  Listen to Nina Jones' idea for assessing Facebook profile photos

• Nick Walthew: Road to Hapiness

  

  Occupation: Retired farm manager

  Idea: "Who are happier, people travelling north or south on the M1? I would test this by waving at travellers going north and south simultaneously from a bridge, counting the number of people that wave back."

  Listen to Nick Walthew's idea for measuring happiness on the motorway

• Ben Fernando: Pink for a Girl?

  

  Occupation: GCSE student

  Idea: "An investigation in to the gender specific extent of the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum - to see whether girls prefer pink because they can see further into the far red part of the EM spectrum."

  Listen to Ben Fernando's idea for testing gender-based colour bias

• John Rowlands: Noctilucent Clouds

  

  Occupation: Aerial photographer

  Idea: "To investigate the frequency and brightness of noctilucent clouds, believed to be linked to climate change. The sun is currently climbing slowly out of a century-low in activity, and so there is a chance to study noctilucent cloud and solar cycle."

  Listen to John Rowlands' idea for measuring the impact of noctilucent clouds

• Annie Trolley: Smells like Teen Spirit?

  

  Occupation: Hospital secretary

  Idea: "I want to know if our sense of smell is a natural defence against harm. Whenever my teenage boys use aerosol deodorants in their bathroom I can smell it from my bedroom - 12 metres away. I hate it! Is this something innate, or do we learn by experience?"

  Listen to Annie Trolley's idea for 'blind smelling'

• Owen Griffiths: Busy Busy Bees

  

  Occupation: Artist and lecturer

  Idea: "Concerned by the threat to honey bees, I propose to have a piece of music based on the sounds of bees sung to the hive by a choir once a week, over a set period of time, and see if this increases the production of honey."

  Listen to Owen Griffiths' idea to improve increase honey production

• Angus Johnson: Men and Mess

  

  Occupation: Retired computer programmer

  Idea: "I want to investigate whether there is a difference between men and women in their visual ability to find one item amid a clutter of other objects. Anecdotal evidence and personal experience suggest that women are much better, but I would like to confirm or contradict this scientifically."

  Listen to Angus Johnson's idea to test our ability to fing things amid clutter