Most Downloaded - The Physics Teacher

Select this Article

Xian-Sheng Cao

The Physics Teacher -- May 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 5, pp. 292

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Show Abstract

This note describes how to theoretically calculate and experimentally measure the moment of inertia of a Ping-Pong® ball. The theoretical calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements that can be reproduced in an introductory physics laboratory.

+

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
01.40.-d	Education
45.00.00	Classical mechanics of discrete systems

Select this Article

NEW WIRE RESISTANCE

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- May 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 5, pp. 264

Full Text: | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

+

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
84.37.+q	Measurements in electric variables (including voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, inductance, impedance, and admittance, etc.)

Select this Article

The Physics of Shot Towers

Trevor C. Lipscombe and Carl E. Mungan

The Physics Teacher -- April 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 4, pp. 218

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

+

Show Abstract

In the late 18th and throughout the 19th century, lead shot for muskets was prepared by use of a shot tower. Molten lead was poured from the top of a tower and, during its fall, the drops became spherical under the action of surface tension. In this article, we ask and answer the question: How does the size of the lead shot depend on the height of the tower? In the process, we explain the basic technology underlying an important historical invention (the shot tower) and use simple physics (Newtonian mechanics and the thermodynamic laws of cooling) to model its operation.

+

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
45.20.D-	Newtonian mechanics
44.25.+f	Natural convection
44.10.+i	Heat conduction

Select this Article

FLASH FREQUENCY

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- April 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 4, pp. 202

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

+

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
42.66.Si	Psychophysics of vision, visual perception; binocular vision

Select this Article

Amicable separation

Boris Korsunsky, Column Editor

The Physics Teacher -- May 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 5, pp. 311

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

Abstract Unavailable

+

Show PACS

01.50.-i	Educational aids
01.40.-d	Education

Select this Article

Fizz-ball Fizzics

Murray Moinester, Lars Gerland, Gérard Liger-Belair, and Aharon Ocherashvili

The Physics Teacher -- May 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 5, pp. 284

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

+

Show Abstract

We describe the fluid dynamics principles governing the up-down oscillatory cycling of a bubble- covered, low-density, low-mass ball of material (referred to henceforth as a “fizz-ball”) immersed inside a glass of bubbling (super-saturated) carbonated liquid. The bubbles serve to desaturate the liquid of excess CO₂. The fizz-ball acts as a catalyst to speed up this process.

+

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
47.55.D-	Drops and bubbles

Select this Article

Edme Mariotte and Newton's Cradle

Rod Cross

The Physics Teacher -- April 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 4, pp. 206

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

+

Show Abstract

The first recorded experiments describing the phenomena made popular by Newton's cradle appear to be those conducted by Edme Mariotte around 1670. He was quoted in Newton's Principia, along with Wren, Wallis, and Huygens, as having conducted pioneering experiments on the collisions of pendulum balls. Each of these authors concluded that momentum (then described as the “quantity of motion”) is conserved when one ball collides with another.

+

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
07.10.-h	Mechanical instruments and equipment
45.05.+x	General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
45.20.df	Momentum conservation

Select this Article

Charge and Energy Stored in a Capacitor

Yaakov Kraftmakher

The Physics Teacher -- February 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 73

Online Publication Date: Jan 2012

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

+

Show Abstract

Using a data-acquisition system, the charge and energy stored in a capacitor are measured and displayed during the charging/discharging process. The experiment is usable as a laboratory work and/or a lecture demonstration.

+

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
84.60.-h	Direct energy conversion and storage

Select this Article

A Stand-Alone Interactive Physics Showcase

Daniel Pfaff, Anja Hagelgans, Matthias Weidemüller, and Klaus Bretzer

The Physics Teacher -- April 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 4, pp. 235

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF

+

Show Abstract

We present a showcase with interactive exhibits of basic physical experiments that constitutes a complementary method for teaching physics and interesting students in physical phenomena. Our interactive physics showcase, shown in Fig. 1, stimulates interest for science by letting the students experience, firsthand, surprising phenomena and teaching physical concepts. By letting the students interact with the experiments under optimum safety conditions and with good protection against vandalism, our approach complements interactive simulations, e.g., as offered by the Physics Education Technology project.¹

+

Show PACS

01.50.My	Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.F-	Audio and visual aids
01.50.ff	Films; electronic video devices
01.55.+b	General physics