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Nov 1998

Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 452-512

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Misconceptions or ignorance?

Poovan Murugesan

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 452

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Abstract Unavailable
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95.10.-a Fundamental astronomy
01.40.Di Course design and evaluation

From under the bleachers

Kirk Bailey

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 452

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01.55.+b General physics
01.40.E- Science in school

“Intuitively obvious”?

A. P. French

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 453

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Abstract Unavailable
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation

Tindle responds

Chris Tindle

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 454

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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems

Physics should be physics

William DeBuvitz

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 454

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01.55.+b General physics
01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation

Thermodynamics concepts inventory?

Volker Thomsen

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 454

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05.70.-a Thermodynamics
01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
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Trinity sure—II

Clifford E. Swartz

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 456

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What could be simpler? Exert a force on a mass, and it accelerates. F=ma! You can work that formula into any number of problems about objects on inclined planes, or Atwood's machine, or blocks sliding along a surface with coefficient of friction, μ.
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
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Flight without Bernoulli

Chris Waltham

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 457

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Presented here is a very simple physical model of flight that relies only on Newton’s second law and yet is able to reproduce all the salient features of a more rigorous fluid dynamical treatment. From a pedagogical point of view the model helps understand the origins of lift and drag in terms of forces rather than pressures, and enables all the important points to be made without recourse to complicated mathematics.
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47.40.Dc General subsonic flows
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Measuring the coefficient of friction of a low-friction cart

Roger F. Larson

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 464 | Cited 6 times

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A sonic ranger is used to measure the acceleration of a low-friction cart using data collected from its motion coasting up and down an incline. The uninitiated but experienced physics student may predict the accelerations up and down the incline to be equal. However, when a cart is rolled up an incline, the speed vs time graph produced by sonic ranger clearly shows a point of inflection when the cart reverses direction at its highest point on the ramp. The author then shows how the ratios of the accelerations can be used to determine the coefficient of friction for this event.
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
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Making waves: A classroom torsional wave machine (Part II)

Kenneth D. Skeldon, Janet E. Milne, Alastair I. Grant, and David A. Palmer

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 466

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We investigate the role of a classroom torsional wave machine as a science prop and teaching aid, having already considered the physics behinds its design and operation in a companion article last month. We now present a selection of experiments designed to compare theory with experiment, demonstrate basic wave phenomena, and introduce fascinating concepts such as cut-off frequency and dispersion.
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62.30.+d Mechanical and elastic waves; vibrations
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus

A different twist on the Lorentz force and Faraday’s law

Bill Layton and Martin Simon

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 474 | Cited 3 times

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In this paper we describe some simple experiments involving the magnetic force on currents and electromagnetic induction.
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75.80.+q Magnetomechanical effects, magnetostriction
84.50.+d Electric motors
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Images of the Seattle Space Needle in raindrops

David R. Lapp and Ben Bristow

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 480

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This paper describes the optics principles present in a newspaper photograph of the Seattle Space Needle; the optics of the image was incorrectly described in the caption.
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42.25.Gy Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction
42.15.Dp Wave fronts and ray tracing
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.40.E- Science in school

Vectortine’s Day

Frank Lock

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 481

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Holidays at Lemon Bay High are days of unusual activities, as they well may be at other high schools. One of our special days is Valentine’s Day. In order to maintain some academic focus in the physics department, while allowing my students to participate in the celebration, we’ve developed a physics version of the hearts-and-flowers February celebration. It’s Vectortine’s Day in physics class.
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01.40.E- Science in school
01.50.-i Educational aids
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
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Slow balloon race

Karen Bouffard

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 482

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This is the first of a proposed series of columns presenting Physics Olympics “challenges,” activities that can be adapted as classroom laboratory experiments. The slow balloon race is based on Archimedes’ principle.
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47.20.Bp Buoyancy-driven instabilities (e.g., Rayleigh-Benard)
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
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Solitons

Ron Edge

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 483

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What should an experimentalist do, arriving at a university with virtually no research equipment? Placed in this situation when I arrive here in 1958, I found water waves.
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47.35.-i Hydrodynamic waves
42.65.Tg Optical solitons; nonlinear guided waves
42.81.Dp Propagation, scattering, and losses; solitons
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Golf balls in stable equilibrium

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 486

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
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Do they stay fixed?

Gregory E. Francis, Jeffrey P. Adams, and Elizabeth J. Noonan

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 488 | Cited 8 times

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We report the results of a longitudinal study of three nonmajor introductory classes that achieved relatively high FCI gains (g=1.5) using an inquiry-based tutorial approach. Original FCI gains persisted as many as four years following instruction.
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01.55.+b General physics
01.40.Di Course design and evaluation
01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
01.40.J- Teacher training
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The disappearing student

Andrew DePino, Jr.

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 491

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This demonstration is based on the familiar blind-spot phenomenon, except on a larger scale. I announce to the class that I will make one of them disappear and reappear right before their very eyes!
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42.66.Si Psychophysics of vision, visual perception; binocular vision
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
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Pictorial representation of torque and rotational inertia

Robert W. Bird

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 492 | Cited 1 time

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Here is a brief analysis I like to show my physics students when we start rotational dynamics. It introduces the concepts of torque and rotational inertia in a somewhat natural way.
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems

The Rosse telescope

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr.

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 493

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In 1845 the Third Earl of Rosse built a telescope with a 6-ft metal mirror on his estate in Birr in Ireland. What was the largest telescope in the world until 1918 has recently been restored to working condition.
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95.55.Cs Ground-based ultraviolet, optical and infrared telescopes
98.38.-j Interstellar medium (ISM) and nebulae in Milky Way
01.65.+g History of science

Finite rotations

Oscar Bolina and J. A. da Silva Neto

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 496

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We discuss two basic properties of angular displacements, namely, the anticommutation of finite rotations, and the commutation of infinitesimal rotations, and show how commutation is achieved as the angular displacement gets smaller and smaller.
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
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Build your own soliton generator

Antônio B. Nassar

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 498

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This work provides a step-by-step guideline for the construction of a simple, low-cost generator of a nonpropagating hydrodynamic soliton.
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43.25.Rq Solitons, chaos
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
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Newton’s second law for multi-particle systems

Ronald L. Greene

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 500

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Newton’s second law is commonly misapplied to systems of multiple particles, as was done in a recent note in The Physics Teacher. This note revisits the problem of a rope sliding in an L-shape tube.
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
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Birth of the information age, by Michael Riordan and Lillian Hoddeson

David P. Koch, Reviewer

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 501

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Abstract Unavailable
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85.30.Pq Bipolar transistors
85.30.Tv Field effect devices
85.40.-e Microelectronics: LSI, VLSI, ULSI; integrated circuit fabrication technology
01.65.+g History of science

The secret recordings at Farm Hall, by Jeremy Bernstein

Peter K. Glanz, Reviewer

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 502

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Abstract Unavailable
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28.70.+y Nuclear explosions
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Playing with bubbles

Gordon R. Gore

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 502

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Hemispheric soap bubbles are always beautiful and captivating, fascinating us as we ponder this “world in miniature.” And now we can make “square” bubbles.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus

PSSC’s Science Study Series

Robert J. Whitaker

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 503

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Early in 1957, a report was published describing the formation of the “Physical Science Study Committee” (PSSC) the previous December and its proposed December and its proposed new physics program for secondary schools.
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01.30.Ee Monographs and collections
01.40.-d Education

Period and amplitude

Russell Akridge

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 507

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Three simple demonstrations illustrate small amplitude, periodic systems displaying amplitude-dependent periods. Physics students enjoy observing such demonstrations, and from them they learn that small amplitude is not sufficient to guarantee that period is independent of amplitude.
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45.05.+x General theory of classical mechanics of discrete systems
07.10.-h Mechanical instruments and equipment

Sneezing, pixel spacing, and geometric optics

Andreas Müller

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 509

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When looking at a color monitor through a refracting medium like a water droplet or a glass sphere, the individual color pixels become visible. It is shown how this qualitative observation (recently described in this journal) can be turned into an approximate measurement of the pixel distance ( the so-called dot pitch) by using nothing but the most common tools.
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78.55.-m Photoluminescence, properties and materials
42.79.Kr Display devices, liquid-crystal devices
42.15.Dp Wave fronts and ray tracing
42.25.Gy Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction

A cool(ing) idea

Takao Takeuchi

The Physics Teacher -- November 1998 -- Volume 36, Issue 8, pp. 512

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PASCO scientific’s radiation cube and an ohmmeter are used in Newton’s law of cooling experiment.
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44.40.+a Thermal radiation
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