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Dec 2006

Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 566-624

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Credit Where Credit Is Due

Jim and Jane Nelson

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 566

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.55.+b General physics

Closed Tube with Varying Length

Chuck Kappert

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 566

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.55.+b General physics

Issue with TI-83s

David Doty

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 566 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
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A Cautionary Tale

Albert A. Bartlett

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 568 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.-i Educational aids
01.40.Fk Research in physics education
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AAPT 75th Anniversary

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 570

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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In recognition of the 75th anniversary of AAPT, during this year we will be publishing brief notes on interesting and significant science-related events in 1931, the founding year of the association.
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01.65.+g History of science
01.75.+m Science and society
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SKIDDING TO A STOP

Paul Hewitt

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 571

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.fh Posters, cartoons, art, etc.
01.55.+b General physics
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A Brush-Creeper

Se-yuen Mak and Siu-ling Wong

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 572

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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In this note, we introduce a simple homemade toy called the brush-creeper, which can glide forward with no propellers, limbs, wheels, and seemingly no movement of any kind that can push forward against the ground. The toy arouses pupils' interest and their incentive to ask “Why?” in lessons related to friction.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.50.Wg Physics of toys

A Delicate Balance: Hovering Balloons in an Air Stream

Paul Gluck

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 574 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Science museums and popular physics shows often exhibit a blower in whose air stream a ball is held hovering in equilibrium some distance above the jet's orifice. The weight of the ball, mg, is balanced by the drag force of the turbulent air stream, often written as ρCv2A, where ρ and v are the density and velocity of the air, A is the effective area of the ball, and C some drag coefficient depending, among other things, on the surface roughness. This paper describes a ball and balloons of various sizes supported stably stacked one above the other in a vertical air stream from a blower.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Wg Physics of toys
47.10.-g General theory in fluid dynamics
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Simple Experiments for Teaching Air Pressure

Gholamreza Shamsipour

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 576

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Everyone who teaches physics knows very well that sometimes a simple device or experiment can help to make a concept clear. In this paper, inspired by “The Jumping Pencil”1 by Martin Gardner, I will discuss a simple demonstration device that can be used to start the study of air pressure.
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
07.30.-t Vacuum apparatus

Excitation of Standing Waves by an Electric Toothbrush

Ana Cros and Chantal Ferrer-Roca

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 578

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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There are a number of ways of exciting standing waves in ropes and springs using non-commercial vibrators such as loudspeakers,1 jigsaws,2 motors,3 or a simple tuning fork,4 including the rhythmical shaking of a handheld Slinky. We have come up with a very simple and cheap way of exciting stationary waves in a string, which anyone, particularly children, can try at home. It consists of using an electric toothbrush to produce a regular sideways motion that can be easily transmitted to an elastic cord. Most suitable for this experiment is the kind of unit that has a metal rod protruding from the front (see Fig. 1, which shows our Braun Oral-B®) to which a brush is normally affixed. The ends of the cord are attached to stands. Elastic cords that come with some school notebooks work well for this experiment, but a longer cord allows the observation of a larger number of modes. The toothbrush unit is placed near one end of the cord, which is wrapped once around the rod. As the toothbrush vibrates at a fixed frequency, standing waves (see Fig. 2) may be tuned by changing the tension of the cord while keeping its length constant. We have found up to five harmonics with a 150-cm cord. The toothbrush can be connected to a small potentiometer to reduce the dc voltage and hence the frequency of the motor, allowing the tuning of the standing waves with a fixed tension.
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01.40.-d Education
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
46.40.-f Vibrations and mechanical waves

Earplugs and the NRR

Richard P. McCall

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 580

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Earplugs are sold in most pharmacies. Because I teach at a college of pharmacy, I want my students to understand a particular feature of earplugs called the Noise Reduction Rating, or NRR. The NRR is a rating of the effectiveness of earplugs at decreasing the amount of sound (or noise) entering the ear. Typical values range from 12 dB to 33 dB; the ones I demonstrate in my class have a value of 29 dB.
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01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
87.00.00 Biological and medical physics
43.64.+r Physiological acoustics

Recoil Experiments Using a Compressed Air Cannon

Brett Taylor

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 582

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Ping-Pong vacuum cannons, potato guns, and compressed air cannons are popular and dramatic demonstrations for lecture and lab.1–3 Students enjoy them for the spectacle, but they can also be used effectively to teach physics. Recently we have used a student-built compressed air cannon as a laboratory activity to investigate impulse, conservation of momentum, and kinematics. It is possible to use the cannon, along with the output from an electronic force plate, as the basis for many other experiments in the laboratory. In this paper, we will discuss the recoil experiment done by our students in the lab and also mention a few other possibilities that this apparatus could be used for.
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45.20.D- Newtonian mechanics
45.20.dh Energy conservation
45.50.Tn Collisions

Modeling the 2004Indian Ocean Tsunami for Introductory Physics Students

Gregory A. DiLisi and Richard A. Rarick

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 585 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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In this paper we develop materials to address student interest in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. We discuss the physical characteristics of tsunamis and some of the specific data regarding the 2004 event. Finally, we create an easy-to-make tsunami tank to run simulations in the classroom. The simulations exhibit three dramatic signatures of tsunamis, namely, as a tsunami moves into shallow water its amplitude increases, its wavelength and speed decrease, and its leading edge becomes increasingly steep as if to “break” or “crash.” Using our tsunami tank, these realistic features were easy to observe in the classroom and evoked an enthusiastic response from our students.
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01.55.+b General physics
01.75.+m Science and society
47.10.-g General theory in fluid dynamics

Using a Variation Approach To Enhance Physics Learning in a College Classroom

Cedric Linder and Duncan Fraser

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 589

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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This article describes an exploration into improving the process and the outcome of learning in interactive teaching at the first-year university physics level, using what is becoming widely known as the “variation approach to learning.” To explore this approach we chose an area of mechanics that is widely known to pose learning difficulties for students—Newton's third law. Test and interview data provided compelling evidence that explicit use of variation made a difference in student learning outcomes.
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.Ha Learning theory and science teaching
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Teaching College Physics at the Local Elementary School

Eric A. Hagedorn

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 593

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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For several years physics faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have taught physics to pre-service elementary and middle school teachers in an unusual location: the local elementary school! The participating pre-service elementary and middle school teachers are typically in their last semester and are fully immersed in their internships (called “student teaching” elsewhere. See Fig. 1). Rather than bringing the students back to campus for class during four of their field semesters, UTEP sends education, mathematics, and physics faculty out to the schools as part of what is referred to as the “field-based program” (FBP) even though some of this program occurs on campus.
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01.40.Di Course design and evaluation
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.40.jc Preservice training

Second-Generation Automatic Problem Grading

Ronald L. Greene

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 596

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Recent years have seen widespread adoption of automatic grading of physics homework problems. Although first-generation homework management systems1–3 provide feedback and assign scores based only on the answers, problem-solving performance on exams seems to be no worse for students using these systems than for those who receive detailed comments from manually graded homework. Apparently immediate feedback, which encourages students to continue to work on a problem until they “get it right,” is as effective as detailed, but delayed, comments on a complete written solution. Second-generation homework systems should combine the two approaches by using immediate feedback in grading complete solutions.
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01.40.G- Curricula and evaluation
01.50.H- Computers in education

A Simple Laser Microphone for Classroom Demonstration

James M. Moses and K. P. Trout

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 600

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Communication through the modulation of electromagnetic radiation has become a foundational technique in modern technology. In this paper we discuss a modern day method of eavesdropping based upon the modulation of laser light reflected from a window pane. A simple and affordable classroom demonstration of a “laser microphone” is described.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
42.90.+m Other topics in optics (restricted to new topics in section 42)
43.90.+v Other topics in acoustics (restricted to new topics in section 43)
85.60.-q Optoelectronic devices

Seeing the Light: Visibility of the July '45 Trinity Atomic Bomb Test from the Inner Solar System

B. Cameron Reed

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 604

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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In his The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Richard Rhodes remarks of the July 16, 1945, Trinity atomic bomb test in New Mexico that “had astronomers been watching they could have seen it reflected from the moon, literal moonshine,” an allusion to Ernest Rutherford's famous dismissal of the prospect of atomic energy.1 Investigating this impressive claim makes for a nice exercise in exploring astronomical magnitudes and leads to other intriguing questions: Just how bright would the explosion have appeared to an observer on the Moon, say, as compared to Venus? What about an observer on Mars or otherwise located in the solar system? What fraction of the bomb's yield was in the form of visible light?
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01.65.+g History of science
28.70.+y Nuclear explosions
95.75.-z Observation and data reduction techniques; computer modeling and simulation

Who Wants To Be an Astronomaire?—The Game

M. M. Montgomery

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 607

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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You have all probably seen the game “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” on television and have been drawn into the hot seat from your easy chair. Games like this one are popular among the public as entertainment, but they can also be educational. A game developed at the University of Central Florida (UCF) for large (>300) classes is used as a fun learning and assessment tool to establish who has enough wealth of astronomy knowledge to be labeled a Top Gamer. The pace is fast, hand-eye coordination is demanded, and instantaneous reasoning for easy questions and patience for more difficult questions are necessities, as is a long-term strategy.
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01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
01.50.hv Computer software and software reviews
95.10.-a Fundamental astronomy

Frozen Fractal Fractures

Gregory L. Baker

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 609

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.F- Audio and visual aids
61.43.Hv Fractals; macroscopic aggregates (including diffusion-limited aggregates)

Magnetic Spinner

P. J. Ouseph

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 610

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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A science toy sometimes called the “magnetic spinner” is an interesting class demonstration to illustrate the principles of magnetic levitation. It can also be used to demonstrate Faraday's law and a horizontally suspended physical pendulum. The levitated part contains two circular magnets encased in a plastic housing. Each magnet stays above two triangular magnets fixed to the base. The magnetic repulsive force experienced by the circular magnets is independent of their orientation; therefore, the holder of these magnets can be rotated without affecting its stability. The holder with the circular magnets can be oscillated up and down as a horizontally suspended physical pendulum.
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
01.50.Wg Physics of toys
40.00.00 ELECTROMAGNETISM, OPTICS, ACOUSTICS, HEAT TRANSFER, CLASSICAL MECHANICS, AND FLUID DYNAMICS
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A Demonstration of the Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem

Martin Kamela

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 615 | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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The work-kinetic energy theorem is one of the fundamental and more subtle concepts students see in their freshman physics course. As it is derived infinitesimally, it is usually used in its integrated form. It is challenging for students to appreciate the work-kinetic energy theorem in the case of a variable force acting over some displacement. Using a motion sensor, a dual range force sensor, and the LabPro computer interface with its Logger Pro software1 and a dynamics track and cart,2 it is possible to demonstrate the concept in a convincing and straightforward manner.
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01.55.+b General physics
01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
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In a Triangle, the Lines from the Vertices to the Opposite Sides Cross at One Point

Steve Kreis

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 617

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.90.+g Other topics of general interest (restricted to new topics in section 01)
02.40.-k Geometry, differential geometry, and topology
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A Vanishing Act

Gerard P. Lietz

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 618

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.My Demonstration experiments and apparatus
42.00.00 Optics
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Centripetal Force Using a Hand Rotator

David Chesnut

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 619

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.Pa Laboratory experiments and apparatus
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
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2d or Not 2d

Boris Korsunsky

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 620

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.40.J- Teacher training
01.50.Rt Physics tournaments and contests
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Different Representations of Physics or Hail Poetry! — Thou heaven-born maid, thou gildest e'en the physics teacher's trade! (stolen from W. S. Gilbert)

Robert Morse

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 621

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Robert Morse, physics teacher at St. Albans School in Washington, D.C., has taught physics in public and private schools for 37 years. His website on Ben Franklin and Electrostatics was recently reviewed in the June 2006 issue of Natural History Magazine. A previous foray into poetry, “The Pool Table Physics Lab Rap,” is one of the pieces on the Physics Pholk Songs CD, part of the Activity-Based Physics project.
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01.40.Fk Research in physics education
01.40.gb Teaching methods and strategies
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Podcasts for physics, astronomy and science teachers

Dan MacIsaac

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 622

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.40.J- Teacher training

Some recent developments in online journals of interest to TPT readers: The journals of the Royal Society

Dan MacIsaac

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 622

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.40.J- Teacher training

Some recent developments in online journals of interest to TPT readers: Affordable Optics Demonstrations and activities

Dan MacIsaac

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 622

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.40.J- Teacher training

Some recent developments in online journals of interest to TPT readers: Physics Teacher Preparation Policy in Process

Dan MacIsaac

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 622

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.50.H- Computers in education
01.40.J- Teacher training
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Scientific American and the Silent Lie

Albert A. Bartlett

The Physics Teacher -- December 2006 -- Volume 44, Issue 9, pp. 623

Online Publication Date: Nov 2006

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Abstract Unavailable
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01.30.Vv Book reviews
01.75.+m Science and society
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