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The Physics Teacher -- January 2007 -- Volume 45, Issue 1, pp. 42

INSPIRE: A VLF Radio Project for High School Students

Jill A. Marshall1, Bill Pine2, and William W. L. Taylor3

1The University of Texas, Austin, TX
2The INSPIRE Project, Inc., Upland, CA
3QSS Group Inc., Greenbelt, MD

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Since 1988 the Interactive NASA Space Physics Ionospheric Radio Experiment, or INSPIRE,1 has given students the opportunity to build research-quality VLF2 radio receivers and make observations of both natural and stimulated radio waves in the atmosphere. Any high school science class is eligible to join the INSPIRE volunteer observing network and contribute to our understanding of near-Earth space.

© 2007 American Association of Physics Teachers

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

physics education, ionospheric measuring apparatus, radio equipment, radiowave propagation, refraction, lightning, spectrometers, time series, observers

PACS

  • 01.40.ek

    Secondary school

  • 01.40.gb

    Teaching methods and strategies

  • 95.55.-n

    Astronomical and space-research instrumentation

History
Online Dec 2006

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

0031-921X (print)  

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef American Association of Physics Teachers

ARTICLE DATA

Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.2409509

  1. INSPIRE is a nonprofit scientific, educational corporation designed to bring the excitement of observing manmade and natural radio waves in the audio range to high school students. For more information see http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/inspire.
  2. The “very low frequency” or VLF range of electromagnetic radiation is typically defined as spanning from 3 kHz to 30 kHz.
  3. Mark Spencer, “Whistler analysis using the TI-83+ graphing calculator,” INSPIRE J. 9, 35–57 (Nov. 2000).
  4. J. Marshall, W. W. L. Taylor, B. Pine, and J. Green, “Authentic science experiences for high-school students: The INPIRE example,” Adv. Space Res. 34 (10), 2145–2152 (2004). [Inspec]
  5. William Pine and William W. L. Taylor, “INSPIRE your students,” Sci. Teach. 58, 33–35 (Nov. 1991),, K. J. Harker, T. Neubert, A. C. Fraser-Smith, and D. J. Donohue, “Ground level signal strength of electromagnetic waves generated by pulsed electron beams in space,” Planet Space Sci. 39 (11), 1527–1535 (1991), and [Inspec]
    W. W. L. Taylor, “The emissions from pulsed beams (Virtual antennas) emitted by SEPAC on ATLAS-1,” Eos, Trans. AGU 74, 469 (1993).
  6. See http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/campaign/whistler_campaign.html.
  7. W.W.L. Taylor, “INSPIRE/Eclipse 94: Radio science observations by students during the May 1994 eclipse,” SolarNews (Sept. 1993). Available online at http://solarnews.nso.edu/1993/09_93.html#12.
  8. Flavio Gori, “Hessdalen 2002 EMBLA mission: The ICPH radio experience,” INSPIRE J. 11, 14–18 (April 2003). Available online at http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/inspire. Click on INSPIRE Journal Archive.
  9. M. Mideke, “Natural radio news,” The Lowdown 2, 2–4 (1993).
  10. NASA has used INPSIRE receivers for its annual Leonids observing campaigns. See http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast09nov_1.htm.
  11. For example, the WR3 available at http://www.auroralchorus.com/wr3.htm.
  12. The spectrogram shown in Fig. 2(b) was acquired by Katherine Robinson and her students from O'Connor High School in San Antonio, TX, and published in the INSPIRE Journal [Katherine Robinson, “O'Connor High School, Helotes, TX, joins the ranks of INSPIRE,” INSPIRE J. 9, Supplement, 1–4 (April 2001)].


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