Physics Commons^™

Colloids And Emulsions, Tony Dinsmore

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

Colloids and Emulsions.

These materials are very common and are amenable to some nice demonstrations, yet are not part of the usual curriculum. Topics include surface tension (and why droplets are spherical; why shaving cream acts like a solid even though it's made of liquid and gas); Brownian motion and the microscopic origin of heat; the behavior of many particles (phase transitions, how colloidal particles can spontaneously order themselves – an accurate demonstration of how water molecules form ice crystals); what is inside everyday materials.

Apparatus For Demonstrating Longitudinal Wave Pulses, Walter L. Trikosko, Thomas O. Callaway

Faculty Publications

For live classroom demonstrations there are a number of devices that have been used to simulate waves. Some are based upon a design produced by E. S. Ritchie & Sons1 and consist of rods and cams that are activated by turning a crank.2,3 These devices show what transverse and longitudinal waves look like, but they do not allow for the free manipulation of wave parameters and observations of the changes that take place. A simple device can be constructed using elastic bands and straws4 to demonstrate properties of transverse waves.

Demonstrating The Principles Of Aperture Synthesis With The Very Small Radio Telescope, Jonathan M. Marr, Karel Durkota, Francis P. Wilkin, Adam Pere, Alan E.E. Rogers, Vincent L. Fish, Gabriel Holodak, Martina B. Arndt

Physics Faculty Publications

We have developed a set of college-level, table-top labs for teaching the basics of radio interferometry and aperture synthesis. These labs are performed with the Very Small Radio Telescope (VSRT), an interferometer using satellite TV electronics as detectors and compact fluorescent light bulbs as microwave signal sources. The hands-on experience provided by the VSRT in these labs allows students to gain a conceptual understanding of radio interferometry and aperture synthesis without the rigorous mathematical background traditionally required.

Impulse-Momentum Diagrams, David Rosengrant

Faculty and Research Publications

Multiple representations are a valuable tool to help students learn and understand physics concepts. Furthermore, representations help students learn how to think and act like real scientists. These representations include: pictures, free‐body diagrams, energy bar charts, electrical circuits, and, more recently, computer simulations and animations. However, instructors have limited choices when they want to help their students understand impulse and momentum. One of the only available options is the impulse‐momentum bar chart. The bar charts can effectively show the magnitude of the momentum as well as help students understand conservation of momentum, but they do not easily show the actual …