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Quantum physics: German Physical Society spring meeting Journal access: American Physical Society's online journals will be available for free in all US high schools Award: High-school physics teacher receives American award for excellence Teacher training: Fobinet offers coordination of teacher-training activities Astronomy: Astronomy fans see stars at Astrofest Conference: Delegates enjoy the workshops and activities at CPD conference Forthcoming events

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Scientists use models to describe and explain observed physical phenomena and to predict the outcomes of new phenomena. Choosing a productive model for describing or explaining a phenomenon is a routine part of the work of scientists but a rare exercise for our students. Students have difficulties understanding the meaning of the word 'model' and using it to analyse physical phenomena and solve problems (Etkina et al 2006 Phys. Teach.44 S.34–9). According to previous research results, even in elementary instruction, the topic of ferromagnetism lends itself very well to looking at the meaning and function of models in the area of physics, since the 'iron-magnet model' (the molecular model of magnetism) explains a multitude of observable phenomena.

One of the subjects that is confusing and difficult for students to fully comprehend is the concept of angular velocity and linear velocity. It is the relationship between linear and angular velocity that students find difficult; most students understand linear motion in isolation. In this article, we detail the design, construction and utilization of a simple, economic, practical piece of apparatus that could enable students to establish the relationship between angular velocity and linear velocity.

This article introduces teachers and students to a new portal of resources called Learning with ATLAS at CERN (http://learningwithatlas-portal.eu/), which has been developed by a European consortium of academic researchers and schools' liaison and outreach providers from countries across Europe. It includes the use of some of the mind-boggling facts and figures from the Large Hadron Collider experiment to illustrate some basic school physics concepts. It also uses innovative software adapted and made available on the web by European particle physics researchers to introduce a more innovative investigative approach to teaching particle physics concepts. This gives students a more 'hands-on' experience in the classroom and a feel for what real scientific research might be like.

In this article, we show the implementation of a computer-based digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) and function generator (FG) using the computer's soundcard for off-campus acoustic experiments. The microphone input is used for the DSO, and a speaker jack is used as the FG. In an effort to reduce the cost of implementing the experiment, we examine software available for free, online. A small number of applications were compared in terms of their interface and functionality, for both the DSO and the FG. The software was then used to investigate standing waves in pipes using the computer-based DSO. Standing wave theory taught in high school and in first year physics is based on a one-dimensional model. With the use of the DSO's fast Fourier transform function, the experimental uncertainly alone was not sufficient to account for the difference observed between the measure and the calculated frequencies. Hence the original experiment was expanded upon to include the end correction effect. The DSO was also used for other simple acoustics experiments, in areas such as the physics of music.

A Faraday cage is an interesting physical phenomenon where an electromagnetic wave can be excluded from a volume of space by enclosure with an electrically conducting material. The practical application of this in the classroom is to block the signal to a mobile phone by enclosing it in a metal can. The background of the physics behind this is described in some detail, and this is followed by a explanation of some demonstrations and experiments which I have used.

Schlieren imaging is a method for visualizing differences in refractive index as caused by pressure or temperature non-uniformities within a medium, or as caused by the mixing of two fluids. It is an inexpensive yet powerful and straightforward tool for sensitive and high-resolution visualization of otherwise invisible phenomena. In this article, application of the method to liquid membranes, sonar pulses and microscopic gas flows is used to illustrate its usefulness and versatility in physics education and research.

Although the siphon has been in use since ancient times, the exact mechanism of operation is still under discussion. For example, most dictionaries assert that atmospheric pressure is essential to the operation of a siphon rather than gravity. Although there is general agreement that gravity is the motivating force in a siphon, there is disagreement on how liquid enters a siphon—is it atmospheric push or tensile pull? This article describes a classroom experiment that can serve as the basis for discussing how a siphon works. The experiment involves the construction of a siphon in which the water level in the upper reservoir is held constant during the operation of the siphon. Since the atmosphere is not doing any work on the water in the upper reservoir, only gravity is at work. The special situation of a bubble-in-a-siphon is also discussed in which both atmospheric pressure and gravity are at work.

Photovoltaic-cell-based projects have been used to train eight incoming undergraduate women who were part of a residential summer programme at a women's college. A module on renewable energy and photovoltaic cells was developed in the physics department. The module's objectives were to introduce women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors to physical phenomena, to develop quantitative literacy and communication skills, and to increase the students' interest in physics. The students investigated the performance of commercially available silicon semiconductors through experiments they designed, carried out and analysed. They fabricated and tested organic dye-based solar cells. This article describes the programme, the solar cell module, and presents some experimental results obtained by the students.

When the LHC started running at the end of March 2010—after a 14-month shutdown for major repairs—one of the main objectives was reaching a luminosity of 10³² cm ^{− 2} s ^{− 1} by the end of 2010. On 13 October 2010 that goal was achieved. One important parameter to take into account to reach this luminosity is the number of protons that are circulating in both directions around the large hadron collider. The aim of this article is to introduce a simple approximation of how the number of protons travelling in the LHC near the speed of light can be counted.

We report on an experiment performed with a home-made flat-plate solar collector, carried out together with high-school students. To explain the experimental results, we propose a model that describes the heating process of the solar collector. The model accounts quantitatively for the experimental data. We suggest that solar-energy topics should be included in school programmes to give students the opportunity to gain experience with solar energy and increase their awareness of the benefits that can be obtained from this remarkable and renewable energy source.

The magnetic gun was chosen as a hands-on activity for our high school students. When conducting this activity in the classroom, we found some interesting points were raised following difficulties encountered by the students. Some students proposed that during the collision, the magnet changed its pole then it pushed the last ball out of the apparatus, but some suggested that all the balls were attracted by magnetic forces, therefore the last ball could not shoot out. With a question to raise their curiosity, 'How do magnetic guns work?', our students explored notions of magnetic force, work, and conservation of energy and momentum through their own design of magnetic guns. This article describes a method for measuring the changes of kinetic energy and describes factors that students should consider for making magnetic guns more powerful and for having fun with the activity of building them.

Context is important as a motivational factor for student involvement with physics. The diversity in the types and the functions of animal eyes is an excellent context in which to achieve this goal. There exists a range of subtopics in optics including pinhole, reflection, refraction, and superposition that can be discussed in the context of the animal eye. In addition to ordinary textbook optics questions, the use of context-based questions that model the real world may increase the students' motivation toward optics concepts and their understanding of them. In this article, different optical systems in animal eyes are discussed as a context to teach optics topics with context-based questions.

Paramagnetic and diamagnetic materials are now generally known as the 'Cinderella' materials of the magnetic world. However, susceptibility measurements made on these materials in the past have revealed many details about the molecular bonding and the atomic structure of the so-called 'transition' elements. Indeed, the magnetic moment of neodymium has been well known for decades, although it is only recently that such properties have begun to be exploited. The experiment concerning susceptibility reported here may act as a link between past and present.

A simple spectrophotometer was designed using cardboard, a DVD, a pocket digital camera, a tripod and a computer. The DVD was used as a diffraction grating and the camera as a light sensor. The spectrophotometer was calibrated using a reference light prior to use. The spectrophotometer was capable of measuring optical wavelengths with a theoretical accuracy as high as 0.2 nm. Using this spectrophotometer, wavelengths are determined via image processing.

Water transport in tall trees is an everyday phenomenon, seldom noticed and not completely understood even by scientists. As a topic of current research in plant physiology it has several advantages for presentation within school physics lectures: it is interdisciplinary and clearly shows the connection between physics and biology; the construction of an artificial tree is an ideal laboratory project, which enables detailed studies of several phenomena related to water transport in an artificial tree model; it also clearly shows the failures of widespread ideas about the origins of the upward water flow.

We present the construction of the laboratory tree, suggest measurements that illustrate water transport and present a few additional experiments which clearly show why water transport in trees higher than 10 m is still an ongoing debate amongst plant physiologists.

INTERVIEW Materials unite physics and chemistryMark Miodownik is a materials scientist at King's College, London. David Smith talks to him about his career and his fascinating experiences of giving last year's Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.

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