Table of contents

Schools: Summer school for bright sparks Teachers: Back to school with the IOP and SSERC Space: Up and away ... camera climbs to heights by balloon Exams: The 'last ring' before Poland's matura exam Students: The International Physics Olympiad 2012 Optoelectronics: Experiments illustrate union of light and electricity Technology: Day of new and future technologies inspires teachers Meeting: Physics educators gather at 1st SEEMPE International: Memorandum boosts South-Sudan physics teaching

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We present fascinating simple demonstration experiments recorded with high-speed cameras in the field of fluid dynamics. Examples include oscillations of falling droplets, effects happening upon impact of a liquid droplet into a liquid, the disintegration of extremely large droplets in free fall and the consequences of incompressibility.

By means of a simple mathematical model recently developed by the authors (2010 Phys. Educ.45 641), the passage of the seasons on the Earth is simulated for arbitrary latitudes, taking into account sunlight attenuation in the atmosphere. The method developed can be used to predict a realistic value of the solar energy input (insolation) that can be absorbed by horizontal ground at sea level on any cloudless day of year. Some ideas for estimating daily insolation on to horizontal ground using the duration of daylight and the length of a shadow at the solar noon are discussed.

Winds in desert regions form the well-known barchan dunes. Frequently, human settlements are threatened by the migration of these dunes. But why do these dunes move? And how is dune migration in deserts connected to scour development in the vicinity of pylons in river beds or to snow cornices in alpine regions? This paper introduces the topic of particle (sand, pebble stones, snow) erosion to teachers and their students using illustrative experiments showing the most important physical phenomena. The non-costly design of the experiments also allows their implementation at schools. Finally, accompanying analyses at a secondary-school level provide an additional theoretical understanding of the experimental observations.

The demonstration of finding the centre of gravity of a metre-stick (or another long thin body) is fairly well known and is performed often due to its simplicity. Explaining the demonstration is not so simple, however, if one wants to consider some of the finer details. In this paper we give an in-depth consideration of the demonstration and the friction forces involved. The process is presented both analytically and graphically. We have also considered the role of the demonstrator as an important factor.

A method has been developed to measure the swing period of a simple pendulum automatically. The pendulum position is converted into a signal frequency by employing a simple electronic circuit that detects the intensity of infrared light reflected by the pendulum. The signal produced by the electronic circuit is sent to the microphone port and recorded as a 16-bit wave file by common software. The wave file is then processed to obtain the signal period as a function of time by timing all zero crossings. From the obtained signal period as a function of time, an average value of the period is calculated. Using the calculated average period, it was found that the gravitational acceleration is (9.77 ± 0.03) m s⁻². Noting that the G-type La Coste & Romberg G928 gravimeter obtains a gravitational acceleration of 9.78 m s⁻², the present method offers very good accuracy, with a percentage error of about 0.1%.

Ray diagrams offer a powerful framework for understanding and characterizing many properties of optical systems, such as images and magnifications. However, this construction also introduces many conceptual hurdles for students. The idea of representing the propagation of waves by means of a light ray, which is a line or curve perpendicular to the wavefront, is the main cause of conceptual problems. Likewise, the geometrical optic constructions require a deep understanding of trigonometrical relations, which make the study of optical objects a hard subject. Nowadays, these conceptual problems can be overcome using applets in the presentation of lesson content. Therefore, we propose to create and include new curricular material using GeoGebra software. This approach allows us to construct step by step the optical properties of different objects such as mirrors and lenses.

A simple charge indicator with bipolar transistors described recently enables us to perform a number of experiments suitable for high-school physics. Several such experiments are presented and discussed in this paper as well as some features of the indicator important for its use in schools, namely its sensitivity and robustness, i.e. the capability to withstand various potentially harmful conditions.

A roller coaster ride comes to an end. Magnets on the train induce eddy currents in the braking fins, giving a smooth rise in braking force as the remaining kinetic energy is absorbed by the brakes and converted to thermal energy. In this paper an IR camera was used to monitor the temperature of the first braking fin, before, during and after the passage of a train. In addition, the resulting acceleration of the train was modelled and compared to accelerometer data for the Kanonen roller coaster in Liseberg. The results were used to model the distribution of temperature increase over the braking fins. Finally, the cooling of the fins after the passage of the train was analysed and compared to the IR data.

The logistic map is one of the simplest nonlinear dynamical systems that clearly exhibits the route to chaos. In this paper, we explore the evolution of the logistic map using an open-source microcontroller connected to an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We divide the one-dimensional domain interval [0,1] into ten equal parts, an associate and LED to each segment. Every time an iteration takes place a corresponding LED turns on, indicating the value returned by the logistic map. By changing some initial conditions of the system, it is easy to observe the transition from order to chaos exhibited by this map.

A thick line drawn on a sheet of paper with a 6B pencil is electrically conductive and its resistance can be roughly estimated using a simple tester made of a light-emitting diode (LED) and a lithium coin-type cell. Using this hand-drawn resistor and the LED tester, we developed teaching materials that help students to understand how electrical resistance varies according to (a) the length of resistant lines, (b) the width of resistant lines, (c) the number of resistant lines and (d) the type of connection between resistant lines.

A simplified theoretical explanation of dispersion in dielectric materials has been given and experiments have been carried out on two liquids, namely, distilled water and sunflower oil. The appendix contains a detailed description of the construction of a homemade spectrometer and hollow prism and an assessment of its suitability for the above measurements has been given in the conclusions.

During the Thai high-school physics teacher training programme, we used an aluminum loop-the-loop system built by the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) to demonstrate a circular motion and investigate the concept of the conservation of mechanical energy. There were 27 high-school teachers from three provinces, Bangkok, Ra-yong and Phuket. A steel ball was released at a certain height and then moved into the circular loop and underwent a projectile motion upon leaving the track. We asked the teachers to predict the landing position of the ball if we changed the height of the whole loop-the-loop system. We analysed the methods they used to determine their answers. It turned out that most teachers could not get the correct landing position of the ball. Some did not realize the effect of the friction between the ball and the track. Some did not realize the similar condition of the loop-the-loop system before and after it was moved up by a certain distance. Only a few teachers did realize this and got the correct answers.

We discuss an experiment on wind energy performed with home-made apparatus. The experiment reproduces a laboratory windmill, which can pump water from a lower level to a higher one. By measuring the gain of the gravitational potential energy of the pumped water, one can determine the power extracted from the wind. The activity was carried out with high-school students, in the framework of the Italian National Plan for Scientific Degrees—Physics. The proposed experiment allows teachers to discuss renewable energy sources with students whose knowledge of physics is limited to mechanics. It gives students the possibility to gain experience with energy and to increase their awareness of this renewable energy source.

A common approach when teaching about energy in circuits in secondary schools is to treat flowing electrons as carriers of energy from a source to a sink. The paper argues that although this may seem to be a useful model for teaching, it is unscientific and may ultimately be confusing to students who continue to adopt it at key stage 4 and above. A 'system view' is suggested as an alternative, in which some parts of the system play the role of connectors, not carriers. Parallels are drawn with mechanical systems. A teaching approach that uses a system view of circuits is recommended because it is both scientifically sound and pedagogically powerful.

We present a physics workshop for college students to investigate various physical phenomena using high-speed cameras. The technical specifications required, the step-by-step instructions, as well as the practical limitations of the workshop, are discussed. This workshop is also intended to be a novel way to promote physics to Generation-Y learners who are attuned to a more visually engaging teaching style.

INTERVIEW From Star Wars to Mars via a load of old rocksPeter Grindrod works at the forefront of Mars space science. He talks to David Smith about getting his hands dirty, Curiosity and finding life on Mars.

WE RECOMMEND

Pathfinders An account of the groundbreaking golden age of Arabic science fascinates and convinces

Magnetic nail polish Novelty nail polish contains a decorative lesson in magnetism

The Practical Einstein An unusual and enlightening take suggests that his intelligence was not only theoretical

Hip Hop Pops Fun toys offer good value and physics calculations

WORTH A LOOK

Simple Physics App allows user to explore construction and forces through 'virtual' building challenges

Do You Think You're Clever? Readable if slightly predictable Oxbridge interview questions and answers for younger students to test their scientific knowledge

Sand and Silicon: Science That Changed the World An encyclopaedic work on the science of sand and its uses impresses for reference but not for casual reading

The Aha! Moment: A Scientist's Take on Creativity Genius charms but fails to explain itself convincingly

HANDLE WITH CARE

Digital Camera Adapter/Micro Stage Modest results but an educational experience

WEB WATCH A selection of websites that assist teachers in explaining the topical Higgs boson to students are reviewed

What Happens Next?: Rocket-balloon launch: helium versus airDavid Featonby and Zuzana Jeskova

Insights and Conundrums: Concerning the conservation of energyRick Marshall

The PDF file provided contains web links to all Features and Frontline articles in this volume.