Table of contents

Almost dry but never dull: ASE 2014 EuroPhysicsFun shows physics to Europe Institute of Physics for Africa (IOPfA) South Sudan Report October 2013 Celebrating the centenary of x-ray diffraction The Niels Bohr Institute—an EPS Historical Site Nordic Research Symposium on Science Education (NFSUN) 2014: inquiry-based science education in technology-rich environments Physics World Cup 2013

A simple instrument has been constructed to measure heart beats via an earlobe sensor. The pulse rate is determined from a Picoscope trace and pupils may wish to see how this rate changes after modest exertion.

Radiation spectra are demonstrated for educational purposes using inexpensive and readily available materials.

Here, we show the possibility of analysing circular motion and acceleration using the acceleration sensors of smartphones. For instance, the known linear dependence of the radial acceleration on the distance to the centre (a constant angular frequency) can be shown using multiple smartphones attached to a revolving disc. As a second example, the decrease of the radial acceleration and the rotation frequency due to friction can be measured and fitted with a quadratic function, in accordance with theory. Finally, because the disc is not set up exactly horizontal, each smartphone measures a component of the gravitational acceleration that adds to the radial acceleration during one half of the period and subtracts from the radial acceleration during the other half. Hence, every graph shows a small modulation, which can be used to determine the rotation frequency, thus converting a 'nuisance effect' into a source of useful information, making additional measurements with stopwatches or the like unnecessary.

Most students have difficulty finding a resultant vector of graphical vector addition and subtraction. We offer here an alternative and simple way of finding a result of vector addition; using a rubber band, the magnitude and direction of a resultant vector can be shown immediately.

Angular momentum is a notoriously difficult concept to visualize because it often requires three-dimensional pictures of vectors that are themselves seemingly arbitrary. Here, a simple student-run laboratory experiment coupled with intuitive explanations by an instructor can clear up some of the inherent ambiguity of rotational motion.

The composer Sibelius made ingenious use of artificial harmonics in his violin concerto. We reveal the underlying physics with an explanation suitable for the general student.

This paper presents the results of the first survey conducted in Belgium about the interest in and knowledge of astronomy. Two samples were studied, the public at large (667 questionnaires) and students (2589 questionnaires), but the results are generally similar in both samples. We evaluated people's interest, main information source and attitudes towards astronomy, as well as their supposed and actual knowledge of the subject. The main conclusion is that, despite poor self-confidence, people do know the basic astronomical concepts. However, that knowledge is not deeply rooted, as reasoning questions show widespread misconceptions and/or misunderstandings.

An experiment was carried out to investigate the changes in ionizing cosmic radiation as a function of altitude. This was carried out using a Geiger–Müller tube on-board a high altitude balloon, which rose to an altitude of 31 685 m. The gathered data show that the Geiger–Müller tube count readings increased to a maximum at an altitude of about 24 000 m; beyond this point they then decreased with increasing altitude.

A simple, and popular, demonstration of the greenhouse effect involves a higher temperature being observed in a container with an elevated concentration of CO₂ inside than in a container with just air enclosed, when subject to direct light. The CO₂ absorbs outgoing thermal radiation and causes the air inside the container to be warmer. However, in some variations of this experiment an additional positive effect can arise from artefacts in the experiment, such as the slightly heavier CO₂ forming a layer at the bottom of the container and suppressing convection. Therefore, the physics of this demonstration is elucidated in a system that does not suffer from such artefacts. In particular, the absorption of infrared radiation due to the enclosed CO₂ is measured, and a one-dimensional model of heat transfer is solved. It is found that the temperature of the enclosed air is significantly higher inside the container with an elevated concentration of CO₂ inside, but that the temperature of the container itself is not appreciably higher.

Theory predicts that an egg-shaped body should rest in stable equilibrium when on its side, balance vertically in metastable equilibrium on its broad end and be completely unstable on its narrow end. A homogeneous solid egg made from wood, clay or plastic behaves in this way, but a real egg will not stand on either end. It is shown that this behaviour—which has benefits for the egg's survival—is due to asymmetry of the position of the yolk within the interior.

Friction is an important phenomenon in everyday life. All children are familiar with playground slides, which may thus be a good starting point for investigating friction. Motion on an inclined plane is a standard physics example. This paper presents an investigation of friction by a group of 11-year olds. How did they plan their investigations? What aspects of friction could they discern? What understanding of the nature of science was revealed—and developed—during their investigation and subsequent discussion with the teacher?

Entertaining and educational experiments that can be conducted in a water park, illustrating physics concepts, principles and fundamental laws, are described. These experiments are suitable for students ranging from senior secondary school to junior university level. Newton's laws of motion, Bernoulli's equation, based on the conservation of energy, buoyancy, linear and non-linear wave propagation, turbulence, thermodynamics, optics and cosmology are among the topics that can be discussed. Commonly available devices like smartphones, digital cameras, laptop computers and tablets, can be used conveniently to enable accurate calculation and a greater degree of engagement on the part of students.

In this paper we show an example of how to use a computational simulation to obtain visual feedback for students' mental models, and compare their predictions with the simulated system's behaviour. Additionally, we use the computational simulation to incrementally modify the students' mental models in order to accommodate new data, and receive visual feedback for those modifications.

There is a popular myth that Galileo dropped two objects of the same shape but different mass, noted their equal fall time, and concluded that gravitational motion is independent of the mass of the object. This paper demonstrates that this experiment—if actually performed—most likely would have yielded a different result and thus with modern eyes led to a different conclusion. The paper consists of two parts: (1) a theoretical description with a numerical and an analytical solution of the problem, and (2) an experiment of the Galilean type that provides experimental evidence within 1% accuracy that the theory applies. Previous papers on this subject have been almost exclusively theoretical and/or calculational, and we emphasize the suitability of the performed experiment as an affordable instructional exercise, e.g. for undergraduates.

We find a difference in impact time of 0.109 s for otherwise nearly identical objects of masses differing by about a factor of 3, m_light = 57.52 g and m_heavy = 173.62 g, dropped from a height of 23.192 m, about half of the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Very convincing agreement between experiment and theory, including an account of the fluid dynamics in air, is achieved. By use of the theory thus corroborated, the calculated difference in height at first impact corresponding to the Galilean case is about 5.8 m (assuming a lead ball and an ebony ball, each the size of a tennis ball), easily detectable both visually and, with a difference in impact time of about 0.22 s, aurally. The time difference is also sufficiently large to be unlikely to be caused by inaccuracy in release time. This gives an indication that if Galileo did actually perform the experiment, he may have chosen to neglect small differences (≃10%) in impact times observed using large differences (factor ≃ 10) in mass.

The hydraulic impulse pump utilizes a fraction of the momentum of a flowing stream to lift a small portion of that water to a higher level. There it may be accumulated in an elevated cistern to provide sufficient water for several families, for the pump works 24 h a day with no additional source of energy. The operation of the pump is described, along with a working demonstration model constructed from plastic waste pipe and fittings.

Three-dimensional (3D) nuclear charts were created using toy blocks, which represent the atomic masses per nucleon number and the total half-lives for each nucleus in the entire region of the nuclear mass. The bulk properties of the nuclei can be easily understood by using these charts. Subsequently, these charts were used in outreach activities for the general public and high school students. As an example, an application for a lecture on nucleosynthesis in stars is introduced, and some explanations for the abundance of iron and the origin of uranium and heavy elements on the Earth are given with the 3D chart.

Stanley Micklavzina, a US physics educator on sabbatical, teams up with a Swedish national research laboratory, a synchrotron radiation experimental group and a university science centre to develop and create educational and public outreach projects. Descriptions of the physics, science centre displays and public demonstrations covering the physics principles involved in using photons and neutrons to probe materials are given.

In this paper, primary school students' and pre-service teachers' ideas of seasonal change are investigated. The research was carried out in nine primary schools in Athens and in the Primary Education Department of the University of Athens. Written reports were used for gathering data while students also had the opportunity to support their answers with drawings. The results showed the following. (1) Pre-service teachers address notions which involve the movement of the Sun and/or the Earth, while primary school students address human centred, tautological and phenomenological notions as well. (2) Both primary school students and pre-service teachers mainly adopt two schemes of explanation: alterations in the distance between the Sun and the Earth and alterations in the Earth–Sun relative orientation/illumination.

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We ask whether knots with smaller or larger loops on the same rope tighten in a particular sequence, and what factors might influence the sequence of tightening.

Simple harmonic motion is ubiquitous, but most students only encounter it in a few contexts. Eight examples are discussed, some drawn from recent research papers.

A famous 19th century experiment involved striking a rod balanced on two glasses. In my version (Featonby 2014 Phys. Educ. 49 120) a thin rod is placed horizontally between two supports about 80 cm apart. The supports consist of an uncooked egg in an egg cup. A table-tennis ball is placed on top the rod at each end. What happens next when the rod is given a sharp strike in the centre with another rod?