Pub Date : 2025-02-21DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/adb4b7
Daniel dos Anjos Silva, Marta Rinaudo, Matteo Leone
Abstract Since the beginnings of electricity research in the late XVI century, it was discovered that rubbing a glass object with a suitable substance causes this object to attract light bodies that are nearby. Over time, it was understood that glass is electrified by friction and the small bodies are electrified by induction at a distance. This simple experiment was later incorporated into the first electrostatic machines and soon became one of the classic electrostatic experiments in physics textbooks. In this article, we show that there may be more to this historical demonstration experiment than meets the eye, and that repeating this experiment in a school laboratory could be a terribly complicated affair.
{"title":"The experiment that does not work: a discussion about the glass electrification in history and in physics textbooks","authors":"Daniel dos Anjos Silva, Marta Rinaudo, Matteo Leone","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/adb4b7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/adb4b7","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Since the beginnings of electricity research in the late XVI century, it was discovered that rubbing a glass object with a suitable substance causes this object to attract light bodies that are nearby. Over time, it was understood that glass is electrified by friction and the small bodies are electrified by induction at a distance. This simple experiment was later incorporated into the first electrostatic machines and soon became one of the classic electrostatic experiments in physics textbooks. In this article, we show that there may be more to this historical demonstration experiment than meets the eye, and that repeating this experiment in a school laboratory could be a terribly complicated affair.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"60 2","pages":"025018-025018"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147903673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-10-18DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad82cb
Laura Gray, Stuart Farmer, Iain Moore
Abstract This study reports on a survey conducted in the Scottish physics education context focusing on practical work within National 5 certificated classes. The online survey was open to all practising educators and technicians in Scotland’s secondary schools and further education colleges. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the results, alongside basic thematic analysis of text responses. The results indicate a decline in practical work in the classroom but suggests this is not due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, cost and availability of equipment alongside a perceived lack of time for experimental work are cited as the major difficulties. The resulting recommendations are improvements to the curriculum and support for educators to develop best practice.
{"title":"Practical teaching in secondary level certificated physics: a view from Scotland","authors":"Laura Gray, Stuart Farmer, Iain Moore","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad82cb","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad82cb","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study reports on a survey conducted in the Scottish physics education context focusing on practical work within National 5 certificated classes. The online survey was open to all practising educators and technicians in Scotland’s secondary schools and further education colleges. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the results, alongside basic thematic analysis of text responses. The results indicate a decline in practical work in the classroom but suggests this is not due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, cost and availability of equipment alongside a perceived lack of time for experimental work are cited as the major difficulties. The resulting recommendations are improvements to the curriculum and support for educators to develop best practice.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"59 6","pages":"065022-065022"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147892751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-18DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad79d2
Rod Cross
Measurements are presented of the circular motion of a ball on a table attached to another ball by a length of thread via a hole in the table. It is a standard problem often assigned to students, but the experimental results differ from predictions.
{"title":"Motion of a ball attached to a mass via a hole in a horizontal table","authors":"Rod Cross","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad79d2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad79d2","url":null,"abstract":"Measurements are presented of the circular motion of a ball on a table attached to another ball by a length of thread via a hole in the table. It is a standard problem often assigned to students, but the experimental results differ from predictions.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-16DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad721a
Peter J Riggs
The standard explanations for the phenomena of transmission and refraction of electromagnetic waves of optical wavelengths upon entering a transparent medium is in terms of the speed of the waves being altered. However, these phenomena are explicable without assuming that the speed of electromagnetic waves changes. The actual speed does not alter in various media but is customarily assumed to do so as this facilitates straight-forward calculations and allows easily understood explanations to be advanced. An underlying account of transmission and refraction at the level of individual atoms is presented in which the speed of electromagnetic waves remains constant.
{"title":"Optical transmission and refraction at the atomic level","authors":"Peter J Riggs","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad721a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad721a","url":null,"abstract":"The standard explanations for the phenomena of transmission and refraction of electromagnetic waves of optical wavelengths upon entering a transparent medium is in terms of the speed of the waves being altered. However, these phenomena are explicable without assuming that the speed of electromagnetic waves changes. The actual speed does not alter in various media but is customarily assumed to do so as this facilitates straight-forward calculations and allows easily understood explanations to be advanced. An underlying account of transmission and refraction at the level of individual atoms is presented in which the speed of electromagnetic waves remains constant.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-15DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad7219
Andreas Johansson, Sebastian Kilde-Westberg and Jonas Enger
Sound waves are often studied as part of mechanical waves in the upper-secondary and undergraduate physics curricula. Acoustic levitation is an application of standing-wave phenomena, growing in popularity through the recent adoption of low-cost ultrasound transducers. Nevertheless, acoustic levitation has not yet been included in the standard phenomena investigated in undergraduate and upper-secondary physics courses. The objective of this Frontline is to introduce acoustic levitation in the classroom. This is done with LeviLab, a low-cost and easy-to-use experiment, accompanied by three hands-on procedures (LeviLabs): modifying the cavity length, visually representing standing waves with multiple levitated particles, and a tactile experience by moving a single particle between nodes. The first procedure yields the most accurate speed of sound measurements, while the second and third offer valuable qualitative insights into standing wave properties. This work demonstrates the educational potential of acoustic levitation to investigate sound waves. It aims to make the phenomenon accessible as a learning resource for upper-secondary and undergraduate physics laboratories by providing engaging hands-on experiences for qualitative and quantitative exploration.
{"title":"LeviLabs: learning about sound through acoustic levitation","authors":"Andreas Johansson, Sebastian Kilde-Westberg and Jonas Enger","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7219","url":null,"abstract":"Sound waves are often studied as part of mechanical waves in the upper-secondary and undergraduate physics curricula. Acoustic levitation is an application of standing-wave phenomena, growing in popularity through the recent adoption of low-cost ultrasound transducers. Nevertheless, acoustic levitation has not yet been included in the standard phenomena investigated in undergraduate and upper-secondary physics courses. The objective of this Frontline is to introduce acoustic levitation in the classroom. This is done with LeviLab, a low-cost and easy-to-use experiment, accompanied by three hands-on procedures (LeviLabs): modifying the cavity length, visually representing standing waves with multiple levitated particles, and a tactile experience by moving a single particle between nodes. The first procedure yields the most accurate speed of sound measurements, while the second and third offer valuable qualitative insights into standing wave properties. This work demonstrates the educational potential of acoustic levitation to investigate sound waves. It aims to make the phenomenon accessible as a learning resource for upper-secondary and undergraduate physics laboratories by providing engaging hands-on experiences for qualitative and quantitative exploration.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"201 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-12DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad66a7
Tejinder Kaur, Magdalena Kersting, David Blair, Kyla Adams, David Treagust, Jesse Santoso, Anastasia Lonshakova, Shon Boublil, Marjan Zadnik, Li Ju, David Wood, Elaine Horne and Darren McGoran
There has been a growing realisation that school science curricula do not adequately reflect the revolutionary changes in our scientific understanding of the 20th century. This discrepancy between current school education and our modern scientific understanding has led to calls for the modernisation of the science curriculum. Although there have been attempts to introduce topics of Einsteinian physics (i.e. quantum physics and relativity) to school education, often at the secondary level, we still lack a seamless curriculum in which modern science concepts are gradually introduced in primary and middle schools. Guided by the Model of Educational Reconstruction and following a mixed-methods research design, the Einstein-First project aims to address this gap. Einstein-First has developed and implemented an Einsteinian curriculum from Years 3–10 (students aged 7–16) that resolves the disconnect between science in schools and modern scientific understanding. This paper presents the concepts and rationale for the Einstein-First learning approach, as well as a summary of learning outcomes in six Australian schools with 315 students across Years 3–10. Our generally positive findings lay the foundation for informed curriculum development and school education that provides all students with awareness and appreciation of the fundamental concepts that underpin the technologies of the modern world.
{"title":"Developing and implementing an Einsteinian science curriculum from years 3–10: A. Concepts, rationale and learning outcomes","authors":"Tejinder Kaur, Magdalena Kersting, David Blair, Kyla Adams, David Treagust, Jesse Santoso, Anastasia Lonshakova, Shon Boublil, Marjan Zadnik, Li Ju, David Wood, Elaine Horne and Darren McGoran","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad66a7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad66a7","url":null,"abstract":"There has been a growing realisation that school science curricula do not adequately reflect the revolutionary changes in our scientific understanding of the 20th century. This discrepancy between current school education and our modern scientific understanding has led to calls for the modernisation of the science curriculum. Although there have been attempts to introduce topics of Einsteinian physics (i.e. quantum physics and relativity) to school education, often at the secondary level, we still lack a seamless curriculum in which modern science concepts are gradually introduced in primary and middle schools. Guided by the Model of Educational Reconstruction and following a mixed-methods research design, the Einstein-First project aims to address this gap. Einstein-First has developed and implemented an Einsteinian curriculum from Years 3–10 (students aged 7–16) that resolves the disconnect between science in schools and modern scientific understanding. This paper presents the concepts and rationale for the Einstein-First learning approach, as well as a summary of learning outcomes in six Australian schools with 315 students across Years 3–10. Our generally positive findings lay the foundation for informed curriculum development and school education that provides all students with awareness and appreciation of the fundamental concepts that underpin the technologies of the modern world.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"108 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142254135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-09DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad7347
Alessandro Bile, Riccardo Santoboni, Sergio Frasca and Pia Astone
Nowadays scientific research, supported by technological development, proceeds at an inexorable speed. Thus, technical features could be difficult to understand for many of the population. Therefore, the research for a universal language has now become fundamental. At the same time, in the post-digital era, artistic research approached technology. The link between art and science has very ancient roots but in recent years has reached a complete overlap. For example, this is the case of the sonification process, which consists of the use of un-speech audio to transmit information. In this paper, we present Gravitational Music, an installation able to translate the physical phenomenon of gravitational waves propagation into sound, by exploiting an artistic approach. Gravitational Music is an efficient teaching tool that can be used for both school and adult purposes to simplify the complex language of science.
{"title":"Gravitational music: a mathematical-musical model for the popularization of gravitational waves","authors":"Alessandro Bile, Riccardo Santoboni, Sergio Frasca and Pia Astone","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7347","url":null,"abstract":"Nowadays scientific research, supported by technological development, proceeds at an inexorable speed. Thus, technical features could be difficult to understand for many of the population. Therefore, the research for a universal language has now become fundamental. At the same time, in the post-digital era, artistic research approached technology. The link between art and science has very ancient roots but in recent years has reached a complete overlap. For example, this is the case of the sonification process, which consists of the use of un-speech audio to transmit information. In this paper, we present Gravitational Music, an installation able to translate the physical phenomenon of gravitational waves propagation into sound, by exploiting an artistic approach. Gravitational Music is an efficient teaching tool that can be used for both school and adult purposes to simplify the complex language of science.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142225245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-08DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad7183
Rod Cross
A tennis ball with string around an equator was allowed to fall like a yo–yo. Measurements and calculations are presented on the total work done on the ball to increase its translational and rotational kinetic energy.
让一个用绳子绕着赤道的网球像溜溜球一样下落。测量和计算了球在增加其平移和旋转动能时所做的总功。
{"title":"Work done on a tennis ball yo–yo","authors":"Rod Cross","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7183","url":null,"abstract":"A tennis ball with string around an equator was allowed to fall like a yo–yo. Measurements and calculations are presented on the total work done on the ball to increase its translational and rotational kinetic energy.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"69 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-08DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad744f
Russell Ng and Joonhyeong Park
We designed an inquiry activity to investigate the question ‘How transparent are transparent films and papers?’ Using an easily-replicable set up, we observed the effect of increasing the number of transparent films, thin papers and general papers between a light source and a light sensor. For each material, one sheet was added each time. The amount of light received was collected and graphed by a data logger. Our findings show that, as the number of sheets increases, the amount of light received at the receiver decreases. The general paper and thin paper stacks took 4 sheets and 10 sheets respectively to achieve negligible light transmittance. The transparent film stack did not achieve negligible light transmittance, but successive addition of sheets did lower transmittance. Evidently, transparent films are not perfectly transparent. Transparency (and opacity) is not a binary condition, but rather a continuum based on boundary conditions. The inquiry activity developed through this study, which investigates a spectrum of transparency in films and papers, may be useful for students to appreciate the spectral nature of the transparency concept across different materials.
{"title":"Inquiring into a spectral concept in the physics classroom","authors":"Russell Ng and Joonhyeong Park","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad744f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad744f","url":null,"abstract":"We designed an inquiry activity to investigate the question ‘How transparent are transparent films and papers?’ Using an easily-replicable set up, we observed the effect of increasing the number of transparent films, thin papers and general papers between a light source and a light sensor. For each material, one sheet was added each time. The amount of light received was collected and graphed by a data logger. Our findings show that, as the number of sheets increases, the amount of light received at the receiver decreases. The general paper and thin paper stacks took 4 sheets and 10 sheets respectively to achieve negligible light transmittance. The transparent film stack did not achieve negligible light transmittance, but successive addition of sheets did lower transmittance. Evidently, transparent films are not perfectly transparent. Transparency (and opacity) is not a binary condition, but rather a continuum based on boundary conditions. The inquiry activity developed through this study, which investigates a spectrum of transparency in films and papers, may be useful for students to appreciate the spectral nature of the transparency concept across different materials.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-05DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad7007
Nur Untoro, Muhammad Ramdhan
For approximately 2400 years BC, carpenters have been using hammers to nail wood. The reason for this method is unclear and evaluations of its effectiveness should not be made without proper research. Therefore, this study aims to develop a force-measuring instrument to analyze the impulsive forces produced during hammer strokes on nails. The measurement process is based on the laws of conservation of momentum and mechanical energy and the work-energy principle. The apparatus was constructed using a PVC pipe fitted with a rope pulley and load. The measurements were taken by dropping the mass onto nails embedded in the wooden specimens of keruing, teak, mahogany, and pine. The findings demonstrate that the impulsive force involved in driving nails into wood remains constant. This force is not influenced by the speed of the hammer swing, but rather by the wood’s level of hardness and penetration depth. Using harder wood results in a greater impulsive force, therefore, driving nails becomes more efficient in securing them into the wood.
{"title":"Simple experiment design for impulsive force measure at hammer and nail collisions","authors":"Nur Untoro, Muhammad Ramdhan","doi":"10.1088/1361-6552/ad7007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/ad7007","url":null,"abstract":"For approximately 2400 years BC, carpenters have been using hammers to nail wood. The reason for this method is unclear and evaluations of its effectiveness should not be made without proper research. Therefore, this study aims to develop a force-measuring instrument to analyze the impulsive forces produced during hammer strokes on nails. The measurement process is based on the laws of conservation of momentum and mechanical energy and the work-energy principle. The apparatus was constructed using a PVC pipe fitted with a rope pulley and load. The measurements were taken by dropping the mass onto nails embedded in the wooden specimens of keruing, teak, mahogany, and pine. The findings demonstrate that the impulsive force involved in driving nails into wood remains constant. This force is not influenced by the speed of the hammer swing, but rather by the wood’s level of hardness and penetration depth. Using harder wood results in a greater impulsive force, therefore, driving nails becomes more efficient in securing them into the wood.","PeriodicalId":39773,"journal":{"name":"Physics Education","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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