Physics Education
We developed a simple, flexible, low-cost, and computer-controlled cryogenic temperature measurement system for undergraduate instructional laboratories. An Arduino microcontroller board measures the voltage across a silicon diode to…
The Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC) is a collaboration between the Green Bank Observatory and West Virginia University, funded by the National Science Foundation. The PSC program is currently expanding nationwide and engages high school…
Optical cloaking consists in hiding from sight an object by properly deviating the light that comes from it. An optical cloaking device (OCD) is an artifact that hides the object and, at the same time, its presence is not (or should not be)…
Analysis of stochastic processes can be used to engender critical thinking. Quantum dots have a reversible, stochastic transition between luminescent and non-luminescent states. The luminescence intermittency is known as blinking, and is…
The paper describes the practical work for students visually clarifying the mechanism of the Monte Carlo method applying to approximating the value of Pi. Considering a traditional quadrant (circular sector) inscribed in a square, here we…
The progressive introduction of the flip teaching (FT) instructional model into higher education has accelerated in recent years. The FT methodology seems to be especially suitable for laboratory practice sessions: before the lab session…
An overview concerning 3D printing (a.k.a. additive manufacturing) within the context of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education at the college/university level is provided. The vast majority of quoted papers…
In a paper ( posthumously ) co-authored by Isaac Newton himself, the primacy of geometric notions in pedagogical expositions of centripetal acceleration has been clearly asserted. In the present paper we demonstrate how this pedagogical…
This paper describes simple modifications to a demonstration Stirling engine that allows one to make quantitative measurements of the Stirling cycle. First, we describe measurements of the $P$-$V$ diagram using an inexpensive pressure…
This study investigates how students and researchers shape their knowledge and perception of educational topics. The mindset or forma mentis of 159 Italian high school students and of 59 international researchers in STEM are reconstructed…
With only five photographs of the Sun at different dates we show that the mass of Sun can be calculated by using a telescope, a camera, and the Kepler's third law. With these photographs we are able to calculate the distance between Sun and…
A bicycle wheel that was initially spinning freely was placed in contact with a rough surface and a digital film was made of its motion. Using Tracker software for video analysis, we obtained the velocity vectors for several points on the…
Magnetic resonance plays an important role in today's science, engineering, and medical diagnostics. Learning and teaching magnetic resonance is challenging since it requires advanced knowledge of condensed matter physics and quantum…
Outlooks of particle physics researchers on their careers and the general challenges in establishing their careers over different career stages are surveyed using a questionnaire distributed to participants in an ERC-funded research…
The International Astronomical Youth Camp has benefited thousands of lives during its 50-year history. We explore the pedagogy behind this success, review a survey taken by more than 300 previous participants, and discuss some of the…
A web site called The Tachyon Nexus (no relation to Tachyon Nexus Inc) is described. This web site (ehrlich.physics.edu) includes much reliable information about the controversial subjects of time travel and faster-than-light particles…
The Faraday Rotation Ammeter (FRA) experiment takes advantage of the Faraday Effect in order to measure the current density in a given environment. The Faraday Effect explains a rotation of a polarized electric field as it propagates…
Computation is becoming an increasingly important part of physics education. However, there are currently few theories of learning that can be used to help explain and predict the unique challenges and affordances associated with…
We describe in detail an advanced project devised for outstanding High School (or undergraduate) students with appropriate abilities in physical reasoning (rather than with a good standard preparation), centered around the well-known…
Expanding on our former hypothesis that, in the current information age, teaching physics should become more intuition-based and aiming at pattern recognition skills, we present multiple examples of qualitative methods in condensed matter…