Related papers: A simple, low-cost, data-logging pendulum built fr…
Understanding how sound propagates through different media is fundamental to both science and technology. While sound plays a critical role in natural navigation and underlies a wide range of applications - from medical ultrasound to sonar…
We present an experimental setup to demonstrate normal modes and symmetry breaking in a two-dimensional pendulum. In our experiment we have used two modes of a single oscillator to demonstrate normal modes, as opposed to two single…
Classical and quantum optical communication has gained popularity and momentum in recent years, with growing investment and innovation in quantum technologies. However, the main teaching method in the education of quantum mechanics include…
We present a versatile experimental apparatus for exploring rotational motion through the interplay between the moment of inertia, torque and rotational kinetic energy. The heart of this experiment uses a 3D printed wheel along with easily…
This paper describes a wearable wireless mouse-cursor controller that optically tracks the degree of tilt of the user's head to move the mouse relative distances and therefore the degrees of tilt. The raw data can be processed locally on…
Many damped mechanical systems oscillate with increasing frequency as the amplitude decreases. One popular example is Euler's Disk, where the point of contact rotates with increasing rapidity as the energy is dissipated. We study a simple…
In this paper we discuss the use of sensors incorporated in mobile devices as possible mobile laboratories at the service of teaching experimental sciences. Mobile devices, smartphones, tablets, laptops, microbit cards, are a resource for…
Most of the advanced control systems use sensor-based feedback for robust control. Tilt angle estimation is key feedback for many robotics and mechatronics applications in order to stabilize a system. Tilt angle cannot be directly measured…
Recently, a simple and very low-cost photogate has been shown by Horton (Phys. Teach. 48, 615, December 2010) as an efficient experimentation tool in physics education. The photogate connects to the microphone input of a personal computer…
We propose to effectively realize a time-dependent gravitational acceleration by using a running elevator, so that a simple pendulum inside it effectively becomes one with a time-dependent gravitational acceleration. We did such an…
Framing affects how students interpret, approach, and accomplish tasks. Little is known, however, about how students frame tasks in physics labs. During the first lab of a sequence designed to teach students about modeling and critical…
We present an analysis of the motion of a simple torsion pendulum and we describe how, with straightforward extensions to the usual basic dynamical model, we succeed in explaining some unexpected features we found in our data, like the…
This article explains and illustrates the design of a laboratory experience for blind students to measure the inertia of simple objects, in this case, that of a disc around its axis of symmetry. Our adaptation consisted in modifying the…
One of key goals of contemporary physics (and, realistically, STEM) education is to develop students' science literacy and critical thinking skills. In this paper, we present the construction and use of several versions of a simple…
This paper describes an undergraduate-level physics project that incorporates various aspects of machine- and electronics-shop technical development. The desktop muon detector is a self-contained apparatus that employs plastic scintillator…
The paper describes a method for measuring the thermal diffusivity of materials having a high thermal conductivity. The apparatus is rather simple and low-cost, being therefore suitable in a laboratory for undergraduate students of…
We propose two experiments suited for high school and/or undergraduate physics laboratory which are aimed to the discovery of the practical meaning and usefulness of the FFT analysis as a mathematical and graphical instrument, intended to…
This study focuses on evaluating three methods used to determine the theoretical gravity in the city of Cusco and their importance in distance education. The first method is based on Newton's law of universal gravitation, obtaining a…
Modern physics is now a regular course for non-physics majors who do not have to take the accompanying laboratory. This lack of an experimental component puts the engineering students at a disadvantage. A possible solution is the use of…
Simulators play a critical role in aerial robotics both in and out of the classroom. We present RotorPy, a simulation environment written entirely in Python intentionally designed to be a lightweight and accessible tool for robotics…