Related papers: Liquid crystals: a new topic in physics for underg…
This study presents a review of the current state of research on teaching quantum mechanics in secondary and lower undergraduate education. A conceptual approach to quantum mechanics is being implemented in more and more introductory…
We propose a microscopic, first-principles description of the ionic conduction in crystals. This formalism allows us to gain new insights into the ideal characteristics of general ionic conducting materials and, in particular, solid…
Identifying and understanding student difficulties with physics content in a wide variety of topical areas is an active research area within the PER community. In many cases, physics topics appear multiple times in different contexts across…
In complex crystals close to melting or at finite temperatures, different types of defects are ubiquitous and their role becomes relevant in the mechanical response of these solids. Conventional elasticity theory fails to provide a…
We discuss how the likely 2018 redefinition of the SI system of units might affect the ability of students to understand the link between the units and the new system. The likely redefinition will no longer define a set of base units, but…
Here we highlight recent progress in the field of computational chemistry of nanoporous materials, focusing on methods and studies that address the extraordinary dynamic nature of these systems: the high flexibility of their frameworks, the…
The blue bottle experiment was first introduced to the chemical education literature as a simple demonstration on kinetics. Its original formulation contains only glucose, NaOH and small amount of methylene blue. The solution turns blue…
Fundamental particle physics is a key part of an undergraduate physics curriculum, but can be challenging to incorporate into teaching laboratories. We present an undergraduate laboratory experiment that enables students to work with real…
The flipped classroom technique has recently been a focus of attention for many math instructors and pedagogical researchers. Although research on the subject has greatly increased in recent years, it is still debated whether the flipped…
The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the critical need for flexible mechanical engineering laboratories simultaneously deployable in multiple modalities: face-to-face, hybrid, and remote. A key element in the lesson portfolio of a…
This paper explores the concept of \textbf{co-first modules}, a generalization of coprime modules, through the lens of preradicals in module theory. Building on foundational notions such as second modules and coprime modules, we introduce…
Liquid metal (LM) is of current core interest for a wide variety of newly emerging areas. However, the functional materials thus made so far by LM only could display a single silver-white appearance. Here in this study, the new conceptual…
We present a thermodynamics experiment suitable for first year undergraduate students employing Stirling Engines to create a demonstration of energy transformation and to measure the mechanical efficiency of such engines. Using an…
Discrete mathematics and probability theory contain foundational material for computer scientists. Despite their importance, instructors often worry that students will find these courses to be too abstract and seemingly disconnected from…
We illustrate in this contribution the progress in the theoretical study of liquid metals made in the last decades, starting from the example of liquid gallium and the early work in Jean-Pierre Badiali's group. This was based on the…
Recent advances in our understanding of the Universe have revolutionized our view of its structure, composition and evolution. However, these new ideas have not necessarily been used to improve the teaching of introductory astronomy…
The field of visible-light continuous time series photometry is now at its golden age, manifested by the continuum of past (CoRoT, Kepler), present (K2), and future (TESS, PLATO) space-based surveys delivering high precision data with a…
In condensed matter physics, there is a novel phase termed "quantum spin liquid", in which strong quantum fluctuations prevent the long-range magnetic order from being established, and so the electron spins do not form an ordered pattern…
This paper aims to provide an introduction to a basic form of the ${\bf Q}$-tensor approach to modelling liquid crystals, which has seen increased interest in recent years. The increase in interest in this type of modelling approach has…
Quantum mechanics is a field often considered very mathematical, abstract, and unintuitive. One way some instructors are hoping to help familiarize their students with these complex topics is to have the students see quantum effects in…