Related papers: Liquid crystals: a new topic in physics for underg…
The general features of the cosmic-ray spectrum have been known for a long time. Although the basic approaches to understanding cosmic-ray propagation and acceleration have also been well understood for many years, there are several…
The surface of a spinning liquid takes the shape of a paraboloid that can be used as a reflecting mirror. This very old and nearly forgotten concept has recently been revived and I review its present status. Extensive interferometric tests…
The pronounced light-matter interactions in photonic crystals make them interesting as opto-fludic "building blocks" for lab-on-a-chip applications. We show how conducting electrolytes cause dissipation and smearing of the…
Physics faculty consider the photoelectric effect important, but many erroneously believe it is easy for students to understand. We have developed curriculum on this topic including an interactive computer simulation, interactive lectures…
Two roads are presently being followed in order to establish the existence of a liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclear systems from nuclear reactions at high energy. The clean experiment of observing the thermodynamic properties of a…
The spreading of a thin viscous fluid film on a horizontal surface is an interesting problem in fluid mechanics with many practical applications ranging from coating processes to biological systems and environmental flows. It can even be…
The purpose is to introduce in a clear and direct way the students of undergraduate courses in physics and/or astronomy to the subject of radiative transfer. A pedagogical revision is made in order to obtain the radiative transfer equation,…
Liquid crystals allow for the real-time control of the polarization of light. We describe and provide some experimental examples of the types of general polarization transformations, including universal polarization transformations, that…
The specialised uses of solid angles mean that they are quite unfamiliar quantities. This article, apart from making solid angles a little more familiar, brings out several topics of general interest, such as how units are interrelated and…
The modeling theory of instruction is widely applied and highly successful in high-school instruction, and seldom in university physics. One reason is lack of familiarity with models in the physics classroom. Ongoing curriculum development…
This paper is written as one chapter in a collection of essays on neutrino physics for beginning graduate students. The text presents important experimental methods and issues for those interested in searches for sterile neutrinos. Other…
Quantum physics is considered as one of the most remarkable discoveries of contemporary physics grown during previous century and gradually manifested to the scientific world such as inventions of laser, the transistor, the electron…
A central goal of Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) is to prepare students to use physics to model and analyze biological situations, a skill of increasing importance for their future studies and careers. Here we report our…
A new generation of educational mathematics software is being shaped in ThEdu and other academic communities on the side of computer mathematics. Respective concepts and technologies have been clarified to an extent, which calls for…
Ab initio techniques have revolutionised the way in which theory can help practitioners to explore critical mechanisms that govern reactions or properties, and to develop new strategies for materials discovery and design. Yet, their…
The plasma is an ionized gas that responses collectively to any external (or internal) perturbations. Introducing micron-sized solid dust grains into plasma makes it more interesting. The solid grains acquire large negative charges on their…
A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our prior work has shown that…
Symmetry lies at the heart of todays theoretical study of particle physics. Our manuscript is a tutorial introducing foundational mathematics for understanding physical symmetries. We start from basic group theory and representation theory.…
Students with disabilities are enrolling in postsecondary education in increasing numbers and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at steady rates since the early 1990s. Specifically, in 2014, the National Center on…
When immiscible liquids are subject to electric fields interfacial forces arise due to a difference in the permittivity or the conductance of the liquids, and these forces lead to shape change in droplets or to interfacial instabilities. In…