Related papers: Exploring student difficulties with observation lo…
As part of a larger research project into massively open online courses (MOOCs), we have investigated student background, as well as student participation in a physics MOOC with a laboratory component. Students completed a demographic…
This paper presents some ideas which might assist teachers incorporating special relativity into an introductory physics curriculum. One can define the proper-time/velocity pair, as well as the coordinate-time/velocity pair, of a traveler…
We propose a simple relativistic derivation of the electric and the magnetic fields generated by an electric point charge moving with constant velocity. Our approach is based on the radar detection of the point space coordinates where the…
Quantum mechanics is challenging even for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. In the Schr\"odinger representation, the wave function evolves in time according to the time dependent Schr\"odinger equation. The time dependence of…
The ability to categorize problems based upon underlying principles, rather than surface features or contexts, is considered one of several proxy predictors of expertise in problem solving. With inspiration from the classic study by Chi,…
In this study, we examine introductory physics students' ability to perform analogical reasoning between two isomorphic problems which employ the same underlying physics principles but have different surface features. Three hundred and…
We show that when the observers are located in a plane electromagnetic wave it is not compulsory for them to take into account the time dilation and length contraction effects when the wave is detected from two inertial reference frames in…
Through a case study, we demonstrate that teachers can tacitly notice student epistemic framing, and that this noticing can prompt instructor action which tips student framing. Our study is based on video data taken during tutorial sections…
In physics we encounter particles in one of two ways. Either as fundamental constituents of the theory or as emergent excitations. These two ways differ by how the particle relates to the background. It either sits on the background, or it…
We consider the problem of third-person imitation learning with the additional challenge that the learner must select the perspective from which they observe the expert. In our setting, each perspective provides only limited information…
The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to Electromagnetic Theory. The foundations of electrodynamics starting from the nature of electrical force up to the level of Maxwell equations solutions are presented. It starts with…
It is well-known that introductory physics students often have alternative conceptions that are inconsistent with established physical principles and concepts. Invoking alternative conceptions in quantitative problem-solving process can…
The standard description of material media in electromagnetism is based on multipoles. It is well known that these moments depend on the point of reference chosen, except for the lowest order. It is shown that this "origin dependence" is…
Measurements play a crucial role in doing physics: Their results provide the basis on which we adopt or reject physical theories. In this note, we examine the effect of subjecting measurements themselves to our experience. We require that…
The notion of observers' and their measurements is closely tied to the Lorentzian metric geometry of spacetime, which in turn has its roots in the symmetries of Maxwell's theory of electrodynamics. Modifying either the one, the other, or…
Diagrams are ubiquitous in physics, especially in physics education and physics problem solving. Problem solvers may generate diagrams to orient to a scenario, to organize information, to directly extract an answer, or as a tool of…
Incorporating computer programming exercises in introductory physics is a delicate task that involves a number of choices that may have a strong affect on student learning. We present an approach that speaks to a number of common concerns…
The following inverse problem is discussed. A static electromagnetic field generated by a limited system of charges and currents is supposed to be known with its first derivatives at a point somewhere far from the system. This allows to…
Indoor magnetic fields are a combination of Earth's magnetic field and disruptions induced by ferromagnetic objects, such as steel structural components in buildings. As a result of these disruptions, pervasive in indoor spaces, magnetic…
This paper is concerned with an inverse moving point source problem in electromagnetics. The aim is to reconstruct the moving orbit from the tangential components of magnetic fields taken at a finite number of observation points. The…