Related papers: Science of a coffee cup: a physicist walks into a …
This paper is divided into two parts. The first part concerns several standard scenarios for how short-range spin glasses might behave at low temperature. Earlier theorems of the authors are reviewed, and some new results presented,…
Humans have mental models that allow them to plan, experiment, and reason in the physical world. How should an intelligent agent go about learning such models? In this paper, we will study if models of the world learned in an open-ended…
Measurements take a singular role in quantum theory. While they are often idealized as an instantaneous process, this is in conflict with all other physical processes in nature. In this Letter, we adopt a standpoint where the interaction…
Social physics is the application of ideas, concepts and tools from physics to study social phenomena. In this article, we present a mechanical theory underlying a mathematical treatment of social physics. We explore the possibility of…
The ability to construct, use, and revise models is a crucial experimental physics skill. Many existing frameworks describe modeling in science education at introductory levels. However, most have limited applicability to the context of…
Arduino microcontrollers are electronic devices that can be used in physics experiments, and they are both affordable and readily available in comparison to other experimental sets. Students in high school and college can acquire valuable…
Amplitudes are the major logical object in Quantum Theory. Despite this fact they presents no physical reality and in consequence only observables can be experimetally checked. We discuss the possibility of a theory of Quantum Probabilities…
In quantum theory the vacuum is defined as a state of minimum energy that is devoid of particles but still not completely empty. It is perhaps more surprising that its definition depends on the geometry of the system and on the trajectory…
We created an introductory physics activity for undergrad students consisting in measuring by different methods the same physical quantity. It allows to confront students with questions of uncertainty, precision, and model versus theory.…
This manuscript is inspired by the paper [2]. In the paper, they investigate a method to detect existence of an object with arbitrarily small interaction. Below, we sketch their protocol to motivate the present manuscript. The object of…
Phase separation is a fairly common physical phenomenon with examples including the formation of water droplets from humid air (fog, rain), the separation of a crystalline structure from an isotropic material such as a liquid or even the…
Nuclear physics is a very abstract field with little accessibility for wider audiences, and yet it is a field of physics with far reaching implications for everyday life. The Nuclear Beavers demonstration is a hands-on experience that…
Quantum coherence is an essential resource to gain advantage over classical physics and technology. Recently, it has been proposed that a low-temperature environment can induce quantum coherence of a spin without an external coherent pump.…
The quantum theory of fields is largely based on studying perturbations around non-interacting, or free, field theories, which correspond to a collection of quantum-mechanical harmonic oscillators. The quantum theory of an ordinary fluid is…
We propose a microscopic model without energy barriers in order to explain some generic features observed in structural glasses. The statics can be exactly solved while the dynamics has been clarified using Monte Carlo calculations.…
Along with weaving together observations, experiments, and theoretical constructs into a coherent mesh of understanding of the world around us, physics over its past five centuries has continuously refined the base concepts on which the…
A simple apparatus to demonstrate free fall weightlessness is given. This can be easily constructed from readily available materials and can be used for the demonstration purpose to an audidence with all the details of the apparatus…
Education is a goal-oriented field. But if we want to treat education scientifically so we can accumulate, evaluate, and refine what we learn, then we must develop a theoretical framework that is strongly rooted in objective observations…
Interactive computational environments can help students explore algorithmic concepts through collaborative hands-on experimentation. However, static and instructor controlled demos in lectures limit engagement. Even when interactive…
The sensors in modern smartphones are a promising and cost-effective tool for experimentation in physics education, but many experiments face practical problems. Often the phone is inaccessible during the experiment and the data usually…