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Drawing appropriate diagrams is a useful problem solving heuristic that can transform a problem into a representation that is easier to exploit for solving it. One major focus while helping introductory physics students learn effective…
This paper analyzes the consequences of electric current generation at the front of the Bow Shock (BS) and the dependence of the direction of this current on the IMF. The conditions of this current closure through the body of the…
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in nanoelectromechanical devices, current-driven quantum machines, and the mechanical effects of electric currents on nanoscale conductors. Here, we carry out a thorough study of the…
We describe a study focusing on students' and faculty members' reasoning about problems of differing cognitive complexity related to the double-slit experiment (DSE) with single particles. In the first phase of the study, students in…
Students who successfully engage in self-regulated learning, are able to plan their own studying, monitoring their progress and make any necessary adjustments based upon the data and feedback they gather. In order to promote this type of…
In this article, it is pointed out that Faraday induction can be treated from an untraditional, particle-based point of view. The electromagnetic fields of Faraday induction can be calculated explicitly from approximate point-charge fields…
Current-induced magnetic switching of a single magnetic molecule attached to two ferromagnetic contacts is considered theoretically, with the main emphasis put on the role of intrinsic spin relaxation processes. It is shown that…
It was recently observed that materials showing most striking multiferroic phenomena are frustrated spin-density-wave magnets. We present a simple phenomenological theory, which describes the orientation of the induced electric polarization…
One of the objectives of the undergraduate physics curriculum is for students to become aware of the connections between formal physical principles and personal experience. However, research has shown that awareness of connections between…
Upper-division physics students spend much of their time solving problems. In addition to their basic skills and background, their epistemic framing can form an important part of their ability to learn physics from these problems.…
As documented by textbooks, the teaching of electromagnetic induction in university and high school courses is primarily based on what Feynman labeled as the ``flux rule'', downgrading it from the status of physical law. However, Maxwell…
We investigate student comfort with the material in an upper-division spins-first quantum mechanics course. Pre-lecture surveys probing students' comfort were administered weekly, in which students assigned themselves a "discomfort level"…
Inclusion of the inductive electric field, ${\bf E}_{\rm ind}$ due to the temporally changing ${\bf B}$, in magnetic explosions is discussed, with emphasis on solar flares. Several roles played by ${\bf E}_{\rm ind}$ are identified: on a…
We describe an extracurricular learning path on waves focused on energy transfer. The advantages of introducing mechanical waves by using the Shive wave machine and laboratory activities are presented. Laboratories are realized by inquiry,…
The physics community explores and explains the physical world through a blend of theoretical and experimental studies. The future of physics as a discipline depends on training of students in both the theoretical and experimental aspects…
Prior research has demonstrated how the realist perspectives of classical physics students can translate into specific beliefs about quantum phenomena when taking an introductory modern physics course. Student beliefs regarding the…
The inversion of cause and effect in the classic description of electromagnetism, gives rise to a conceptual error which is at the bottom of many paradoxes and exceptions. At present, the curious fact that unipolar induction or the Faraday…
To make physics experiments more directly relevant to everyday life and help students realize how their smart phones or tablets can be used as sensors for scientific measurements, we designed two introductory physics experiments to measure…
Very little is known about how the nature of expertise in introductory and advanced courses compares in knowledge-rich domains such as physics. We develop a framework to compare the similarities and differences between learning and patterns…
We present an analytical study of magnetic damping. In particular, we investigate the dynamics of a cylindrical neodymium magnet as it moves through a conducting tube. Owing to the very high degree of uniformity of the magnetization for…