Related papers: Air resistance
Acceleration is a fundamental concept in physics which is taught in mechanics at all levels. Here, we discuss some challenges in teaching this concept effectively when the path along which the object is moving has a curvature and…
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…
Even if students can make the blend, interpret physics correctly in mathematical symbology and graphs, they still need to be able to apply that knowledge in productive and coherent ways. As instructors, we can show our solutions to complex…
A goal of physics is to understand the greatest possible breadth of natural phenomena in terms of the most economical set of basic concepts. However, as the understanding of physics has developed historically, its pedagogy and language have…
Students' attitudes and approaches to problem solving in physics can profoundly influence their motivation to learn and development of expertise. We developed and validated an Attitudes and Approaches to Problem Solving survey by expanding…
The analysis of cylindrical resonators is part of standard physics curricula but, unlike for their rectangular counterpart, their mode structure is hardly ever visualized. The aim of this work is to show a way of doing it, providing a set…
This chapter provides a hands-on tutorial on the important technique known as self-reducibility. Through a series of "Challenge Problems" that are theorems that the reader will---after being given definitions and tools---try to prove, the…
Teaching assistants (TAs) are often responsible for grading in introductory physics courses at large research universities. Their grading practices can shape students' approaches to problem solving and learning. Physics education research…
The motion of sufficiently small body in general relativity should be accurately described by a geodesic. However, there should be ``gravitational self-force'' corrections to geodesic motion, analogous to the ``radiation reaction forces''…
A simple, non-technical introduction to the pre-big bang scenario is given, emphasizing physical motivations, considerations, and consequences over formalism.
This survey paper is an expanded version of lectures given at the Clay Mathematics Academy ; see http://www.claymath.org/programs/outreach/academy/colloquium2005.php These lectures were intended to very young (and motivated) college…
This is a report of a course on modern physics designed and taught to undergraduate science and engineering students in the Spring of 2013. The course, meant for freshmen, attempts to integrate statistical mechanics into non-classical…
To develop an increase in societal interest in the fundamental sciences of particle physics and particularly for maintaining the support structures needed to succeed in experiments that take several decades to develop and complete, requires…
The primary aim, in teaching physics, is that the student should gain an understanding of the principles of physics and how to apply them to different problems. A secondary aim is to allow the students to appreciate the scientific approach…
A modification of the classical primitive equations of the atmosphere is considered in order to take into account important phase transition phenomena due to air saturation and condensation. We provide a mathematical formulation of the…
Aircraft collision avoidance systems is critical to modern aviation. These systems are designed to predict potential collisions between aircraft and recommend appropriate avoidance actions. Creating effective collision avoidance systems…
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…
One of the biggest hurdles robotics faces is the facet of sophisticated and hard-to-engineer behaviors. Reinforcement learning offers a set of tools, and a framework to address this problem. In parallel, the misgivings of robotics offer a…
Many students in upper-division physics courses struggle with the mathematically sophisticated tools and techniques that are required for advanced physics content. We have developed an analytical framework to assist instructors and…
Current research on defending against adversarial examples focuses primarily on achieving robustness against a single attack type such as $\ell_2$ or $\ell_{\infty}$-bounded attacks. However, the space of possible perturbations is much…