物理教育
The Maryland Physics Expectations Survey (MPEX) describes student attitudes and expectations toward learning, and might be used to predict normalized gains on tests such as the Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE). These predictions…
The traceroute utility on any computer connected to the Internet can be used to record the roundtrip time for small Internet packets between major Internet traffic hubs. Some of the routes include transmission over transoceanic fiber optic…
The 'elastic capacitor' (EC) model was first introduced in studies of lipid bilayers (the major components of biological membranes). This electro-elastic model accounted for the compression of a membrane under applied voltage and allowed…
This article describes a wind tunnel's ease of construction and its uses as a visualization tool that integrates concepts at the primary and secondary levels. An Appendix contains detailed building instructions. A web site (under…
We are trying to identify resources students are using to reason in quantum mechanics. In this process we realize students must have not only the right resources available but sophisticated for evaluating and controlling their thought…
Even in the relatively favorable circumstances of an individual interview, accurate listening requires careful effort. Our research interests dictate which student statements we attend to during the interview, and which we consider to…
A student's epistemological stance (be it knowledge as memorized information, knowledge from authority, or knowledge as invented stuff) may constrain that student from reasoning in productive ways while also shaping the inferences a…
This paper was withdrawn by the author.
We consider a macroscopic body propagating in a one-dimensional resistive medium, consisting of an ideal gas at temperature $T$. For a whole family of collisions with varying degree of inelasticity, we find an exact expression for the…
We consider the Schwinger's method of angular momentum addition using the SU(2) algebra with both a fermionic and a bosonic oscillator. We show that the total spin states obtained are: one boson singlet state and an arbitrary number of…
Since 1988, the United Nations, through the Programme on Space Applications, is supporting the establishment and operation of regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the…
A pedagogically instructive experimental procedure is suggested for distinguishing between different damping terms in a weakly damped oscillator, which highclights the connection between non-linear damping and initial-amplitude dependence.…
The Lorentz force can be obtained from Maxwell's equations in the Coulomb gauge provided that we assume that the electric portion of the force acted on a charge is known, and the magnetic component is perpendicular to the velocity of motion…
Sir Joseph LARMOR showed in 1897 that an oscillating electric charge emits radiation energy proportional to (acceleration)$^2$. At first sight,the result appears to be valid for arbitrary accelerations. But, perpetual uniform acceleration…
We discuss the interchangeability of the thermodynamic limit \beta \to \infty and the infinite limit of the Trotter number n \to \infty when Trotter formula e^{H_{0}+V} =\lim_{n \to \infty} (e^{H_{0}/n} e^{V/n}) is used to calculate…
This article summarises a Web-book on "Complexity" that was developed to introduce undergraduate students to interesting complex systems in the biological, physical and social sciences, and the common tools, principles and concepts used for…
We report on a very simple and inexpensive method for determining the speed of an electrical wave in a transmission line. The method consists of analyzing the roundtrip time for ethernet packets between two computers. It involves minimal…
The motion of a pendulum is described as Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM) in case the initial displacement given is small. If we relax this condition then we observe the deviation from the SHM. The equation of motion is non-linear and thus…
We solve a difficult problem involving velocity and acceleration components along oblique axes, and propose two problems of central force motion to be solved using oblique axes.
Modification of three ideas underlying Newton's original world view, with only minor changes in context, might offer two advantages to introductory physics students. First, the students will experience less cognitive dissonance when they…