Table of contents

Cyber Workshop: The Teacher Network visits Second Life Festival: Alarm clock rings for European science Grant Project: The reality of university science Student Physics: Young physicists' tournament in Korea Environment: Climate change documentary to be shown in every secondary school in England and Wales Centenary: Glasgow celebrates life of Kelvin

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

When there is no 'right' answerGary Williams

'How Science Works' is now the focus of the national science specifications in English schools. This article is a brief introduction to the philosophy of science from the Greeks to the present day that underpins this notion.

This article suggests that the age of discovery and enlightenment of the Scientific Revolution and the universe of Copernicus was responsible for a new way of imagining, which we now call science fiction. This history is important for an understanding of the evolution of the physics, and shows how scientists, such as Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, and philosophers, such as the Bishop of Llandaff, Francis Godwin, and Cyrano de Bergerac, used the fictional imagination to help visualise the unknown.

During the past few years the authors have developed a new approach to the teaching of physical science, a general education course typically found in the curricula of nearly every college and university. This approach, called Physics in Films (Efthimiou and Llewellyn 2006 Phys. Teach.44 28–33), uses scenes from popular films to illustrate physical principles and has excited student interest and improved student performance. A similar approach at the senior/high-school level, nicknamed Hollywood Physics, has been developed by Chandler (2006 Phys. Teach.44 290–2; 2002 Phys. Teach.40 420–4). The two approaches may be considered complementary as they target different student groups.

The analyses of many of the scenes in Physics in Films are a direct application of Fermi calculations—estimates and approximations designed to make solutions of complex and seemingly intractable problems understandable to the student non-specialist. The intent of this paper is to provide instructors with examples they can use to develop skill in recognizing Fermi problems and making Fermi calculations in their own courses.

Methods for calculating the positions of the Lagrange points are presented. For points L1–3 we use a typical graph-plotting package available in schools, and for points L4 and L5 we use elementary trigonometry together with a knowledge of circular motion and gravitation.

Parabolic mirror surfaces are found wherever energy needs to be focused efficiently and accurately. You find them built into car headlights, spotlights as well as astronomical telescopes. Here we explore the parabola to design simple, cheap and effective solar heaters.

This article describes some experiments performed to obtain the spectra of a candle, oil lamp, 60 W incandescent lamp and fluorescent tube. A professional spectrometer was used of a type unlikely to be available to schools so the spectral data are provided as a service to the teaching profession. The brightness and rate of fuel consumption of a candle and oil lamp were also measured. The data obtained could provide the starting point for a discussion, amongst other things, on greenhouse gas emissions.

In this paper, we describe how we motivate senior school pupils using environmental experiments with a luxmeter. We also show how we 'discover' the photometrical law in class. This type of teaching can help to show the connection between physics and daily life, and students can enjoy the process of investigating science.

With the radon measurement activities at Stockholm House of Science, nuclear and experimental physics is introduced in a way that attracts the attention and interest of the students. These projects give the students the opportunity to use mobile detectors, either in their school, in the House of Science or in their homes. During 2006, 34 radon experiments were organized for school classes or groups of students. There were 21 shorter activities, ten one-day projects and three projects lasting for one or more weeks. Because of the popularity of the radon project, it will be extended with the introduction of more mobile detectors.

The change from the state of supercooling to the solid state of ice is called superfreezing. This process is not uncommon and takes place in domestic freezers. It is also easy to reproduce in the laboratory.

A simple method based on the moment of forces and Archimedes' principle is described for finding density without measuring the mass and volume of an object. The method involves balancing two unknown objects of masses M₁ and M₂ on each side of a pivot on a metre rule and measuring their corresponding moment arms. The object whose density is to be found is then immersed in a liquid of known density and the new moment of the arm of this object is measured. The density of the immersed object is then determined using only its measured moment arms and the density of the liquid.

Simple experiments involving musical instruments of the woodwind family can be used to demonstrate the basic physics of vibrating air columns in resonance tubes using nothing more than straightforward measurements and data collection hardware and software. More involved experimentation with the same equipment can provide insight into the effects of holes in the tubing and other factors that make simple tubes useful as musical instruments.

We present a simple computer-based laboratory experiment for evaluating absolute zero in degrees Celsius, which can be performed in college and undergraduate physical sciences laboratory courses. With a computer, absolute zero apparatus can help demonstrators or students to observe the relationship between temperature and pressure and use datalogger software to mathematically extrapolate to find absolute zero.

INTERVIEW From poetry to energy researchDavid Smith talks to John Constable, policy and research director for the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), a charity providing comment and analysis on the energy sector.

WE RECOMMEND

The Snowman's Coat and Other Science Questions A book of problem-solving for the very young

An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore's climate change slide show, brought to DVD

OCR Physics for GCSE A thorough but interesting high-level textbook

21st Century Science GCSE Resources A full range of resources to suit teacher and pupil

WORTH A LOOK

Thinking Without Objects - The Transformation of Mechanics in the Seventeenth Century This book covers a fruitful period in the history of science

Paper Rollercoasters An intriguing teaching resource that uses paper and sticky tape

HANDLE WITH CARE

STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway The Swindon museum proves lacking in education resources

WEB WATCH Games and simulations demonstrating moments and levers

Clamp-on thermocoupleGorazd Planinsic

Dilemma of a science educatorBerry Billingsley