Table of contents

Astronomy: Science and beauty combined Africa: Physics technicians offer valuable skills Conference: ESERA2013 brings researchers together in Cyprus Physics Olympiad: UK team bring home more medals from the Physics Olympics in Copenhagen Physics Tournament: IOC backs Shrewsbury to host IYPT 2014 Conference: MPTL18 looks at the latest multimedia developments Workshop: The selective absorption of light Science on Stage: Illuminating Science Education in London in 2015

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In this paper we present two experiments to measure Boltzmann's constant—one of the fundamental constants of modern-day physics, which lies at the base of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. The experiments use very basic theory, simple equipment and cheap and safe materials yet provide very precise results. They are very easy and quick to perform, allowing this fundamental constant to be brought to the high-school level as a hands-on experience.

Catt's  anomaly is a sort of 'thought experiment' (a gedankenexperiment) where electrons seem to travel at the speed of light. Although its author argued with conviction for many years, it has a clear and satisfactory solution and it can be considered indubitably just an apparent paradox. Nevertheless, it is curious and very intriguing, and able to capture the attention of students.

Simple numerical data analysis is described, using a standard spreadsheet program, to determine distance, velocity (speed) and acceleration from voltage data generated by a skateboard/longboard speedometer (Hare 2012 Phys. Educ.47 409–17). This simple analysis is an introduction to data processing including scaling data as well as simple numerical differentiation and integration. This is an interesting, fun and instructive way to start to explore data manipulation at GCSE and A-level—analysis and skills so essential for the engineer and scientist.

A simple but accurate method for measuring the Earth's radius using a video camera is described. A video camera was used to capture a shadow rising up the wall of a tall building at sunset. A free program called ImageJ was used to measure the time it took the shadow to rise a known distance up the building. The time, distance and length of the sidereal day were used to calculate the radius of the Earth. The radius was measured as 6394.3 ± 118 km, which is within 1.8% of the accepted average value of 6371 km and well within the experimental error. The experiment is suitable as a high school or university project and should produce a value for Earth's radius within a few per cent at latitudes towards the equator, where at some times of the year the ecliptic is approximately normal to the horizon.

We engaged secondary science students in a teacher and student constructed Uno card game (UCG) to change their conceptual understanding of the various energy transformations. The paper outlines how we incorporated Toulmin's argumentation pattern (Toulmin 1958 The Uses of Argument (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)) in the UCG, using discourse (Erduran et al2004 Sci. Educ.88 915–33) and through a 5E learning cycle (Bybee 1997 Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books)). The activity helped students develop a deeper understanding of the energy transformation among and between different sources. Students experienced a conceptual gain in their ways of thinking, in contrast to traditional teaching and learning practices. The collaboration and interaction between teacher–student(s) and between students fostered an environment where they became co-constructors of knowledge.

Electron–atom  collisions in gases are an aspect of atomic physics. Three experiments in this field employing a thyratron are described: (i) the Ramsauer–Townsend effect, (ii) the excitation and ionization potentials of xenon and (iii) the ion–electron recombination after interrupting the electric discharge.

Teaching prismatic colours usually boils down to establishing the take-home message that white light consists of 'differently refrangible' coloured rays. This approach explains the classical spectrum of seven colours but has its limitations, e.g. in discussing spectra from setups with higher resolution or in understanding the well saturated colours of simple edge spectra. Besides, the connection of physical wavelength and colour remains obscure—after all, colour and wavelength are not equivalent. In this paper, we suggest that teachers demonstrate these impressive experiments in the classroom by using a video projector and a prism to disperse black-and-white slit images. We introduce experimental and diagrammatic methods for establishing the connection between the original slit image and the wavelength composition of the resulting spectrum. From this (or any other given) wavelength composition, students can systematically derive the colours with a simple RGB approach, thus gaining a more accurate picture of the relation between wavelength and colour.

We consider the application of both conservation of momentum and Newton's laws to the Moon in an assumed circular orbit about the Earth. The inadequacy of some texts in applying Newton's laws is considered.

We present a sequence of activities aimed at promoting both learning about magnetic forces and students' reflection about the conceptual bridge between magnetic forces on a moving charge and on a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field.

The activity sequence, designed for students in high school or on introductory physics courses, has been tested with about 150 high school students and 50 pre-service teachers. Results indicate that students' understanding of the direction and magnitude of the magnetic force improved markedly and that some typical difficulties were overcome. Comparison of the two types of forces and of their effects allowed focusing on their crucial difference with respect to the possibility of doing work and encouraged students to search for models that are able to link one force to another.

A different method to study the charging and discharging processes of a capacitor is presented. The method only requires a high impedance voltmeter.

In this paper, we acquire and analyse high-speed videos of a spring–mass system oscillating in glycerin at different temperatures. Three cases of damped harmonic oscillation are investigated and analysed by using high-speed video at a rate of 120 frames s⁻¹ and Tracker Video Analysis (Tracker) software. We present empirical data for the three cases of damped motion in graphical form. We also provide graphical proof of the relationship between the damped angular frequency and the damping constant. Finally, we determine the quality factors and give graphical proof of the dissipated energy of damped harmonic oscillators due to the viscosity of glycerin at different temperatures. These results will be developed into teaching material on the topic of damped harmonic motion.

INTERVIEW From the Earth to the starsPaul Roche talks to David Smith about his career in astronomy and how he helped to set up the Challenger Learning Centre at the National Space Centre.

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WORTH A LOOK

Magnificent Principia, Exploring Isaac Newton's Masterpiece The tricky task of summarizing Newton's iconic work

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WEB WATCHInteractive website plans a trip to Mars ... documentary peers into telescopes ... films consider the density of water

Elena SassiLaurence Viennot, David Sands and Gorazd Planinsic

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What Happens Next?: Water flow in emptying bottlesDavid Featonby

Insights and Conundrums: Uranium enrichment: playing the percentagesRick Marshall

The PDF file provided contains web links to all Features and Frontline articles in this volume.