Solar limb darkening is a prominent feature seen in white images of the Sun: the brightness of the solar disk is greatest at the solar center and decreases radially outward towards the limb. White light images can be used to examine and even model limb darkening; however, the limb-darkening effect is, in fact, wavelength dependent. Limb darkening…

Ever since Newton's groundbreaking work on the composed nature of light, additive colour mixing (and its laws) are subject to the interest of physicists as well as other sciences. In this paper, we present a setup for simple lab or home experiments on additive colour mixing and the laws of colour mixing. Students use the screen of a laptop or…

This article showcases how a Wi-Fi based LED light system that flickers to indicate probability of auroral manifestation became a beacon of inquiry, interest, and critical thinking amongst preservice teachers, staff, and passersby in a teacher education program. Beyond articulating the design phase of the system, highlighted here are the three…

This paper demonstrates the use of a smartphone as a low-cost multi-channel optical fibre spectrophotometer suitable for physics laboratory classes. A custom-designed cradle and structure support were fabricated using 3D printing. The plastic optical fibres were arranged and inserted into the hole of the cradle to guide the light to the rear…

Light polarization, which is the direction of electromagnetic field oscillation, provides information that is highly different from that of spectral and intensity images and thus can enhance various fields of optical metrology. Polarization imaging can be also used by combining polarization and imaging, thereby providing polarization and spatial…

In introductory physics classes, a laser pointer and a compact disc are all the items required to illustrate diffraction of light in a single dimension. If a two-dimensional diffraction pattern is desired, double axis diffraction grating material is available or a CCD sensor can be extracted from an unused electronics device. This article presents…

There is a relatively simple way of using radioactive material in classroom experiments: uranium glass, which provides teachers with a suitable substance. By using the right computer software and a radiation sensor, it can be demonstrated that uranium glass emits radiation at a greater rate than the background radiation and with the aid of UV…

This paper presents a system for remote monitoring of turbidity data that can detect light intensity and temperature using a microcontroller and the Internet of Things. The system comprises a light dependent resistor and infrared temperature sensor interfaced with an ESP-12E microcontroller, a programmable data acquisition platform; together these…

In this paper, we present the details of the development of a smartphone spectrometer for education using a 3D printer and characterized the performance by comparison with a paper craft spectrometer. The optical design and the narrow slit used in the build resulted in the formation of accurate images of the slit on the image sensor leading to a…

A highly simplified variation on the do-it-yourself spectrophotometer using a smartphone's light sensor as a detector and an app to calculate and display absorbance values was constructed and tested. This simple version requires no need for electronic components or postmeasurement spectral analysis. Calibration graphs constructed from two…

This paper shows how very simple circuitry attached to an Arduino microcontroller with MakerPlot software can be used for the display of electrical characteristic curves of three commonly available devices: an ohmic resistor, an LED, and a tungsten-filament bulb.

Routinely used in quantitative determination of various analytes, UV-vis spectroscopy is commonly taught in undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses. Because the technique measures the absorbance of light through the samples, losses from reflection and scattering by large molecules interfere with the measurement. To emphasize the importance of…

With a new data-acquisition system developed by PASCO scientific, an experiment on telemetry with an optical fiber can be made easier and more accurate. For this aim, an alternative strategy of the remote temperature measurements is proposed: the frequency of light pulses transmitted via the light guide numerically equals the temperature using…

An inexpensive light board projection system that enables lecturers to face the classroom while lecturing is described. The lecturer's writing appears in high contrast in front of the lecturer; it is never blocked by the lecturer, even while writing. The projected image displays both the writing as well as the lecturer's gestures and facial…

In this article we propose an activity aimed at introductory students to help them understand the Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien's displacement laws. It only requires simple materials that are available at any school: an incandescent lamp, a variable dc energy supply, and a computer to run an interactive simulation of the blackbody spectrum.…