In a senior modern physics laboratory, design" or ingenuity" experiments were introduced to acquaint students with methods of doing complete experiments. The former deals with proposed long term studies while the latter deals with apparatus and short term actual studies. Students rated the design" experiments higher. (Author/TS)

Discussed are the advantages and disadvantages of two different philosophical approaches, academic or traditional versus experimental, to the laboratory instruction of undergraduate physics students. The defects, failures, and limitations of each approach are detailed. (BT)

Provides an account of the way in which one small university has coped with limited funds and a small staff to provide laboratory activities for freshman physics courses. (CP)

Introduces an alternative method to determine the mechanics of a moving object that uses computer vision algorithms with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera as a recording device. Presents two experiments, pendulum motion and terminal velocity, to compare results of the alternative and conventional methods. (YDS)

A light flasher was developed for use with the open-shutter photography technique in elementary-mechanics experiments. Details are given of its design and construction. Five experiments, for the elementary mechanics laboratory, which use flasher units are described. (DT)

Discusses Hertz vector potentials and demonstrates their application to the calculation of electric and magnetic dipole radiation and to the propagation modes of a rectangular waveguide. (Author/SL)

Investigates whether replacing a single traditional laboratory activity with a widely-used, non-microcomputer-based laboratory, research-based activity could produce improved conceptual understanding of a topic in electricity. Shows that a single instructional experience utilizing the research-based tutorial materials is superior to a traditional…

Discusses the philosophy and operation of a self-instructional laboratory at MIT which utilizes visual materials reinforced by audio tapes and is designed to give the student a taste of how to collect, display, and interpret data. Indicates that the approach results in the flexibility needed to serve self-paced courses. (CC)

Discusses the use of a set of experiments to provide undergraduate electrical engineering students with a knowledge of the state of the art in modern coherent optics from an engineering standpoint. (CC)

Presents brief notes on new ideas, equipment, techniques, or materials of interest to teachers of physics. An apparatus that demonstrates the uniform acceleration of gravity, and a simple way to demonstrate nuclear blocking patterns of crystal lattices are among new ideas presented. (HM)