The introduction of modern high-speed cameras in physics teaching provides a tool not only for easy visualization, but also for quantitative analysis of many simple though fast occurring phenomena. As an example, we present a very well-known demonstration experiment--sometimes also discussed in the context of falling chimneys--which is commonly…

Photogates are probably the most commonly used electronic instruments to aid experiments in the field of mechanics. Although they are offered by many manufacturers, they can be too expensive to be widely used in all classrooms, in multiple experiments or even at home experimentation. Today all computers have a sound card--an interface for analogue…

A laser diode from an inexpensive laser pen (laser pointer) is used in simple experiments. The radiant output power and efficiency of the laser are measured, and polarization of the light beam is shown. The "h/e" ratio is available from the threshold of spontaneous emission. The lasing threshold is found using several methods. With a…

We present a low-cost, fully computer-controlled, Arduino-based, educational laboratory (SolarInsight) to be used in undergraduate university courses concerned with electrical engineering and physics. The major goal of the system is to provide students with the necessary instrumentation, software tools and methodology in order to learn fundamental…

Interest in computer-based learning, especially in the use of virtual reality simulations is increasing rapidly. While there are good reasons to believe that technologies have the potential to improve teaching and learning, how to utilize the technology effectively in teaching specific content difficulties is challenging. To help students develop…

In this paper, coupled pendulums with different lengths are studied. Through steel magnets, each pendulum is coupled with others, and a stepping motor is used to drive the whole system. To record the data automatically, we designed a data acquisition system with a CCD camera connected to a computer. The coupled system shows in-phase, locked-phase…

In this paper, we present a laboratory activity in computed tomography (CT) primarily composed of a photogate and a rotary motion sensor that can be assembled quickly and partially automates data collection and analysis. We use an enclosure made with a light filter that is largely opaque in the visible spectrum but mostly transparent to the near…

Experiments with an electric motor provide good opportunity to demonstrate some basic laws of electricity and magnetism. The aim of the experiments with a low-power dc motor is to show how the motor approaches its steady rotation and how its torque, mechanical power and efficiency depend on the rotation velocity. The tight relationship between the…

FisL@bs is a network of remote and virtual laboratories for physics university education via the Internet that offers students the possibility of performing hands-on experiments in different fields of physics in two ways: simulation and real remote operation. This paper gives a detailed account of a novel way in physics in which distance learning…

This pedagogical activity is aimed at students using a computer-learning environment with advanced tools for data analysis. It investigates the relationship between the coefficient of restitution and the way the heights of different bouncing balls decrease in a number of bounces with time. The time between successive ball bounces, or…

The speed of light is an essential topic in the teaching of physics at school and at university, either with respect to the type of experiment or of course with respect to its genuine inherent importance. In reality, the various available experiments are hardly ever performed in class for many reasons. Therefore, we offer this experiment as a…

A three-dimensional heat transfer model is built according to the rotor structure of an asynchronous motor, and three-dimensional temperature fields of the rotor under different working conditions, such as the unloaded, rated loaded and that with broken rotor bars, are studied based on the finite element numerical method and experiments. The…

Images formed from light rays refracting a spherical surface are often introduced in textbooks using the paraxial approximation. Incoming rays propagating from the object meeting the surface of a transparent medium at a given point for which the angle is larger than 15 degrees with respect to the normal are not described accurately from the…

A basic setup for data acquisition and analysis from an oscillatory circuit is described, with focus on its application as either low-pass, high-pass, band-pass or band-reject frequency filter. A homemade board containing the "RLC" elements allows for the interchange of some of them, in particular, for the easy change of the "R" value, and this…

The absorption of beta rays from a radioactive source in different materials was investigated by the use of a simple setup based on a Geiger counter and a set of absorber sheets. The number of electrons traversing the material was measured as a function of its thickness. Detailed GEANT simulations were carried out to reproduce the obtained…