As part of the celebration of the international year of light and light-based technologies, this article presents an activity involving boiling water, sharp knives, gelatin powder, and a laser pointer. Students are instructed never look directly at a laser pointer because it can damage the eyes, and to make sure a responsible adult is present at…

Simply stated, light is nature's way of transferring energy through space. Discussions of light usually refer to visible light, which is perceived by the human eye and is responsible for the sense of sight. We see however, only a small part of the light spectrum. Light connects us as we sit and tell yarns around camp fires. Yet, one in every four…

This paper reports on the nature of the conceptual understandings developed by Year 12 Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) physics students as they made the transition from the essentially deterministic notions of classical physics, to interpretations characteristic of quantum theory. The research findings revealed the fact that the…

A method is described for building a cost effective digital circuit capable of monitoring the solar radiation incident upon a remote solar cell. The circuit is built in two sections, the first, digitises the analogue voltage produced by the solar cell at a remote location and transmits the received signal to the second receiver circuit which…