We investigated physics students' epistemological views on measurements and validity of experimental results. The roles of experiments in physics have been underemphasized in previous research on students' personal epistemology, and there is a need for a broader view of personal epistemology that incorporates experiments. An epistemological…

An experimental setup allowing the observation of two-laser interference by the naked eye is described. The key concept is the use of an electronic phase lock between two external cavity diode lasers. The experiment is suitable both for undergraduate and graduate students, mainly in atomic physics laboratories. It gives an opportunity for…

Liquid-free cryogenic devices are acquiring importance in basic science and engineering. But they can also lead to improvements in teaching low temperature and solid-state physics to graduate students and specialists. Most of the devices are relatively expensive, but small-sized equipment is slowly becoming available. Here, we have designed…

During a five-year period the authors taught over 100 students in a graduate course (The Nature of Science) counting toward teacher certification at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Despite the fact that students had undergraduate degrees in the sciences, most of them found the application of models in science challenging and the…

A simple rocket can be made using a plastic bottle filled with a volume of water and pressurized air. When opened, the air pressure pushes the water out of the bottle. This causes an increase in the bottle momentum so that it can be propelled to fairly long distances or heights. Water rockets are widely used as an educational activity, and several…