Discusses the two-capacitor problem by considering the self-inductance of the circuit used and by determining how well the usual series RC circuit approximates the two-capacitor problem when realistic values of L, C, and R are chosen. (GA)

For this 12-hour laboratory project students examine a model and explain why equipment is placed where it is, and then install some piping on the model. (BB)

Describes a laboratory activity which can be done with equipment normally available for introductory college courses. It measures the ratio of the radioactivity per unit mass of a unicellular alga to the radioactivity per unit mass of the medium in which it grows. (HM)

Describes an interactive Fortran computer program which provides an exercise in the identification of bacteria. Provides a way of enhancing a student's approach to systematic bacteriology and numerical identification procedures. (Author/MA)

Describes a simple seismograph which can be built quite easily and is sufficiently sensitive to record earthquake waves at home. (HM)

Reports on an examination of the potential of teletext as a curricular resource across the school curriculum and as a more general educational information resource. Two curriculum design and development tasks carried out by student teachers, involving currently available pages from teletext and screened-data techniques, are described and…

Presents an experiment on the bending of light in a medium with a continuously varying index of refraction. Several theoretical approaches for the analysis of this experiment, designed for college physics students, are also presented. (HM)

Describes an advanced undergraduate physics experiment which permits the measurement of ultrasound velocity and absorption in liquid systems. A description of the tasks the student is expected to perform is also included. (HM)

Discusses a demonstration in which the near and far focusing distances of a student volunteer are measured and his or her glasses prescription is computed. (HM)

Describes a demonstration in which the local inertial frame of reference can be obtained in the laboratory by allowing a cage to fall freely without rotation under the influence of gravity. (HM)

Describes a laboratory scale reactor that determines the kinetics of a gas-solid catalytic reaction. The external recycle reactor construction is detailed with accompanying diagrams. Experimental details, application of the reactor to CO oxidation kinetics, interphase gradients, and intraphase gradients are discussed. (CS)

Includes annotations of articles from previous issues of this periodical on the following topics: balancing equations and nomenclature, the mole, the silver tree experiment, and history of the periodic table. (CS)

Describes an air track experiment which involves a massive particle incident on a fixed wall with a light particle trapped in between. An analysis for this experiment, which is intended for junior and senior college students, is also included. (HM)

Presents four notes that report new equipment and techniques of interest to physics teachers. These notes deal with collosions of atoms in solids, determining the viscosity of a liquid, measuring the speed of sound and demonstrating Doppler effect. (HM)

Describes a laboratory experiment appropriate for a course in either x-ray crystallography or mineralogy. The experiment permits the direct observation of a polymorphic transition in nickel chromite without the use of a special heating stage or heating camera. (Author/GS)