Diagrams and photographs (or computer simulations) should not replace effective observations of the wave properties that can be illustrated using a ripple tank, but they can provide support when discussing and revising what has been observed. This article explains and illustrates a route towards successful photography, which is much easier with…

The classic jumping ring apparatus consists of a coil with an iron core that extends out of the coil. A copper or aluminum ring placed over the iron core jumps upward when AC power is applied to the coil. In this paper we will examine a modified design of the jumping ring apparatus, called the "long-coil design." It allows the ring to…

This article focuses on an illusion due to our perceptions regarding competing coordinate systems or frames. I share an interesting anecdote and then explain aspects of its origin, referencing other similar illusions in the literature. Although it is difficult to experience the phenomenon without visiting the hill, I have some suggestions to…

There exists a very simple materials laboratory activity that can measure the elasticity and yield stress of steel using only a paper clip, ruler, and small weight. It is the World's Simplest Materials Laboratory and utilizes items common to any science classroom. In addition to steel, the elasticity and yield stress of any metal wire can be…

Electrical engineers often use software to analyze electrical circuits in order to understand circuit behaviors. Such software allows them to modify components and develop and improve their designs. One popular kind of circuit analysis software is based on SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis). In what follows, I describe how…

The non-SI unit sverdrup, named to honor Norwegian oceanographer and meteorologist Harald Ulrik Sverdrup (1888-1957), is adopted for quantifying large-scale volume transport by oceanographers, meteorologists, and atmospheric physicists. The sverdrup is used to appraise the volumetric rate of evaporation, precipitation, runoff, transport of ocean…

It is common in introductory physics to show that in the absence of air drag an object dropped from rest will reach the level ground at exactly the same time as one that is projected horizontally from the same height. However, the situation is different in the presence of a speed-dependent drag force, as either object may hit first or they may hit…

In this paper we describe an activity for engaging students in crafting definitions. We explore the strengths of this particular activity as well as the broader implications of engaging students in crafting definitions more generally.

If a body is in equilibrium under the action of three non-parallel coplanar forces, the forces must be concurrent, that is, must meet at a single point. Specific examples are provided here to illustrate the validity of this statement by the use of free-body diagrams as well as during the discussion of equilibrium and moments. These cases are…

Two bodies initially at different temperatures gathered into an isolated container exchange heat and reach an equilibrium state with a common final temperature. During the process, the system is out of equilibrium and its intermediate temperature is not well defined. By conceiving a quasi-static process with infinitesimal steps from the initial to…

In our everyday life, it seems that magnetic phenomena are restricted to ferromagnetic materials or electromagnetism caused by electric currents. From a physics point of view, we know that this everyday experience is contrary to the nature of magnetic phenomena. If one regards the magnetic properties of the elements of the periodic table in their…

We have designed a simple Arduino-based experiment to study free fall. The experimental data associated to the free and vertical fall movement of a brass saucer are gathered with the help of an ultrasonic distance sensor and an Arduino board. The position-time curves obtained from different initial heights are then plotted and the acceleration of…

One of the most popular demonstration experiments pertaining to Bernoulli's principle is the production of a water spray by using a vertical plastic straw immersed in a glass of water and a horizontal straw to blow air towards the top edge of the vertical one. A more general version of this phenomenon, appearing also in school physics problems, is…

This article examines the tension between chance and determinism in Jorge Volpi's novel "En busca de Klingsor" and how this relationship is treated both in the narrative as well as in debates regarding physics, history, and politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Beginning from the understanding that the novel is a…

DBL is a novel pedagogical approach intended to improve students' conditional knowledge and problem-solving skills by exposing them to a sequence of branching learning decisions. The DBL software provided students with ample opportunities to engage in the expert decision-making processes involved in complex problem-solving and to receive…