Describes a method to combine two learning experiences--optical physics and matrix mathematics--in a straightforward laboratory experiment that allows engineering/physics students to integrate a variety of learning insights and technical skills, including using lasers, studying refraction through thin lenses, applying concepts of matrix…

Explains the use of a Sun Tower in different activities at elementary grade levels while addressing national and state science standards. Shows the movement and motion of the sun in the sky. Introduces an activity that includes the sun tower in which students observe the changes of shadows every half hour. (YDS)

In addition to their restricted peripheral fields, persons with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) report significant problems seeing in low levels of illumination, which causes difficulty with night travel. Several devices have been developed to support the visual needs of persons who have night blindness. These devices include wide-angle flashlights,…

The main goals of these activities are to help students learn how a convex lens can serve as a magnifying lens and how light travels and creates images. These explorations will introduce middle school students to different types of lenses and how they work. Students will observe and describe how lenses bend light that passes through them and how…

This article illustrates how the overhead projector can be used as a light source in some peculiar ways for physics demonstrations. Five examples are included: (1) Study of chromatic aberration; (2) Making giant Newton's rings; (3) Comparison of the rate of heat absorption by different surfaces; (4) Demonstration of greenhouse effect; and (5)…

An experiment which enables students to determine the index of refraction at various wavelengths is demonstrated by using two polymers examples, poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). This experiment would be suitable for a course in organic chemistry or any course discussing the optical properties of polymeric…

A pinhole camera is a camera without a lens. A tiny hole replaces the lens, and light is allowed to come in for short amount of time by means of a hand-operated shutter. The pinhole allows only a very narrow beam of light to enter, which reduces confusion due to scattered light on the film. This results in an image that is focused, reversed, and…

Presents several topics in color photography which can serve as an introduction of scientific concepts into the classroom, such as: photochemistry (energy transport), organic chemistry (dye formation), physics (nature of light), psychology (color perception), and engineering (isolation of different chemical processes within layers of the film).…

Provides information on how humans see color including sensitivity of the eye, spatial effects, and temporal effects, and relative to the characteristics of the human eye explains how color is measured. (GS)

In his "The Making of the Atomic Bomb," Richard Rhodes remarks of the July 16, 1945, Trinity atomic bomb test in New Mexico that "had astronomers been watching they could have seen it reflected from the moon, literal moonshine," an allusion to Ernest Rutherford's famous dismissal of the prospect of atomic energy. Investigating…

Deals with the subject of laser hazards, laser hazards control, and laser safety practices in the laboratory. Describes four categories of hazards: radiative, electrical, explosive, and toxic, and explains the status of federal regulations that seek to define lazer hazards and control safety standards. (Author/GS)

Arguing that an artist using any new medium must understand its techniques and limitations, this master's thesis is intended to demystify state-of-the-art 3-D computer graphics through a discussion of the technical literature from the artist's point of view and an analysis of the curricular needs of the artist. The first of six chapters discusses…

Presents two arguments concerning the role of the photon. One states that the photon is just another particle distinguished by a particular value of charge, spin, mass, lifetime, and interaction properties. The second states that the photon plays a fundamental role with a deep relation to ultimate formulas of physics. (GS)