Describes a concrete model for teaching the concepts of reflection and refraction without the use of formal mathematics. The model has been tested in five sections of a physics course for nonscience majors at Towson State University, Baltimore, Maryland. (HM)

Describes and illustrates the tutorial and homework exercise lessons, student routing, course organization, administration, and evaluation of a PLATO computer-based course in classical mechanics. An appendix lists 41 lessons developed for the course. (CMV)

Discusses how, through a series of sample problems and solutions, the notion of force as momentum flow can serve as the basis for vastly expanding the importance of Newton's third law as experienced by students in elementary mechanics courses. (Author/HM)

Described is the course of study for a physics major at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois. The program varies from the typical physics curriculum in that classical mechanics is taught in the sophomore year rather than waiting until the junior year as seen in the typical physics major's curriculum. (DS)

The Einstein-Hopf model for the thermodynamic equilibrium between the electromagnetic field and dipole oscillators is considered within the framework of quantum mechanics. Both the wave and particle aspects of the Einstein fluctuation formula are interpreted in terms of the fundamental absorption and emission processes. (Author/SK)

Discusses certain pitfalls regarding the uncertainty relation between angular momentum and the angle variable from a pedagogic point of view. Further, an uncertainty relation has been derived for these variables in a simple and consistant manner. (Author/HM)

Describes how physicists are zeroing in on a unified field theory. The contributions of particle physicists and a glossary for new particles are also presented. (HM)

Presented are several uses of the theory of accelerated frames. This approach, which does not require a knowledge of variational or energy methods, is intended for undergraduate students taking a first course in mechanics. (HM)

Discusses how the topic of surface water waves can be used in an introductory physics course. Applications in marine science are described. Formulas and activities using a ripple tank are discussed also. (CS)

The author derives, applying perturbation theory, from a simple astronomical model the approximate periods of secular variation of some of the parameters of the Earth's orbit and relates these periods to the past climate of the Earth, indicating the difficulties in predicting the climate of the future. (GA)

Described is an easy to assemble, and inexpensive, torsional pendulum which gives an accuracy of measurement of the modulus of rigidity, G, comparable to the accuracy obtained with the more expensive commercially available student models. (Author/GA)

The author explains that, for confining potentials and large quantum numbers, the bound-state energies rise more rapidly as a function of n the more rapidly the potential rises with distance. However, the spectrum can rise no faster than n squared in the nonrelativistic case, or n in the relativistic case. (Author/GA)

Suggests the use of a coordinate-free rotation operator for the teaching of rotations in Euclidean three space because of its twofold didactic advantage. Illustrates the potentialities of the coordinate-free rotation operator approach by a number of examples. (Author/GA)

Analyzes three examples of spatial Bose-Einstein condensations in which the particles macroscopically occupy the lowest localized state of an inhomogeneous external potential. The three cases are (1) a box with a small square potential well inside, (2) a harmonic oscillator potential, and (3) randomly sized trapping potentials caused by…

Shows, by a judicious exploitation of the Runge-Lenz vector, that the Kepler initial value problem is endowed with a nice geometric structure which enables one to determine, after a single trivial arithmetic calculation, the orbit associated with any given set of initial data. (Author/GA)