Although students take courses in transport phenomena and thermodynamics, they probably do not ask whether these two subjects are related. Here we give an answer to that question. Specifically we give relationships between the equations of change for total energy, internal energy, and entropy of transport phenomena and key equations of equilibrium…

Students are better able to understand Newton's first law when they build from their own personal experiences of bicycling, skateboarding, or riding in a car. Most have experienced a tumble when their skateboard or bicycle comes to an abrupt stop. Alternately in a car, your body continues moving when the brakes are applied and you feel the force…

Acoustic levitation uses a resonant ultrasonic standing wave to suspend small objects; it is used in a variety of research disciplines, particularly in the study of phase transitions and materials susceptible to contamination, or as a stabilization mechanism in microgravity environments. The levitation equipment used for such research is quite…

Paul Hewitt's "Figuring Physics" in the Feb. 2016 issue asked whether it would take a larger velocity change to stop a satellite in a circular orbit or to cause it to escape. An extension of this problem asks: What "minimum" velocity change is required to crash a satellite into the planet, and how does that compare with the…

Physics can be a weighty subject, full of substance and gravitas. It is therefore perhaps entirely reasonable that a central topic of the discipline is mass. But what is mass, really? What is the origin and nature of this most essential feature of the world around us? And are there any surprises to be had as we dig deeper into that question? In…

The butterfly theorem is proved by assigning point masses to the four vertices of the wings and using the distributive property of the mass centre of a mechanical system.

Scholars in science and technology studies--and no doubt other fields--have increasingly drawn on Michel Foucault's concept of biopolitics to theorize a variety of new "bio-concepts." While there might be some theoretical value in such exercises, many of these bio-concepts have simply replaced more rigorous--and therefore…

The measurement of the speed of sound in air with the resonance tube is a popular experiment that often yields accurate results. One approach is to hold a vibrating tuning fork over an air column that is partially immersed in water. The column is raised and lowered in the water until the generated standing wave produces resonance: this occurs at…

There are several variations of resonance laboratory activities used to determine the speed of sound. This is "not" one of them. This activity uses the resonance tube idea to teach "resonance," not to verify the speed of sound. Prior to this activity, the speed of sound has already been measured using computer sound-sensors and…

Traditionally we consider infection to arise from viruses, bacteria and parasites. Prions are infectious proteins without any nucleic acids, and therefore do not represent living things. Despite this, they have the ability to replicate themselves and cause diseases such as mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encepthalopathy) and human…

Oscillating chemical reactions in the homogeneous phase have been studied intensively only since the mid-1960s, but they were known since 1920, having as forerunners the chemist William C. Bray and an "atypical" chemist Alfred J. Lotka. This contribution is the result of a careful reading of their literature and patient research into…

Most international curricula require students to develop conceptual and procedural understandings along with developing an understanding about the nature of science. Moreover, science education endeavours to produce scientifically literate citizens capable of making informed decisions about the social-scientific issues in their everyday lives;…

An interactive activity to teach the hot Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen (HCNO) cycle is proposed. Justification for why the HCNO cycle is important is included via an example of x-ray bursts. The activity allows teaching and demonstration of half-life, nuclear isotopes, nuclear reactions, protons and a-particles, and catalytic processes. Whilst the…

A software to calculate the net charge and to predict the isoelectric point (pI) of a polypeptide is developed in this work using the graphical programming language LabVIEW. Through this instrument the net charges of the ionizable residues of the chains of the proteins are calculated at different pH values, tabulated, pI is predicted and an Excel…

Hands-on experiences are excellent tools for increasing retention of first year engineering students. They also encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, a critical skill for modern engineers. In this paper, we describe and evaluate a joint Chemical and Materials Engineering hands-on lab that explores cross-linking and glass transition in…