The purpose of this project was to investigate the effects of virtual versus physical manipulation using a simulation-based laboratory activity (SBL) and a microcomputer-based laboratory activity (MBL). Both the SBL and the MBL used computers to collect, graph, and analyze data. A major difference was that the MBL allowed the students to…

Cooper pair splitting is predicted to occur in hybrid devices where a superconductor is coupled to two ferromagnetic wires placed at a distance less than the superconducting coherence length. This thesis searches for signatures of this process, called crossed Andreev reflection (CAR), in three device geometries. The first devices studied are…

Gravity currents are flows that occur when a horizontal density difference causes fluid to move under the action of gravity; density currents are a particular case, for which the scalar causing the density difference is conserved. Flows with a strong effect of the horizontal density difference, even if only partially driven by it--such as the…

Basic laws of thermodynamics and mechanics are used to analyse an air gun. Such devices are often employed in outdoor physics demonstrations to launch potatoes using compressed gas that is here assumed to expand reversibly and adiabatically. Reasonable agreement is found with reported muzzle speeds for such homebuilt cannons. The treatment is…

It is shown that, by applying elementary concepts in electromagnetism and electrochemistry to a system consisting of salt water flowing in a thin rectangular pipe at an average velocity v[subscript A] under the influence of a transverse magnetic field B[subscript 0], an electromotive force generator can be conceived. In fact, the Lorentz force…

It is shown that quantum systems of identical particles can be treated as different when they are in well-differentiated states. This simplifying assumption allows for the consideration of quantum systems isolated from the rest of the universe and justifies many intuitive statements about identical systems. However, it is shown that this…

This paper describes an interesting sound phenomenon from a modern copy of the Chinese ancient variable bell which can emit distinctly different sounds at different temperatures. By means of audition--spectrum analyser software--and PC, the sound signals of the variable bell are collected and the fundamental spectra are shown on the PC. The…

The energy and parity eigenstates for quadrupolar, triple [delta]-function potential are analysed. Using the analytical solutions in specific domains, simple expressions are obtained for even- and odd-parity bound-state energies. The Heisenberg uncertainty product is observed to have a minimum for a specific strength of the potential. The…

In Planck's model of the harmonic oscillator (HO) a century ago, both the energy and the phase space were quantized according to epsilon[subscript n] = nhv, n = 0, 1, 2..., and [double integral]dp[subscript x] dx = h. By referring to just these two relations, we show how the adoption of "cycle-averaged phase-space states" (CAPSSs) leads to the…

A pair of masses or opposite-sign charges released from rest will move directly toward each other under the action of the inverse-distance-squared force of attraction between them. An exact expression for the separation distance as a function of time can only be found by numerically inverting the solution of a differential equation. A simpler,…

It is shown how a modern extension of Fourier analysis known as wavelet analysis is applied to signals containing multiscale information. First, a continuous wavelet transform is used to analyse the spectrum of a nonstationary signal (one whose form changes in time). The spectral analysis of such a signal gives the strength of the signal in each…

The exact expressions for the drain time and the height, velocity and acceleration of the free surface are found for the draining reservoir problem of the incompressible and non-viscous liquid. Contrary to the conventional approximate results, they correctly describe the initial time dependence of the liquid velocity and acceleration. Torricelli's…

The adaptive range of 1/f dynamics in isometric force output was investigated. Participants produced isometric force to targets with predictable demands (constant and sinusoidal) and 1/f noise waveforms (white, pink, brown, and black) that also varied in the frequency bandwidth represented in the force signal (0-4 Hz, 0-8 Hz, and 0-12 Hz). The…

There are many ways to visualize flow, either for laminar or turbulent flows. A very convincing way to show laminar and turbulent flows is by the perturbations on the surface of a beam of water coming out of a cylindrical tube. Photographs, taken with a flash, show the nature of the flow of water in pipes. They clearly show the difference between…

Water-flow analogies are helpful in understanding electricity. For example, in the Lodge model, the constant DC voltage source (a battery) is represented by a U-tank with two water columns of the same cross-sectional area connected by a horizontal duct in which a pump is installed. The pump maintains the difference of the levels of the two water…