This article describes a combined UV-photometer and fluorimeter constructed from 3 LEDs and a few wires, all held in place with Lego bricks. The instrument has a flexible design. In its simplest version, two UV-LEDs (355 nm) are used as light source and to detect absorption, and a third LED, in the visible spectrum (e.g., 525 nm), is used to…

A laboratory experiment for students in advanced inorganic chemistry is described. In this experiment, students prepare two metal complexes with a potentially bidentate-carbene ligand. The complexes are synthesized by reaction of a bisimidazolium salt with silver(I) oxide or palladium(II) acetate. Silver and palladium complexes are binuclear and…

An experiment exploring the chemistry of the carbonyl group for the one-step synthesis of "trans"-4,5- dibenzylaminocyclopent-2-enone is described. The reaction of furfural and dibenzylamine in the environmentally friendly solvent ethanol and catalyzed by the Lewis acid ErCl[subscript 3]·6H[subscript 2]O afforded the product in high…

Humans routinely use past experience with complexity to deal with novel, challenging circumstances. This fundamental aspect of real-world behavior has received surprisingly little attention in animal studies, and the underlying brain mechanisms are unknown. The present experiments tested for transfer from past experience in rats and then used…

The Bright Lights: Big Experiments! public engagement project enabled high school students Scottish S2 to prepare a short, 5 min video using their own words and in their own style to present a scientific experiment on the theme of light to their contemporaries via YouTube. This paper describes the various experiments that we chose to deliver and…

The lifetimes of the photoluminescent compounds contained in the coating of fluorescent compact lamps are usually measured using specialised instruments, including pulsed lasers and/or spectrofluorometers. Here we discuss how some low cost apparatuses, based on the use of either sensors for the educational lab or commercial digital photo cameras,…

We measure the vertical velocities of elevators, pedestrians climbing stairs, and drones (flying unmanned aerial vehicles), by means of smartphone pressure sensors. The barometric pressure obtained with the smartphone is related to the altitude of the device via the hydrostatic approximation. From the altitude values, vertical velocities are…

The 1990 film "The Hunt for Red October" (based on Tom Clancy's 1984 debut novel of the same name) featured actors like Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, but the star of the movie for physicists was a revolutionary new magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) marine propulsion system. The so-called "caterpillar drive" worked with no moving…

Exothermic reactions can present safety hazards and there is a recognized need for reaction safety education at the undergraduate level. We present an experiment that illustrates the pitfall of direct scale-up of an exothermic reaction that can lead to thermal runaway. The iodide-catalyzed hydrogen peroxide decomposition reaction yields…

The aim of this research was to design a simple experimental device to see electric field force lines using common components which are readily available in everyday life. A solution of baby oil was placed in a plastic container, 4.5 × 4.5 × 1 inches, with both ends of the electrodes (metal wire) immersed in the solution at a depth of 0.2 inches.…

We investigate a water-filled bottle rolling down an incline and ask the following question: is a rolling bottle better described by a model ignoring all internal motion where the bottle is approximated by a material point sliding down an incline, or is it better described by a rigid solid cylinder rolling down the incline without skidding? The…

Chilling is a cost-effective and safe method of immobilising flies in "Drosophila" experiments. However, should condensation form on the plate, it would be fatal to the flies. Here we describe a modified cooling method using reusable commercial ice pack(s) (ca. 400 ml, 2-3 cm tall) rather than crushed ice. The ice pack is covered with a…

If the end of a long chain, which is contained in an elevated beaker, is dropped over the edge of the beaker and falls, it is observed that as the speed of the chain increases the chain rises to form a loop well above the top of the beaker. The name "chain fountain" has been applied to this phenomenon. In this study the dependence of the…

This paper presents the development of a conductive gel that can be used to measure the electrical potential differences on its surface, and has enough consistency to plot equipotential lines. It has a gelation time of less than 10 min, and is suitable for implementing learning experiences in a physics teaching laboratory in a 90 min session. To…

With a rod, cord, pulleys, and slotted masses, students can observe and graph exponential growth in the cord tension over a factor of increase as large as several hundred. This experiment is adaptable for use either in algebra-based or calculus-based physics courses, fitting naturally with the study of sliding friction. Significant parts of the…