Describes the theory and application of an atomic fountain which pushes the atoms by laser pulses. Discusses the applications in measuring atomic properties and in building an atomic clock. (YP)

Described is the subject of biological scaling for physics teachers including examples and in-depth reading. Topics are elements of scaling, terminal velocities, Lilliputian and Brobdingnagian, brain evolution, dolphin echolocation, surface tension, gravity change, food and oxygen, and seeing. Ten references on physics and size, and ten questions…

Evidence is presented negating the theory that gravitoinertial force is perceived. It is suggested that spatial orientation is based on information derived from patterns of motion of the organism, the surface of support, and compensatory actions of the organism. Recommendations for further research are outlined. (SLD)

Describes an experiment for determining the refractive index. Discusses the experiment procedure and mathematical expression for calculating the index. Provides two geometrical diagrams and a graph for determining the index with a typical data. (YP)

Discusses image reflection in a plane mirror. Illustrates several cases of the reflection and points out the possibility of confusing students by using the term "lateral inversion." (YP)

Discusses the use of logarithm and reciprocal graphs in the college physics classroom. Provides examples, such as electrical conductivity, reliability function in the Weibull model, and the Clausius-Clapeyron equation for latent heat of vaporation. Shows graphs with weighting of points. (YP)

Describes an experiment designed to disprove the belief that an electrical field originating from a point inside a closed conducting surface cannot produce an electric field outside this surface. (ZWH)

Presents the results of two national surveys of two-year college physics faculty that included educational background, teaching, and interaction with students. Reports certain strengths of these colleges including: the focus on students, the attention to introductory pedagogy, and the willingness to take students from where they are to where they…

Presents a two-part activity which gives middle-level students concrete experiences with two different aspects of the concept of diffusion. (MKR)

Presents the case study of a university-level instructor teaching a course in physical science to prospective elementary and early childhood teachers. Concludes that the beliefs of the instructor constrained the enacted curriculum to an extent that gaps between the needs of students and the enacted curriculum were wider at the end of the course.…

Describes an in-depth, comprehensive method that enables students to understand the basic concepts of visual perception. (JRH)

Uses videotaped lectures and interviews to understand lectures in a physics course for prospective elementary teachers. Reports that the professor staged Aristotle, natural philosophy, and students' observations and intuitive knowledge in opposition to Galileo, controlled experiments, and mathematical inscriptions. Concludes that this form of…

Through a physical, historical, and epistemological analysis, it is shown how much is wrong with the idea that relates impetus theory to a "non-grown-up" physical and epistemological conception. The possible relevance of impetus theory for science education is strongly pointed out. (Author/PR)

Discusses the term microworld; develops a conceptual framework to analyze the sense in which the world metaphor may or may not hold; and describes a study of high school physics students working individually with the computer microworld "Elmira" that was conducted to analyze how their thinking was worldlike. (Contains 11 references.)…