Discusses a demonstration in which the near and far focusing distances of a student volunteer are measured and his or her glasses prescription is computed. (HM)

Describes a demonstration in which the local inertial frame of reference can be obtained in the laboratory by allowing a cage to fall freely without rotation under the influence of gravity. (HM)

Discusses the naive usage of models in science, particularly in physics. Historical perspectives are presented, as well as some educational aspects of models. (SA)

Describes an interdisciplinary microcomputer and microelectronics program offered jointly by the Physics and Computer Science Departments of East Texas State University. The program operates on both the graduate and undergraduate level. Content as well as structure of the program are discussed. (Author/DS)

Describes ways in which physics-learning activity packets can be used by high school students participating in trips organized by other departments. Provides an example of physics activities incorporated into an airplane trip to Disney World. (CS)

Discusses free-fall acceleration in accelerated frames of reference of moving cars. Specifically, evidence presented by oil leaks on pavement is used as an example of exploring this phenomenon. (CS)

Presents a brief overview of the important processes and techniques used industrially for forming thin films. (HM)

Described are the components for a high-fidelity sound-reproducing system which focuses on various program sources, the amplifier, and loudspeakers. Discussed in detail are amplifier power and distortion, air suspension, loudspeaker baffles and enclosures, bass-reflex enclosure, drone cones, rear horn and acoustic labyrinth enclosures, horn…

Outlines a variety of laboratory procedures, discussions, and demonstrations including Brownian motion, a synchronous motor, jet engine, atmospheric pressure vortex ring machines, solid chemical dispensing, testing household detergents, wallchart storage, pollution by industrial chemicals, an optical illusion, and buoyancy. (GS)

Describes a one-quarter seminar course in modern physics through science fiction. Presents the course format, subject matter, reading assignments, writing assignments, and student response. (GS)

Describes how certain concepts basic to electron optics may be introduced to undergraduate physics students by calculating trajectories of charged particles through electrostatic fields which can be evaluated on minicomputers with a minimum of programing effort. (Author/SA)

Reviews the developments in the electrical sciences that occurred during the first half of the eighteenth century. Emphasizes the roles of the electric machine and the capacitor. (GS)

Presented are forms of harmonic oscillator attraction and Coulomb wave functions which can be explicitly constructed and which lead to numerical results for the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the atomic system. The Schrodinger equation and its solution and specific cases of muonic atoms illustrating numerical calculations are included.…

Describes problems using the Jenkins and White approach and standard diffraction theory when dealing with the topic of finite conjugate, point-source resolution and how they may be resolved using the relatively obscure Abbe's sine theorem. (JN)

Presents a reexamination of an intuitively geometric view of the nonrelativistic Pauli spinor in a simplified discussion of the connection between the rotation group and special transformations in the plane of projection. This view of the spinor is related to those based on the existence of an istropic or null vector. (SK)