Search results for " physics education"
showing 10 items of 24 documents
Multidisciplinary learning at the University scientific museums: the Bunsen burner
2017
We report on a laboratory activity carried out together with secondary school (high-school) students, with the aim of increasing their interest toward historical scientific instruments and stimulate their approach to scientific knowledge. To this purpose, we propose a hands-on activity that can be fruitfully performed at the University scientific museums. We organized a one-week summer stage at the Historical Collection of Physics Instruments and at the Museum of Chemistry of the University of Palermo. A group of selected students attended it, under the tutoring of university researchers. They were showed some Bunsen burners belonging to the collections, how they are restored, how they work…
The evolution and revival structure of angular momentum quantum wave packets (Tutorial)
1999
In this paper a coherent superposition of angular momentum states created by absorption of polarized light by molecules is analyzed. Attention is paid to the time evolution of wave packets representing spatial orientation of internuclear axis of diatomic molecule. Two examples are considered in detail. Molecules absorbing light in a permanent magnetic field experiencing Zeeman effect and molecules absorbing light in a permanent electric field experiencing quadratic Stark effect. In a magnetic field we have a wave packet that evolves in time exactly as classical dipole oscillator in a permanent magnetic field. In the second case we have the wave packet that goes through periodical changes of…
Applications of sinusoidal phase modulation in temporal optics to highlight some properties of the Fourier transform
2019
International audience; Fourier analysis plays a major role in the analysis and understanding of many phenomena in physics and contemporary engineering. However, students, who have often discovered this notion through numerical tools, do not necessarily understand all the richness that can be derived from joint analysis in the temporal and spectral domains, particularly in the field of optics. As part of the second year of the Master's degree in Physics Lasers and Materials at the University of Burgundy, we have set up a set of experiments to highlight these concepts and to show, on a non-trivial example of periodic phase modulation, the precautions to be taken in the interpretation of the …
Introductory Quantum Physics Courses using a LabVIEW multimedia module
2007
We present the development of a LabVIEW multimedia module for introductory Quantum Physics courses and our experience in the use of this application as an educational tool in learning methodologies. The program solves the Time Dependent Schrodinger Equation for arbitrary potentials. We describe the numerical method used for solving this equation, as well as some mathematical tools employed to reduce the calculation time and to obtain more accurate results. As an illustration, we present the evolution of a wave packet for three different potentials: the repulsive barrier potential, the repulsive step potential, and the harmonic oscillator. This application has been successfully integrated in…
Teaching gauge theory to first year students
2020
One of the biggest revelations of 20th century physics, is virtually unheard of outside the inner circles of particle physics. This is the gauge theory, the foundation for how all physical interactions are described and a guiding principle for almost all work on new physics theories. Is it not our duty as physicists to try and spread this knowledge to a wider audience? Here, two simple gauge theory models are presented that should be understandable without any advanced mathematics or physics and it is demonstrated how they can be used to show how gauge symmetries are used to construct the standard model of particle physics. This is also used to describe the real reason we need the Higgs fie…
Textbook myths about early atomic models
2022
Most physics textbooks at college and university level introduce quantum physics in a historical context. However, the textbook version of this history does not match the actual history. In this article, the first in a series of articles looking at the textbook description of the quantum history, we follow an exceptional student through her endeavors to understand the early atomic models that led up to the work of Niels Bohr. We experience her disappointment when she discovers that the description of the famous atomic model by Thomson, is a mere caricature with almost no trace of Thomson's work and that the supposedly important radiative instability of Rutherford's atoms, is not there at al…
A teaching proposal for the didactics of Special Relativity: the spacetime globe
2022
Abstract Special Relativity introduces students to Modern Physics, whose importance in the high school is increasing. Nevertheless its teaching and learning is a critical issue. Different solutions have been developed to overcome the encountered difficulties. In this paper we describe the spacetime globe, a mechanical instrument that allows to experience Special Relativity hands-on. We show how it is possible to treat all the main phenomena foreseen by Special Relativity with simple laboratory experiences, using the idea of Minkowski’s spacetime diagrams. The aim is to develop the use of geometrical approach in learning Special Relativity in high schools.
La distribuzione di Maxwell-Boltzmann: i risultati di una sperimentazione svolta nell'ambito dei corsi di laurea in ingegneria
2011
This paper describes the outcomes of an teaching experiment conducted in the seminar held at the Faculty Engineering of Palermo University. The theme of the seminar focused on undergraduate experiment that yields the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons by analyzing the I-V characteristics of diodes and triodes. By using a simple model, the velocity distribution of thermionic electrons emitted by the vacuum tube cathode can be described by Maxwell's distribution. The experiment allows students to focus on the distribution function more than on difficulties arising from the complexity of thermionic emission. Questo articolo descrive i risultati di una sperimentazione didattica condo…
A framework for designing experimental tasks in contemporary physics lab courses
2023
While lab courses are an integral part of studying physics aiming at a huge variety of learning objectives, research has shown that typical lab courses do not reach all the desired goals. While diverse approaches by lab instructors and researchers try to increase the effectiveness of lab courses, experimental tasks remain the core of any lab course. To keep an overview of these developments and to give instructors (and researchers) a guideline for their own professional efforts at hand, we introduce a research-informed framework for designing experimental tasks in contemporary physics lab courses. In addition, we demonstrate within the scope of the EU-co-funded DigiPhysLab-project how the f…
Developing Epistemologically Empowered Teachers: An Approach to Preservice Physics Teacher Education Focusing on History and Philosophy of Science
2009
It has been extensively acknowledged by educational researchers and teacher educators that the main goal of science education is to make student aware that science is an important component of our cultural heritage, with the final purpose of forming the citizen. In order to realize this goal, school science teachers need to possess a basic knowledge of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) that gives an overall perception of the subject taught in its relationships with other fields and everyday life. In the present chapter, attention is given to the problem of HPS in physics teachers education, by designing a model of intervention aimed at deepening and widening the teachers’ disciplinary…