Physics practical classes form an important part of many scientific and technical courses in higher education. In addition to the older standard experiments, such practicals now generally include a few computer-controlled experiments developed in association with the research groups active in the particular university or college. Since there is relatively little exchange of information between the teaching staff of different institutes, the personal computer, despite its ubiquity, is underexploited in this role as a teaching aid. The present book provides a detailed description of a number of computer-controlled experiments suitable for practical classes. Both the relevant physics and the computational techniques are presented in a form that enables the readers to construct and/or perform the experiment themselves.
Physics practical classes form an important part of many scientific and technical courses in higher education. In addition to the older standard experiments, such practicals now generally include a few computer-controlled experiments developed in association with the research groups active in the particular university or college. Since there is relatively little exchange of information between the teaching staff of different institutes, the personal computer, despite its ubiquity, is underexploited in this role as a teaching aid. The present book provides a detailed description of a number of computer-controlled experiments suitable for practical classes. Both the relevant physics and the computational techniques are presented in a form that enables the readers to construct and/or perform the experiment themselves.
Physics practical classes form an important part of many scientific and technical courses in higher education. In addition to the older standard experiments, such practicals now generally include a few computer-controlled experiments developed in association with the research groups active in the particular university or college. Since there is relatively little exchange of information between the teaching staff of different institutes, the personal computer, despite its ubiquity, is underexploited in this role as a teaching aid. The present book provides a detailed description of a number of computer-controlled experiments suitable for practical classes. Both the relevant physics and the computational techniques are presented in a form that enables the readers to construct and/or perform the experiment themselves.
This book presents a set of low-cost physics experiments, making use of the new technologies available (data collection and analysis systems by computers, Internet, video, commercial electronics, smartphones, etc.), while highlighting the methodological aspects of physics and science in general. The projects are aimed at university students of science and engineering, although some may be used in high schools.The experiments would enable students to answer the questions: How do we know this? Why do we believe in that? These questions illustrate the nature of scientific thinking process.This book is complemented by the site www.fisicarecreativa.com, where several of the projects presented here were carried out by students from different universities. We hope it can be used as an innovative STEM learning tools.
This book on the use of Arduino and Smartphones in physics experiments, with a focus on mechanics, introduces various techniques by way of examples. The main aim is to teach students how to take meaningful measurements and how to interpret them. Each topic is introduced by an experiment. Those at the beginning of the book are rather simple to build and analyze. As the lessons proceed, the experiments become more refined and new techniques are introduced. Rather than providing recipes to be adopted while taking measurements, the need for new concepts is raised by observing the results of an experiment. A formal justification is given only after a concept has been introduced experimentally. The discussion extends beyond the taking of measurements to their meaning in terms of physics, the importance of what is learned from the laws that are derived, and their limits. Stress is placed on the importance of careful design of experiments as to reduce systematic errors and on good practices to avoid common mistakes. Data are always analyzed using computer software. C-like structures are introduced in teaching how to program Arduino, while data collection and analysis is done using Python. Several methods of graphical representation of data are used.
Long-listed for the 2016 PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award "An important book that provides insight into key new developments in our understanding of the nature of space, time and the universe. It will repay careful study." --John Gribbin, The Wall Street Journal "An endlessly surprising foray into the current mother of physics' many knotty mysteries, the solving of which may unveil the weirdness of quantum particles, black holes, and the essential unity of nature." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) What is space? It isn't a question that most of us normally ask. Space is the venue of physics; it's where things exist, where they move and take shape. Yet over the past few decades, physicists have discovered a phenomenon that operates outside the confines of space and time: nonlocality-the ability of two particles to act in harmony no matter how far apart they may be. It appears to be almost magical. Einstein grappled with this oddity and couldn't come to terms with it, describing it as "spooky action at a distance." More recently, the mystery has deepened as other forms of nonlocality have been uncovered. This strange occurrence, which has direct connections to black holes, particle collisions, and even the workings of gravity, holds the potential to undermine our most basic understandings of physical reality. If space isn't what we thought it was, then what is it? In Spooky Action at a Distance, George Musser sets out to answer that question, offering a provocative exploration of nonlocality and a celebration of the scientists who are trying to explain it. Musser guides us on an epic journey into the lives of experimental physicists observing particles acting in tandem, astronomers finding galaxies that look statistically identical, and cosmologists hoping to unravel the paradoxes surrounding the big bang. He traces the often contentious debates over nonlocality through major discoveries and disruptions of the twentieth century and shows how scientists faced with the same undisputed experimental evidence develop wildly different explanations for that evidence. Their conclusions challenge our understanding of not only space and time but also the origins of the universe-and they suggest a new grand unified theory of physics. Delightfully readable, Spooky Action at a Distance is a mind-bending voyage to the frontiers of modern physics that will change the way we think about reality.
Interquanta (IQ), an interactive program on quantum mechanics allows students to do their own quantum physics experiments on the computer, and to study in 3D color graphics such quantities as complex probability amplitude, eigencalues, scattering cross sections, and more. By experiencing many such computer experiments, students gain a unique, "hands-on" experience in quantum physics which is otherwise difficult to achieve. The graphic features include two-and three-dimensional graphics in the form of static frames and motion pictures. Students do no programming, and hence need no previous detailed knowledge of this. The program has a very convenient, self-explanatory user interface based on the Java software technology. The book provides a recapitulation of the basic quantum mechanical formula, a manual to the IQ program, and a complete course with more than 300 tested problems. Fully automatic demonstration sessions are provided as introduction to interactive work. Physics topics covered include free particles, bound states and scattering in various potentials in one and three space dimensions, two-particle systems, properties of special functions of mathematical physics.
This book is about how microcomputers can be used to help control and interface with sensors in laboratory experiments. The computer work is done mostly in the context of several physics experiments, such as the physics of activation temperature, heat diffusion, and motion in fluids. These experiments show how with computer control conceptually sophisticated experiments can be performed with simple apparati. The authors explain how the computer interfaces with common sensing devices, including digital-to-analog coverter, analog-to-digital converter, timers, digital input and output devices, optical encoders, stepping motors, and analog amplifiers, to provide a link between the experimenter and the physical phenomena being studied. The authors chose the IBM-PC, AT, or XT (which can apply to clones as long as they have expansion slots to accomodate boards) as their example, and use Turbo Pascal (Version 4.0 or greater) throughout the book for programming. Most of the programs will be presented by way of example, so some experience in computer programming is necessary. The equivalent of two semesters of college physics is also helpful to understand the experiments.
