Physics teachers are often faced with the challenge of having to set up difficult experiments, or they have to consciously manipulate parameters in order to be able to demonstrate a phenomenon convincingly. Comprehensive laboratory courses are standard procedure in any study program for prospective physics teachers. However, many students, even…

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics and engineering and important applications are expected in quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum cryptography, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology. Thus the need for education in this field is increasing, while still remaining challenging. While the need for basic education in quantum…

Air pollution is one of our day's significant reasons for human health problems and affects every community throughout the world. Monitoring air pollution is a key aspect of raising awareness and pollution mitigation approaches followed by different nations. This paper targets to develop a low-cost Internet of things-based embedded system to…

The current pandemic era demands distance learning, including physics experiments on the topic of optics. One of the optical phenomena that needs to be explained in optic courses is fluorescence. This study offers a simple home experiment regarding the application of fluorescence, namely to identify the purity of olive oil using simple…

We outline the basic theory behind white light interferometry and the workings of a typical light interferometer microscope. We study WLI images obtained for rough and smooth chrome steel spheres to illustrate the principle that curved rough surfaces can be imaged with such a device as long as the surface roughness is kept within certain limits.

The distinction between pressure in a liquid and in a gas is often treated in a cursory way, or not treated at all, even in university level textbooks. Most texts fail to point out the relation between pressure and density in a gas as compared to pressure in a--virtually incompressible--liquid. In many instances this also results in a dismissive…

Oblique angle collisions of two penny coins on a smooth, horizontal surface were filmed with a video camera to investigate the physics of the collision process. If one of the coins is initially at rest, then the two coins emerge approximately at right angles, as commonly observed in billiard ball collisions and in puck collisions on an air table.…

Measurements and calculations are presented showing how the trajectory of an object sliding across an inclined plane varies with the launch and incline angles. The trajectory depends on the magnitude and direction of the sliding friction force. The experiment is easy to set up, can be analysed using a video camera, and would be suitable for a…

Electrostatic force is the preliminary and fundamental topic that forms the bedrock on which the conceptual framework of "electromagnetism" is built. Being a 'vector' quantity, electromagnetic force naturally inherits direction as well as magnitude. The conceptualization of such physical quantities may pose a challenge. The present work…

We present a new secondary school teaching method of quantum uncertainties of two-state systems. Intending to be a material teachable in schools, only two-state systems described by real numbers can be considered. An elementary argumentation based on school statistics leads to the identification of the uncertainty of a physical quantity in such…

Here, we propose the use of magnetic levitation (MagLev) device, as a simple, cheap, and portable experimental technique to measure the density of diamagnetic materials in laboratory settings. We highlight the basics of a standard MagLev system for measuring the density of unknown diamagnetic materials/objects using permanent magnets, paramagnetic…

Teaching materials used in distance education are generally obtained from the internet as ready-made by teachers. Materials such as simulation, animation and presentation are usually limited to the frame drawn by the creator and do not allow changes outside this limit. In addition, many of these types of materials do not have a feedback mechanism.…

The oscillations of one mass "m" suspended between two different springs, assuming a friction force proportional to the velocity [minuscule], have been studied. For this purpose, an assembly for this system has been made. The movement of the mass is recorded with a smartphone and analysed with "Tracker." It is obtained that the…

We consider the operation of the hypothetical mechanical vehicle driven by an engine powered by small rockets introduced by P D Hanstead in the inaugural volume of this journal. Hanstead arrived at three contradictory conclusions regarding the change in velocity should some of the rockets malfunction at a particular time. This thought experiment…

In this article, we propose a simple and accessible model of a magnetic levitator fitted with a Hall sensor. This model also allows to determine the magnitude of the magnetic field within the levitator working volume. Students can also compare the experimental magnetic field values to reference values in magnetism textbooks. This Arduino-based…