Validated conceptual multiple-choice surveys administered before and after instruction in relevant concepts can be useful tools to gauge the effectiveness of curricula and pedagogical strategies. Here we discuss the use of four different validated surveys to investigate student understanding: The Energy and Momentum Conceptual Survey (EMCS), the…

In this paper, we show a laboratory experience describing the possibility to build a sensor using a coil to measure small thicknesses of materials with the possibility of measuring temperature simultaneously, with the same built sensor. Its operation is based on the following facts: An electric current (a.c), flows through a coil and a magnetic…

The role of peer and teacher mediation in discussions about two original scientific texts in the final year of high school in Brazil is explored in this study. A text by James C. Maxwell, deals with the characterisation of light as an electromagnetic phenomenon, and refers to the continuous manner of the distribution of energy by radiation in…

This paper describes an undergraduate laboratory experiment where students study the heating behavior of magnetic nanoparticles in the presence of alternating magnetic fields. Average score on the post-test was 45±12% for students who completed the lab online, versus 43±11% for those doing the activity hands-on. Post-test scores were significantly…

This paper presents a brief review of Ising's work done in 1925 for one dimensional spin chain with periodic boundary condition. Ising observed that no phase transition occurred at finite temperature in one dimension. He erroneously generalized his views in higher dimensions but that was not true. In 1941 Kramer and Wannier obtained…

A major consequence of special relativity, expressed in the relation E[subscript 0] = mc[superscript 2], is that the total energy content of an object at rest, including its thermal motion and binding energy among its constituents, is a measure of its inertia, i.e., its mass. This relation was first stated by Einstein. He showed that, in order to…

The paper describes a set of physics demonstration experiments where thermal sensitive foils are used for the detection of the two dimensional distribution of temperature. The method is used for the demonstration of thermal conductivity, temperature change in adiabatic processes, distribution of electromagnetic radiation in a microwave oven and…

We study the equilibrium thermodynamics of the electromagnetic radiation in a cavity of a given volume and temperature. We found three levels of description, the thermodynamics of one mode, the thermodynamics of the distribution of frequencies in a band by summing over the frequencies in it and the global thermodynamics by summing over all the…

In this work, we review two formalisms of coherent states for the case of a particle in a magnetic field. We focus our revision on both pioneering (Feldman and Kahn 1970 "Phys. Rev." B 1 4584) and recent (Kowalski and Rembielinski 2005 "J. Phys. A: Math. Gen." 38 8247) formulations of coherent states for this problem. We introduce a general…

Infrared thermal imaging is a valuable tool in physics education at the university level. It can help to visualize and thereby enhance understanding of physical phenomena from mechanics, thermal physics, electromagnetism, optics and radiation physics, qualitatively as well as quantitatively. We report on its use as lecture demonstrations, student…

Reviews the theories and fundamental principles of physics as they relate to the comprehensibility of the cosmos. (DKM)

Einstein, who had already developed the light-quantum theory, knew the inadequacy of Maxwell's theory in the microscopic sphere. Therefore, in writing his paper on special relativity, he had to set up the light-velocity postulate independently of the relativity postulate in order to make the electromagnetic foundation of physics compatible with…

The key to learning is student involvement! This American Association of Physics Teachers/Physics Teaching Resource Agents (AAPT/PTRA) manual presents examples of two techniques that are proven to increase student involvement in your classroom. Based on the "5E" model of learning, exploratories are designed to get your students excited about the…