Describes the procedures and equipment for an experiment on the adiabatic expansion of gases suitable for demonstration and discussion in the physical chemical laboratory. The expansion produced shows how the process can change temperature and still return to a different location on an isotherm. (JN)

Reviews some of the literature concerned with teaching heat, briefly assessing treatments of the subject given in a number of textbooks and considering misconceptions which can develop from the way heat is currently taught in many schools. Suggests an approach for developing an understanding of heat and associated thermodynamic concepts. (JN)

Describes a lecture demonstration of a solid state phase transition using a thermodynamic material which changes state at room temperature. Also describes a demonstration on kinetics using a "Big Bang" (trade mark) calcium carbide cannon. Indicates that the cannon is safe to use. (JN)

Discusses low temperature heat transfer, transient heat transfer, and developments in steady state heat transfer. (SK)

Discusses various aspects of polymeric mixtures, mixtures of structurally different homopolymers, copolymers, terpolymers, and the like. Defines concepts of polymer-polymer miscibility from practical and theoretical viewpoints, and ways of predicting such miscibility. (JN)

Describes a project for students to collect and fit data to a theoretical mathematical model that describes the rate of isothermal seed germination, including activation energy for substrate and produce and the autocatalytic reaction, and changes in enthalpy, entropy, and the Gibb's free energy. (Author/SK)

Suggests using thematic approach for physics instruction based on the broad theme of energy resources. Presents physics pathways from student and lecturer viewpoints, and describes how the course operates. (SK)

Presents a practical problem to students in a junior-level thermodynamics course in which a human body regulates its own internal temperature. This problem can be utilized as well (with modification) in an introductory physics course for life science majors. (HM)

Outlines the contributions of J. H. Jeans to the laws of radiation and explains the interactions of Jeans with Rayleigh and Lorentz. (GS)

Topological ideas can be used to predict a variety of textures and defects in condensed matter systems under certain conditions. This article describes one means of creating and observing textures in liquid crystals which exhibit a rich variety of such textures. The results of these observations are presented. (Author/SK)

Derived is the classical partition function for the rotation of a rigid asymmetric molecule, by a transformation of variables in the phase integral circumventing the cumbersome manipulation of the canonical prescription. (Author/GA)

Describes a short undergraduate experiment which helps in explaining the concept of entropy and in illustrating the second law of thermodynamics. (GA)

An approach that may be used to introduce the fundamental ideas of thermodynamics using a mathematical background with the knowledge of the behavior of matter is described. The physical background, conservation of energy, predicting the behavior of a system, and solving problems are topics of discussion. (KR)

Discusses the origins of the idea of teaching physics by starting with thermodynamics rather than from mechanics. Presents a modern version of this approach. (PR)