The Physics Classroom: Refraction of Light - Sep 16, 2010

Use this simulation to explore how light waves bend when they go from one medium into another, like from air into water.

Konigsberg Bridge - Sep 1, 2010

If you enjoy solving puzzles, try the seven bridges challenge.
- This problem helped lead the mathematician Leonhard Euler to develop new mathematical fields, graph theory and topology. See Konigsberg Bridge to learn more.
- Also see the Wikipedia page for variations on this problem.

Splash (fluid mechanics) - Aug 16, 2010

Investigate splashes by dropping different-sized objects into containers of water. Also, you can squeeze drops out of a medicine dropper to make splashes on hard surfaces or on water or milk. (Be sure to do this activity with an adult.) To find out what happens if you drop a half-brick into water, see the photograph at the bottom of Splash (fluid mechanics).

Water on the Move - Aug 1, 2010

Using the instructions on Water on the Move, you can create a model with everyday materials that shows how the water moves as a wave passes by. To visualize the movement of all the water in a wave, see the third animation on this Kettering University page.

Soap Bubbles - Jul 16, 2010

Playing with soap bubbles can be fun and educational for people of all ages.

- Try this PBS activity to see what kind of soap films you can make inside of a geometrical wire frame.  
- Also see this album for photos of big bubbles.

Investigation 4 - Erosion - Jul 1, 2010

Try Investigation 4 - Erosion for a hands-on simulation of erosion to learn how wind and water change the land. For more information and photographs, see this Kansas State University webpage.

The Doppler Effect and Sonic Booms - Jun 16, 2010

Check out The Doppler Effect and Sonic Booms for animations of the sound source moving at various factions of the speed of sound, with related background information and lots of interesting images. For a related simulation, where you control the speed of a supersonic bug, see NASA's Interactive Sound Waves.

Build Your Own Star - Jun 1, 2010

See how the initial mass and composition of a new star will determine that star's fate by Building Your Own Star. Simply enter your desired parameters and watch as the star grows from a cloud of gas and dust and changes over time, condensing billions of years into a minute.

Interactive Plasma Physics Education Experience - May 16, 2010

A tokamak can control plasma using magnetic fields, and it is the most promising design for a nuclear fusion reactor. Check out these Virtual Tokamak applets to learn how magnetic fields act upon plasma and how to start a fusion reaction. (See the help page first-- it explains the simulations as well as the concepts behind fusion reactors.)

Descent to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge - May 1, 2010

At Descent to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from the University of California at San Diego, you can follow a submarine descent to the mid-Atlantic Ridge. Also, with this colorful computer activity from the Monterey Institute, you can learn the names and locations of mid-ocean ridges and how distance from the ridges is related to the age of oceanic crust.