New Physics To Go collection resources

YouTube Videos of Sound Phenomena

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:55:12 EST

A page linking to sixteen YouTube and Google Flash videos dealing with sound. Information on how to download and convert the videos is also provided.

Strings, standing waves and harmonics

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:08:59 EST

This website from the University of New South Wales contains basic information about how stringed instruments produce sound. The site discusses plucked string sound and bowed string sound, standing waves, and harmonics. There are many helpful animations and pictures to illustrate concepts.

PhysicsCentral: Fiddle Physics

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:07:46 EST

This PhysicsCentral article describes the physics behind violins. The article discusses the mechanics of violin construction and how violinists produce sound. It includes labeled pictures of violin parts, animations of how the violin bow works, and other helpful images.

Breaking Glass with Sound

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:06:58 EST

This video from MIT TechTV demonstrates how to break a glass using sound. The demonstrator determines the resonant frequency of the glass and plays a tone of that frequency with a function generator. The video page has a description of the phenomenon beneath the video.

Nuclear Power

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:48:55 EST

An introduction to nuclear fission, its controlled release in power stations, problems of nuclear waste, and nuclear accidents. A linked web page discusses nuclear weapons, their effect, their ban, and "dirty bombs". This material supplements a previous section on fission in the Sun and the curve of binding energy in "From Stargazers to Starships". A French translation also exists.

Basic Nuclear Science Information

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:48:18 EST

This webpage from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory contains an overview of the basic concepts in nuclear science. Nuclear structure, particle decay, nuclear reactions, and cosmic rays are briefly discussed. The page also containsl pictures to illustrate the concepts.

Why The French Like Nuclear Energy

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:46:58 EST

This Frontline article covers nuclear power in France, including French attitudes toward nuclear power and the history of conversion from fossil fuels. The article also mentions American attitudes and the problems France faces from nuclear waste.

Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics & You - Optical Illusions

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:52:17 EST

This resource is a set of 20 interactive Java simulations that depict optical illusions based on movement. Included are a variety of spinning disks, color wheels of varying patterns, and a Moire pattern generator. This item is part of a larger collection of tutorials by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory relating to Optics and Microscopy for beginning and advanced learners.

Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project: Basic Coordinates and Seasons Lab

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:40:02 EST

These simulations illustrate three different, but related areas. Terrestrial coordinates and the celestial equatorial coordinate system are covered and are used to explore the motion of the sun and how it relates to seasons. There are interactive maps that display terrestrial and celestial equatorial coordinates. The user can change the point location on the map and view the different coordinates. There is also a simulation of the seasons and the ecliptic as the earth orbits the sun. This is part of a collection of astronomy applets.

Liftoff to Learning: Toys in Space 2

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:57:11 EST

This site provides a link to a NASA video about Toys in Space. The video demonstrates the actions of a variety of children's toys in microgravity for classroom comparison with the actions of similar toys on Earth.

Toys in Space II Video Resource Guide

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:37:48 EST

This site provides a link to a NASA to a teacher manual to accompany the video about Toys in Space. The video demonstrates the actions of a variety of children's toys in microgravity for classroom comparison with the actions of similar toys on Earth. The manual shows how to construct the toys shown in the video.

Imagine the Universe: Electromagnetic Spectrum - Introduction

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:27:22 EST

This is a beginning tutorial on the electromagnetic spectrum. It was developed by the Imagine the Universe project through NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. It contains readable explanations of each type of radiation on the EM spectrum, a short quiz, and related "Cool Facts". It was designed to supplement lesson plans and activities created by the same team. See Related items below for links to lesson plans and other resources. This item is part of a larger collection of K-12 resources created by the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center for NASA.

University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:30:31 EST

This item is an experiential learning activity for high school students on the topic of force interactions, inertia in motion, and collisions. It is part of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) library at the University of Delaware. In this case, the users apply concepts of acceleration, Newton's First Law, and Newton's Second Law to determine who is at fault in an accident.

Physclips: Calculus Differentials and Integrals - A Simple Introduction

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:12:43 EST

This web page provides a basic introduction to differentials and integrals, written in simple language and accompanied by easily-understood examples. It covers topics such as the chain rule, log function, exponentials, polynomials, and trigonometric functions. Animations, still images, graphs, and diagrams are used to illustrate important concepts. This tutorial is part of the PhysClips collection of web-based resources on introductory mechanics, electricity, and magnetism.

Physclips: Graphs, errors, significant figures, dimensions and units

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:10:10 EST

This web page provides an overview of graphing, plotting, units of measure, significant figures, and error. It contains brief and basic explanations for the beginner, with links provided for further exploration of topics such as curve-plotting, error analysis, SI units, and the Planck Scale. This tutorial is part of the PhysClips collection of web-based resources on introductory mechanics, electricity, and magnetism.

Physclips: Chladni patterns for violin plates

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:54:39 EST

This web page provides information about Chladni patterns. It includes topics such as modes of vibration, nodes, modes of violin plates, a description of how Chladni patterns are formed and how they are useful. Short video clips, still images, and diagrams are integrated with text to promote understanding of important concepts. This tutorial is part of the PhysClip collection of web-based resources on introductory mechanics, electricity, and magnetism.

Superstrings!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:53:36 EST

This website has a non-technical introduction to the ideas and vocabulary behind superstring theory. Find out what strings are, how they interact, and how they exist in a 10-dimensional space.

X-ray Photography: Inner Beauty

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:52:54 EST

This article from TIME features Nick Veasey, an x-ray photographer who combines art and science through his photographs. The short article explains how Veasey started his work and includes a link to more x-ray photographs.

APOD: X-Ray Moon

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:52:08 EST

This Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the moon in x-ray light. The image was taken by the ROSAT Observatory in 1990. The explanation below the picture includes links to more information and images.

X-Ray Spectra Activity

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:50:58 EST

This Exploratorium activity shows how to simulate the effect of x-rays. The page includes simple instructions and pictures of the setup and results.