A physics course is often the most difficult class in a student’s schedule. This can cause great stress, panic, and lead to a general dislike of the sciences. We will discuss causes of poor mental health due to anxiety induced by a physics course and how to avoid it. A good starting point is to have discussions with experienced instructors about key problems in the classroom and how they fix...
There is widespread acknowledgment that physics and astronomy must improve diversity, equity and inclusion overall. The University of Maryland is well suited to address this issue given the demographics of the surrounding area and the strength of its physics department. We present the design and implementation of a pilot high school summer research program aimed at students of underrepresented...
In a first semester of a three-hour per week introductory physics lab, students completed traditional laboratories on mechanics and heat, where student reports recorded experimental methods, analysis, and results. The second semester lab was implemented as a semester-long student project. The project consisted of building the structure and electronic system for a functioning remotely operated...
Quantum Information Science (QIS) and applied technologies such as quantum computing and quantum communication are emerging technologies deemed critical to the future technical workforce and economy [1] . Generally, the concepts of QIS are outside the contents of study in most high school physics classes, however, recent progress has been made in developing high school accessible curricula. ...
The analytical solution to the simple harmonic oscillator requires a knowledge of calculus (even worse differential equation), so how does one teach it at the College Physics level where students only know algebra? In this talk I will present an iterative approach that is accessible to algebra-level students. This method can be implemented quickly in Excel. The iterative solution will be...
Albert Einstein and Neils Bohr held a friendly debate for years on the nature of physical reality. Bohr, true to quantum theory (QT), swore that reality only existed after one "observed" the latter. Einstein believed the QT to be incomplete and that reality existed independent of our observation, because of some "hidden variables", which, if discovered, could remove the probabilistic nature...
If someone were to tell you that technology is not important, you would think they were crazy, especially after all the technology that was used during COVID. The National Quantum Initiative was signed into law in 2019 with the intent of increasing awareness at the K-12 level as to the importance of quantum in technology, national security, and future jobs. The Quantum for All project is...
A standard textbook problem and lab experiment involves a cart moving along a horizontal track and connected by a string to a hanging weight around a pulley at the corner between the track and vertical drop.
What happens if the pulley is raised vertically, so that the string connects the pulley to the cart at an angle relative to the track? Then one can no longer find an analytic solution...
Whereas the Standard Model has typically been developed through experimentation within an artificially-produced electromagnetic environment, similar particles have been detected within space weather regions with solar probing imagers and detectors onboard satellites. To better understand coronal mass ejections, solar winds, galactic cosmic rays as they constitute space weather and penetrate...
I will describe a few amazing applications of Fourier transforms and convolutions in the context of sound synthesis, astronomy and LIGO gravitational wave detection. The aim of this talk is to present some topics to motivate the power of transformations that can be introduced to students at a very early level, even before calculus or their first exposure to the formal Fourier transform. This...
Toolkit for Success is a pre-college research and skill development immersion program for incoming underrepresented undergraduate minorities in physics at the University of Maryland, College Park. The six-week summer program is designed to foster inclusion, belonging, and self-confidence in research, academics, and community. Students train with mentors, code in Python, learn about diverse...
At the University of Maryland, the First-Year Innovation & Research Experience (FIRE) is one of the ways that first-year students can engage in impactful research. FIRE students go through a three semester sequence where they are introduced to a research group, select and become familiar with how research works in their selected stream and work with a team to produce meaningful results. Peer...
Over my career, I have published about 30 refereed journal articles with undergraduates, high school students and citizen scientists; currently I publish 3-5 such articles per year. The same techniques work with all of these groups to enable you to lead students to a successful conclusion of their research with a refereed journal article. In this talk, I will describe techniques that can be...
Physics students benefit from a structured problem solving strategy. In order to be successful, it should be explicitly taught, practiced on the board and in small groups, and required on homework and tests. The strategy involves the following four steps: What’s Happening, Isolate the Unknown, Substitution, Evaluation. This problem solving approach increases accuracy, improves...
The catenary is the shape of a string of uniform linear mass density hung between two points. I will demonstrate that this shape is given by the graph of a hyperbolic cosine.
I will demonstrate how the speed of light can be estimated using a microwave. This is done by heating up some marshmallows for a short time, and measuring the distance between intensities between cooked and raw marshmallow. This gives us a wavelength that is multiplied by the manufactured specified frequency.
I will demonstrate how to use an arrangement of 8 triangular prisms to create a cloaked region of space (when viewed from an appropriate angle).
When we place Pyrex glass in a large container filled with water, we are able to observe the piece of Pyrex glass submerged within the container, as we would expect. However, when we repeat the process using vegetable oil, instead of water, the piece of Pyrex glass seems to disappear within the vegetable oil. This is because Pyrex glass and vegetable oil have the same index of refraction. By...
Will show how to make 3D glasses. Fun activity.
The opportunity doesn't often arise for you to pluck out your students' hair without negative repercussions, but this demo is exciting enough for students to offer it freely! Because light acts as a wave, we see a diffraction pattern when it passes over a small slit or obstruction. Using only a laser pointer, measuring tape, and a ruler, you can measure the width of a human hair by analyzing...
Demonstration of making a speed boat using the power of surface tension. (Credit to Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science!)
I built a simple DC motor to show how direct current can be used to create an electromagnet that has the ability to alternate the direction of the magnetic field in order to continuously rotate. I will also show that this changing magnetic field can be picked up by a guitar. The demo will show how to change the rotational speed of the motor along with the direction of rotation.
This demo will illustrate the principle of buoyancy in a very unusual way.
Supplies: Chocolate chips, clear carbonated soda, glass container.
