December 01, 1990 Filed in:
Demo CornerRobert Ehrlich, Physics Department, George Mason University
The world's simplest motor can be constructed in less than five minutes.
Read More...Tags: Electricity, Magnetism
October 01, 1990 Filed in:
Demo CornerBill Konrad, Kent County Board of Education
The demonstration described below was demonstrated at the OAPT conference in London in June 1989. Since there was a fair bit of interest in the details of construction of the apparatus, I thought this column would provide a convenient opportunity to give the specifications. Essentially, a speaker at one end of the closed air column is used to set up a standing wave of sound inside the column. Natural gas enters the device through two copper tubes. The gas is lit and burns at numerous holes drilled across the top of the duct. Due to differences in pressure at the nodes and loops of the standing wave inside the air column, the flames that are generated vary in height giving a visual outline of the wave inside.
Read More...Tags: Waves and Sound
May 01, 1990 Filed in:
Demo CornerDoug Cunningham, Science Head, Bruce Peninsula District School
“…The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds…”
Anatole France 1921 Nobel Prize, Literature
I have always been interested in finding demonstrations that provoke and awaken the natural curiosity of students. Demonstrations that provide unexpected results, or appear on the surface to violate common sense, are particularly effective vehicles for motivation. These demonstrations or experiments are known as counter-intuitive.
Read More...Tags: Pressure
March 01, 1990 Filed in:
Demo CornerPatrick Whippey, Department of Physics, University of Western Ontario
Two intriguing demonstrations from Patrick Whippey.
Read More...Tags: Motion
