We present experiments giving new insights into the classical light-emitting pickle experiment. In particular, measurements of the spectra and temperatures, as well as high-speed recordings, reveal that light emission is connected to the polarity of the electrodes and the presence of hydrogen.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce students of science and engineering to the orbital lifetimes of satellites in circular low Earth orbits. It is only necessary to know about classical mechanics for this calculation. The orbital decay of satellites is due to the interaction of the satellite with the surrounding gas, atmospheric drag.…

We present a general physics laboratory exercise that centres around the use of the electrocardiogram sensor as an application of circuits and electronic signal filtering. Although these topics are commonly taught in the general physics classroom, many students consider topics such as alternating current as unrelated to their future professions.…

Entertaining and educational experiments that can be conducted in a water park, illustrating physics concepts, principles and fundamental laws, are described. These experiments are suitable for students ranging from senior secondary school to junior university level. Newton's laws of motion, Bernoulli's equation, based on the…

Some apparently confusing aspects of Newton's laws as applied to an aircraft in normal horizontal flight are neatly resolved by a careful analysis of force, momentum, energy and power. A number of related phenomena are explained at the same time, including the lift and induced drag coefficients, used empirically in the aviation industry.

An experiment was carried out to investigate the changes in ionizing cosmic radiation as a function of altitude. This was carried out using a Geiger-Müller tube on-board a high altitude balloon, which rose to an altitude of 31 685 m. The gathered data show that the Geiger-Müller tube count readings increased to a maximum at an altitude of about 24…

This paper describes how a microphone plugged in to a normal computer can be used to record the impacts of a ball bouncing on a table. The intervals between these impacts represent the "time of flight" of the ball. Since some energy is lost in each rebound, the time intervals get progressively smaller. Through calculation it is possible…

If we drop a magnet through a coil, an emf is induced in the coil according to Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. Here, such an experiment is done using expEYES kit. The plot of emf versus time has a specific shape with two peaks. A theoretical analysis of this graph is discussed here for both short and long cylindrical magnets.…

The paper describes a set of physics demonstration experiments where thermal sensitive foils are used for the detection of the two dimensional distribution of temperature. The method is used for the demonstration of thermal conductivity, temperature change in adiabatic processes, distribution of electromagnetic radiation in a microwave oven and…

Despite their physics instructors' arguments to the contrary, introductory students can observe situations in which there seems to be compelling evidence for magnetic force doing work. The counterarguments are often highly technical and require physics knowledge beyond the experience of novice students, however. A simple example is presented…

We present in this work a demonstration of the maze-solving problem with electricity. Electric current flowing in a maze as a printed circuit produces Joule heating and the right way is instantaneously revealed with infrared thermal imaging. The basic properties of electric current can be discussed in this context, with this challenging question:…

In a typical high school course, the complex physics of collisions is broken up into the dichotomy of perfectly elastic versus completely inelastic collisions. Real-life collisions, however, generally fall between these two extremes. An accurate treatment is still possible, as demonstrated in an investigation of coin collisions. Simple…

Cooking is a tangible, familiar, and delicious tool for teaching physics, which is easy to implement in a university setting. Through our courses at Harvard and UCLA, each year we are engaging hundreds of undergraduate students, primarily non-science majors, in science concepts and the scientific research process. We find that weekly lectures by…

Difficulties encountered by teachers in giving a definition of the term "energy", and by students in grasping its actual meaning, reflect the lengthy process through which the concept eventually came to maturity around 1850. Tracing the history of this process illuminates the different aspects covered by the term and shows the important…

Human beings consume energy every day. Even at rest, energy is still needed for the working of the internal organs. This is achieved by the metabolism of consumed food in the presence of inhaled oxygen. During the resting state this is called the maintenance rate, and follows the mouse-to-elephant formula, P[subscript met] = 70M[superscript 0.75]…