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ERIC Number: EJ876088
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jan
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Exploring Rotations Due to Radiation Pressure: 2-D to 3-D Transition Is Interesting!
Waxman, Michael A.
Physics Teacher, v48 n1 p30-31 Jan 2010
Radiation pressure is an important topic within a standard physics course (see, in particular, Refs. 1 and 2). The physics of radiation pressure is described, the magnitude of it is derived, both for the case of a perfectly absorbing surface and of a perfect reflector, and various applications of this interesting effect are discussed, such as space sailing or optical "tweezers." There are, however, relatively few problems that are available as end-of-the-chapter exercises. Below I present a problem I composed that I assign to my students in class and that facilitates a lively class discussion. This problem is somewhat reminiscent of the setting used by P. N. Lebedev in his historic experiments on proving the existence of radiation pressure.
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A