NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1162154
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jan
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-9120
EISSN: N/A
Understanding "Human" Waves: Exploiting the Physics in a Viral Video
Ferrer-Roca, Chantal
Physics Education, v53 n1 Article 015017 Jan 2018
Waves are a relevant part of physics that students find difficult to grasp, even in those cases in which wave propagation kinematics can be visualized. This may hinder a proper understanding of sound, light or quantum physics phenomena that are explained using a wave model. So-called "human" waves, choreographed by people, have proved to be an advisable way to understand basic wave concepts. Videos are widely used as a teaching resource and can be of considerable help in order to watch and discuss "human" waves provided their quality is reasonably good. In this paper we propose and analyse a video that went viral online and has been revealed to be a useful teaching resource for introductory physics students. It shows a unique and very complete series of wave propagations, including pulses with different polarizations and periodic waves that can hardly be found elsewhere. After a proposal on how to discuss the video qualitatively, a quantitative analysis is carried out (no video-tracker needed), including a determination of the main wave magnitudes such as period, wavelength and propagation speed.
Institute of Physics Publishing. The Public Ledger Building Suite 929, 150 South Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 215-627-0880; Fax: 215-627-0879; e-mail: info@ioppubusa.com; Web site: http://journals.iop.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A