ERIC Number: EJ1168703
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Feb
Pages: 3
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Measuring Average Angular Velocity with a Smartphone Magnetic Field Sensor
Pili, Unofre; Violanda, Renante
Physics Teacher, v56 n2 p114-116 Feb 2018
The angular velocity of a spinning object is, by standard, measured using a device called a tachometer. However, by directly using it in a classroom setting, the activity is likely to appear as less instructive and less engaging. Indeed, some alternative classroom-suitable methods for measuring angular velocity have been presented. In this paper, we present a further alternative that is smartphone-based, making use of the real-time magnetic field (simply called B-field in what follows) data gathering capability of the B-field sensor of the smartphone device as the timer for measuring average rotational period and average angular velocity. The in-built B-field sensor in smartphones has already found a number of uses in undergraduate experimental physics. For instance, in elementary electrodynamics, it has been used to explore the well-known Bio-Savart law and in a measurement of the permeability of air.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Physics, Magnets, Measurement Techniques, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Undergraduate Study, College Science
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://aapt.scitation.org/journal/pte
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A