ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18247

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on the emerging field of computational physics. While traditional textbooks, expositions, and conference proceedings are cited, we also cite URLs on the World Wide Web to guide the reader to current information.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18248

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the final volume of Francis Sears’s three‐volumePrinciplesofPhysics. This text, which was very successful, marked the beginning of a new type of introductory physics course. A comparison is carried out betweenPrinciplesofPhysicsand an older text,Physicsby Hausmann and Slack. It is argued that the two texts represent different views of physics. An attempt is made to draw lessons concerning the conditions required for a radical change in the introductory course.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18249

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

With the aid of a little‐known application of Gauss’ law, we calculate analytical expressions for field line equations for certain configurations of charge which possess either axial or one‐dimensional translational symmetry. The method is first demonstrated via the simple symmetric dipole and then extended to a number of other examples.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18250

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The analogy between general relativity and electromagnetism suggests that there is a gravitational analog of the Aharonov–Bohm effect. There is indeed such an effect. Since gravitation couples to all fields, the effect should exist for photons. There is a close connection with the Sagnac effect. Both the electromagnetic field and the gravitational field are classical fields, so the effect could have been predicted in the interval between the publication of the theory of general relativity in 1915 and the discovery of quantum mechanics in the mid 1920s.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18251

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

A new approach to understanding the twin paradox, based on the conventionality of simultaneity, is presented and illustrated. The canonical version of the twin paradox is discussed with reference to its historical origins and the standard explanations given for the differential aging of the twins. It is shown that these are merely specific examples of an infinite class of possible accounts, none of which is privileged. The bounds of this class are given a novel geometrical interpretation. Nonstandard versions of the twin paradox are discussed, and the conventionality of the simultaneity approach is generalized. The role of accelerated reference frames in explaining the twins’ aging is also critically examined. The application of the conventionality of simultaneity to the twin paradox hopefully provides a way to settle the often discussed issue of the twins’ differential aging.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18252

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

A simple derivation of all three so‐called Kepler laws is presented in which the orbits, bound and unbound, follow directly and immediately from conservation of energy and angular momentum. The intent is to make this crowning achievement of Newtonian mechanics easily accessible to students in introductory physics courses. The method is also extended to simplify the derivation of the Rutherford scattering law.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18253

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

We present a computer study of an impact oscillator known as the Bender bouncer. It consists of a driven mass on a linear spring, with damping proportional to the velocity, and an infinitely massive, elastic barrier. If it were not for the barrier, the system would be the simple mass on a spring so familiar to students of freshman physics. With the barrier in place, the system displays a remarkable range of behaviors, including energy amplification, chaos, sensitivity to initial conditions, and fractal basins of attraction. The fact that such interesting behavior occurs with such a small modification of a freshman physics problem makes the system especially well suited for presentation to students.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18254

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The Liénard–Wiechert fields for a point charge are derived from a suitable integral representation for the electric and magnetic fields. In this derivation one does not calculate derivatives of retarded functions. Retardation is introduced into the fields at the end of the calculations. The free‐space retarded Green function turns out to be an essential ingredient in this derivation. A heuristic argument is given for introducing this Green function. The derivation presented here might be used in undergraduate courses on electromagnetic theory.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18255

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

We use the time‐dependent Navier–Stokes equation to study the dynamics of a liquid rising in a capillary tube. We show that the evolution consists of an initial stage of inertial motion, followed by a dynamical‐balance stage in which gravity and viscosity compensate the capillarity force. This approach is compared with other formulations, based on the study of variable mass systems or on some simplified hydrodynamical formulas. Our attention is then focused on the crossover between the regimes of monotonic and oscillatory motion, and we find that numerical solutions to the relevant equations are in good agreement with an analytical linearized approach.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.18256

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1996

数据来源: AIP