摘要:

We are reporting here on the results of a 1-yr introductory physics course for educationally disadvantaged students. Information on course enrollment, staffing, and format is included. The only teaching innovations used were edited lecture notes and a class council. Evaluation of student performance, including a comparison with students in other introductory physics courses, and student evaluations are also given.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987112

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The reasons for a nonscience major to take a science course are examined and discussed. The problems and some possible approaches in developing a course for the nonscience major are reviewed. The plan of this course involves combining “straight” physics with discussions of problems in the science and society area based on journal, magazine, and newspaper articles and some books. The major goal of this course is to change the attitudes of the students from fear and hostility towards science to an understanding and appreciation of how science contributes to their world and how they can contribute to a better relationship between science and society. An approach to the laboratory for such a course is described. An evaluation survey of attitudes of students before and after the course indicated a distinct change in attitudes. That is, the students lose their fear and hostility towards science. They become more aware of science in their day-to-day lives and indicate that they feel science is an important and useful part of their lives.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987113

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

A group of 25 students chosen at random from a larger class was taught in a Keller-plan (self-paced) format following the method of Green. The performance of these students was compared with that of the students in the lecture-recitation section through a common final examination and through a retest taken approximately two months after the end of the course. In each case the Keller-plan students did substantially better. Suggestions are made for improvements in the usual Keller-plan format.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987114

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The laws of physics are invariant in all inertial frames of reference. They are also the same in all cultural frames of reference. But the way physicists are trained, the style in which physics is practiced, and the roles of physics and physicists in academia and society differ from one cultural setting to another. Burma is no exception. There is a domestic flavor to much of Burmese physics with the Irrawaddy River, Burmese bamboo, and the music of the pattalar all an integral part of the physics scenario. Perhaps “relevancy,” a demand heard so frequently these days in the United States, has already been achieved in this small nation sandwiched between the subcontinents of China and India. In Burma, three factors exert determining influences on the subject of physics: The physical sciences are not part of the long standing cultural tradition; the students must prepare for competitive and external exams; and the opportunities for pursuing a career as a physicist are extremely limited.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987115

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

Giordano Bruno has been seen as a precursor of the scientific revolution and as a martyr for modern science. We examine the significance of his arguments from a strictly scientific viewpoint. In his cosmological dialog, The Supper of Ashes,he defends the Copernican theory and discusses optics and geological change, as well as the ship experiment later to be made famous by Galileo and Gassendi. But even when correct in their conclusions, Bruno's “scientific” arguments do not exhibit any understanding of scientific reasoning or purpose. Rather they serve the totally unrelated function of allegorical descriptions of a metaphysical relationship between Man and God as well as Catholic and Protestant. Bruno sees Nature as the signature of God, and he believes that this signature can best be perceived through the hieroglyph of the Copernican theory.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987116

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

Einstein's derivation, almost lost through distorted referencing, still contains insights and problems worth reconsidering after more than 40 years.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987117

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

We study the motion of a particle in the Schwarzschild metric, using a coordinate system in which the radial speed of light is unity. The similarity between the variational equation for geodesics and Hamilton's principle makes many of the results of Hamiltonian mechanics applicable. We conclude that the gravitational force in this case is attractive in general relativity, just as it is in Newtonian theory.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987118

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

The exponential Fourier transform method is used to study the propagation of a general disturbance along a semi-infinite chain of interacting harmonic oscillators. In addition to the harmonic coupling between nearest neighbors in simple chains, each particle is bound to its equilibrium position by an ideal spring. In contrast with previous studies on simple chains, the initial conditions(att=0)are not specified, and the motion of all the oscillators is expressed in terms of either the specified time-dependent displacement of the end particle or the specified time-dependent external force applied to it. The inverse transforms not readily available from tables are obtained by carrying out the inversion integrals explicitly in the complex frequency plane. By specializing some results of the present work, those of previous calculations on simple chains are recovered.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987119

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

A chain of N atoms, each of mass M, with an interatomic distance a and coupled by identical massless ideal springs is considered to be in an equilibrium state with the interconnecting springs at equilibrium length at timet=0.With the system in this state of equilibrium an impulse is given to one of the atoms in the chain. The atomic displacements and corresponding velocities for the disturbed chain are derived and expressed in terms of the dispersion relation for the chain by using Fourier expansions and by assuming periodic boundary conditions. It is shown that thek=0mode of the Fourier expansion involved in the solutions for the displacement and velocity carries all of the momentum given to the chain during the impulse. The propagator which describes the atomic displacements in the chain resulting from the application of a space and time dependent force is presented. Graphical displays of the results of computations of the atomic displacements at various times illustrate the propagation through the chain of the initially localized pulse.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987120

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP

摘要:

A detailed quantum mechanical treatment of the motion of a plane pendulum is given. Exact solution of the Schrödinger equation shows that the energy eigenfunctions and eigenvalues go over to those of a plane rotator for vanishing acceleration due to gravity g and to those of a harmonic oscillator in the limit of infinitely massive bob. In view of this, perturbation calculations have been done using rotator and oscillator basis, and conditions for convergence of the perturbation series in both cases have been discussed.

ISSN:0002-9505    

DOI:10.1119/1.1987121

出版商:American Association of Physics Teachers    

年代:1973

数据来源: AIP