Physics Demonstrations

These demonstrations will fascinate, amaze, and teach students the wonders and practical science of physics. Physics Demonstrations illustrates properties of motion, heat, sound, electricity, magnetism, and light. All demonstrations include a brief description, a materials list, preparation procedures, a provocative discussion of the phenomena displayed and the principles illustrated, important information about potential hazards, and references. Suitable for performance outside the laboratory, Physics Demonstrations is an indispensable teaching tool. This book includes a DVD of the author performing all 85 demonstrations.

PRESENTS A COLLECTION OF PHYSICS DEMONSTRATIONS THAT ILLUSTRATE KEY CONCEPTS USING EASILY ACCESSIBLE MATERIALS, WITH INFORMATION PROVIDING A THEORETICAL BACKGROUND FOR EACH DEMONSTRATION.

". . . dipping into this collection is much like opening a holiday gift and discovering a marvelous little toy that then holds your attention by some curious performance. . . . This book precisely reflects the way science education should be, especially at the introductory level." --From the foreword Here is a collection of physics demonstrations costing very little to produce yet illustrating key concepts in amazingly simple and playful ways. Intended for instructors, students, and curious lay readers, these demonstrations make use of easily accessible, everyday items: food coloring and glycerine swirled and then "unmixed" in a container demonstrate aspects of the entropy law; raw eggs thrown with full force at a sheet but not breaking illustrate Newton's second law (f=ma); and the reflection off a glass Christmas tree ball is the focus of an explanation on "turning the world inside out." Many of the demonstrations are either new or include innovative twists on old ideas, as in the author's simplified version of the classic "Monkey and Hunter" problem, which substitutes "diluted gravity" on an inclined plane for large apparatus. Each demonstration outlines the objective, the equipment needed, and the procedure, including, in many instances, ways for a teacher to perform the demonstration on an overhead projector. Throughout the book concrete examples are accompanied by enough theoretical background to enhance a reader's basic understanding of physical principles. Lab instructors will find that demonstrations containing a quantitative component work well as mini- experiments and as ways to illustrate the results of calculations. These diverse and flexible demonstrations will serve a wide range of educational levels, from middle school physical science to university physics.

Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) are designed to enhance conceptual learning in physics lectures through active engagement of students in the learning process. Students observe real physics demonstrations, make predictions about the outcomes on a prediction sheet, and collaborate with fellow students by discussing their predictions in small groups. Students then examine the results of the live demonstration (often displayed as real-time graphs using computer data acquisition tools), compare these results with their predictions, and attempt to explain the observed phenomena. ILDs are available for all of the major topics in the introductory physics course and can be used within the traditional structure of an introductory physics course. All of the printed materials needed to implement them are included in this book.

This is a book of wonderful, eye-catching, and awe-inspiring physics demonstrations, hands-on activities, and a lot more on shoestring budget for Grades 8-12. The book contains -- 136 EZ-to-do fun Demonstrations -- 38 Hands-on Activities -- Vast collection of Fun Items: ---- 170 Tantalizing brainteasers with solutions ---- Hysterical science funnies ---- Physics Nobel Prize Winners 1900 - 2010 ---- Brief Bios of Famous Scientists ---- Limericks ---- Enormous collections of Quotes: ------- Science and non-science Quotes ------- Hilarious Quotes ------- Contemplative Quotes

In the long-awaited sequel to TURNING THE WORLD INSIDE OUT AND 175 OTHER SIMPLE PHYSICS DEMONSTRATIONS, Robert Ehrlich provides a new collection of more than 100 physics demonstrations and experiments which continue to prove that physics can be "made simple". The professional, the professor, the student, or even the lay person with even the slightest interest in physics will find Ehrlich's book fascinating. Illus.