They happen all around us. Raindrops fall from the sky and collide with the ground. We have all heard of black holes colliding in spacetime. More often than you'd like, random furniture collides with your harmless toes (your furniture might beg to differ). The last one might have left you wanting to cushion your furniture… Continue reading Collisions
WPT23 (Image credits: Amit Basole)Download
We explore the physics of falling bodies by dropping various balls from the 15th floor (estimated to be about 45 to 50 metres) of a building and compare it with drops from lower heights. Check this article and the associated video first, as we discuss the physics behind that activity here. When an object such… Continue reading Ball-drop from a tall building (a la Galileo)
The Course The electromagnetic force unifying electrical and magnetic forces, is one of the four fundamental forces. With gravitation, it is one of the two manifesting at a macroscopic level. A course on electricity and magnetism finds a place after an introduction to Newtonian mechanics. This course starts with techniques for computing electric and magnetic… Continue reading Kit Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism
The Course Mechanics being a first course in physics training, a balance of theory and hands-on activities gets the student ready to undertake a systematic study of other areas of physics. Accordingly they go hand-in-hand in our undergraduate first course taught at our University. On the theoretical side, a basic introduction to standard topics in… Continue reading Kit Experiments in Mechanics
This is a periscope made by students with two right angled prisms in a course on Optics taught by Physics faculty, Rema Krishnaswamy. (These kind of setups are often used in optics research to manipulate or displace a beam of light. Also look up 'Dove prism') What phenomena/concepts is this setup based on? We wish… Continue reading Exploring a periscope made with prisms
What is this session about Make abstract concepts relatable How do we help students engage with concepts from Heat and Temperature that are often at an abstract level? History of Thermal Physics Understand how people in the 1700s measured specific heat capacities and latent heat accurately and also perform a related experiment on ice calorimetry.… Continue reading Two simple experiments for a Thermal Physics classroom
What is this session about Phenomena around the Earth-Sun system Simple measurements/observations with a sundial can tell us a lot about interesting phenomena A common misconception What is the reason for the seasons? Big ideas Measuring the circumference of the Earth What do we discuss in this session? Starting with simple observations, one can build… Continue reading Making a Sundial/Fun with Shadows
What is this session about Combining a variety of tools It is now possible to combine a variety of easily available tools to do conventional lab experiments more effectively (even at home) Smartphones, free software and spreadsheets A combination of tools can enable students to record and analyse data accurately and conveniently Transferable skills Once… Continue reading An experiment on RC circuits for lockdown times
What is this session about Vector algebra made interesting Concepts from vector algebra are introduced at the higher secondary level. If we show students how it helps answer some interesting questions from diverse fields, they will find it more interesting. Elegant solutions Vector algebra can lead us to short and elegant proofs/solutions, when used in… Continue reading Vector algebra: Some exciting applications
