Birds can fly because they flap their wings in-phase at the same time. We can walk because our legs move out-of-phase at the same time. At a concert, people move to the rhythm, some left to right, some front to back, others in whichever way, but everyone is in "sync" with each other and the… Continue reading Research: Synchronization of oscillators on a network
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Visualizing Polarization
Classically, light is an electromagnetic wave-- a wave of oscillating Electric and Magnetic fields instead of oscillating molecules of air or water like in sound or water waves. Electric and Magnetic fields are not something we can "see", but when they oscillate in synchrony, it results in a visual phenomenon called light! Light, a universal… Continue reading Visualizing Polarization
An informal introduction to spin and kets
Subatomic particles have an intrinsic property that is quite strange to us. Called spin, this property has the dimensions of angular momentum. It is a rather strange name because the word spin does not imply that the particle is spinning on its own axis. All we can know is that it's a type of angular… Continue reading An informal introduction to spin and kets
Collisions
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
Applications open for Workshop for Physics Teachers 2022-23
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Ball-drop from a tall building (a la Galileo)
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)
Kit Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism
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
Kit Experiments in Mechanics
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
Exploring a periscope made with prisms
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
Two simple experiments for a Thermal Physics classroom
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