Physics Lab - a Good Place to Do Physics

On April 5, 2024, the lab started as usual. We were getting the equipment out to investigate the coefficient of static friction when quite a strange noise caught the students' attention... We witnessed a Whitehouse Station earthquake (M 4.8) followed by a few aftershocks.

In the afternoon, the Gladstone earthquake (M 3.8) shook NJ.

(map source: earthquake.usgs.gov)

The map shows numerous earthquakes (M > 2.5) within the last 24 hours before the screenshot was taken. Did you notice anything unusual about the blue dot that shows the location of the NJ earthquakes today?

Professor, you must keep up with the smartphones!

Today, I spent about 10 minutes (that's a lot of time in the lab!) explaining how to correctly use a protractor.

Students listened carefully and, when I finished, did that:

The person who learned today was me. Here is the lesson: Drop the protractor, and keep up with the modern world!

Partial Solar Eclipse in NJ

This Saturday, October 14, 2023, we will experience a partial solar eclipse. Even if we see only about 25% of the Sun covered by the Moon, it is worth it!

Here is what to do:

Step outside at about 12:10 PM. The eclipse will have already started.
Locate the Sun and watch it with your solar viewing glasses.
The Moon will cover the lower right corner of the Sun.
You can use your glasses to cover the phone lenses and take pictures.
The maximum is expected at about 1:20 PM
The phenomenon will last until about 2:30 PM

If you want to share all cool pictures, please send them and we will post them here!

Please visit timeanddate.com for more details.

All the Hard Work!

All these crossed lines, repeated measurements, and corrected notes! This is a true learning here. No "ready-made" answers, all of what students learn, they discover themselves. I prefer the workbook in which I see the process of discovery rather than a nice note copied from somewhere. Nowadays, you can easily find an answer to any question, just by opening your favorite browser... That, however, is not learning. That is copying answers from the Internet. Sometimes I am under the impression that copying without understanding.

I propose something different: a hard-copy workbook in which you must write yourself, correct, re-do... Yes, I like the workbook which shows the process, not the final product.