Physics News from the AIP term 4 No 1



Current Items from Previous “Vicphysics News”

Updated Dec 2017

Check below for full details on each of the following items.

Categories:

A. VCAA

B. Physics Exams

C. Professional Development

D. Resources and Events for Teachers

E. Events for Students

F. General Information

VCAA

A1. Physics in the National Curriculum: a Discussion paper

A2. Want to be a VCE Exam Marker?

A3. Popularity of Detailed Studies in 2013

A4. 50 years of Year 12 Physics: A personal perspective on course design and assessment by Dr Syd Boydell

A5 Video of VCE Physics Implementation Workshop in 2015

Physics Exams

B1. VCAA Examination Results Service. “How did my students go on Q’n 5 of the June paper?”

B2. Responses, critiques and solutions

B3. Distribution of Letter Grades and Grade Points in the Exams

B4. Revision strategies, Advice for students and Course summaries

Professional Development

C1. Free access to “Physics Education”, one of the best physics teacher journals

C2. Postcode list of teachers, schools and Detailed Studies

C3. Conference Proceedings: STAV/Vicphysics Physics Teachers Conferences

C4 Material from the Beginning Physics Teachers In-Service

C5. How do you advise students doing Unit 2 without Unit 1 or Units 3 &4 without Units 1 & 2?

C6. Socio-economic background and doing Physics: The UK experience

Resources and Events for Teachers

D1. Nuclear Energy website established by Physics Dept, University of Melbourne

D2. “Physics Review” a UK magazine for students available in Australia

D3. Astrophysics resources at CSIRO (also see Nos 26 and 43 below)

D5. Producing colour with sticky tape and 2 Polaroid filters: A Conference follow up

D7. AIP Monthly Meetings

D8. Mythbusters: Science on TV

D11. More contributions on the Transistor

D12. Web resources from the Harry Messel International Science School

D14. Lunar Olympics: A NASA initiative!

D15. Results of Pirelli Relativity Challenge: The international multimedia competition

D16. “Do we need Nuclear Power” A Physics Forum

D17. More Astrophysics Resources

D18. Science Updates from the ABC

D22. UK Website to help new Physics Teachers

D23. Victorian Space Science Education Centre

D24. Teaching Medical Physics: A new resource

D30. Physics on

D32. Nova: Science in the News: Thinking ahead – fusion energy for the 21st century?

D35. Scientists in Schools Scheme

D36. Physics for our Future: video broadcasts on the internet

D37. Latest NOVA: Science in the News Site: Quantum computers, why would you want one?

D38. “Why is it so?” Sumner Miller videos now on the ABC website

D39. Video of the Double Slit Experiment with Electrons

D40. Astronomy material from WA

D41. Multimedia resources for Mechanics from University of New South Wales

D42. Multimedia Resources for the Sciences from WGBH Education Foundation

D43. A Moon Clock Resource

D44. Using Dark Matter to teaching Circular Motion and Gravitation (movie and resources)

D45. The Naked Scientists

D46. PULSE: PULsar Student Exploration online at Parkes

D47. The Seven Wonders of Science and Technology

D48. “ScienceAlert” An Australian Science news website

D49. “Alternative Energy” resource that also aids Africa: “Letting Chibobo Shine”

D50. Student Misconceptions in Physics: Some Useful Resources

D51. Fermi Questions

D52. The Melbourne Solar System Trail

D53. Nova: Science in the News: “The quest to make hydrogen the fuel of the future”

D54. Large Hadron Collider website.

D55. How fast could have Usain Bolt run?

D56. Atmospheric Optics: Website on rainbows, haloes, glories, coronas and much more.

D57. What is that old equipment in the back cupboard used for? “Instruments for Natural Philosophy”

D58. Institute of Physics (IOP) “Physics Education”: Free downloads of selected articles.

D61. Astounding Astrophotographs

D62. Galaxy Zoo, where you can help astronomers explore the Universe

D63. Colin Hopkins’ CDROM material.

D64. Age News Story on Fluorine 18 as a tracer in PET Scans

D67. Nova: Science in the News “Hunting for dark energy with the WiggleZ”

D68. Prof Rachel Webster talks on 400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes : audio file

D70. Photonics Simulator for Year 10 Science

D71. Richard Feynman Lectures now available on the web

D72. Entries in the Vicphysics Physics Video Clip Contest

D73. Shining a light on the usefulness of physics

D75. DVD: Engineering Connections

D76. Bite-size videos about science

D77. Slow Motion Animation, ‘Slowmation’, for Lower Secondary and Upper Primary

D78. Latest NOVA: Science in the News Site: Rocking on with hot rocks: geothermal energy

D79. NOVA: Science in the News Site: Excuse me! The problem with methane gas

D80. Alice & Bob in Wonderland (from the Perimeter Institute)

D81. Quantum to Cosmos Festival Video on Demand (from the Perimeter Institute)

D83. Shining a light on the usefulness of physics: “Optics and photonics: Physics enhancing our lives” 20 page booklet

D84. Latest Nova: Rebuilding humans using bionics. Nova: Science in the News

D85. ‘Geothermal Energy from Uranium Deposits’ and other physics podcasts from University of Melbourne

D88. ‘Physics for an Advanced World’: A resource to promote physics

D89. Women in Astronomy See also D115

D90. Paper planes

D91. Some More Fermi Questions

D92. Physics Crosswords

D93. Youtube videos on Ionising Radiation

D94. Physics Lyrics to Popular Songs - Check the website

D95. Historical articles from ‘Nature’

D96. Galaxiki: A fictional galaxy that anyone can edit

D97. Bionic Eye

D98. Nuclear Information Project

D99 Internet Resources for Physics and Astronomy Education: See also D107

D101. One of the greatest public lectures in the history of science.

D102. Richard Feynman: BBC Interviews online

D103. Honeywell Nobel Interactive Video: Physics Lectures on the Internet

D104. Scale of the Universe Animation: A 'must show' to students

D105. More Physics on YouTube

D107. New Astronomy Resources: Pulsars from Parkes and Discover the SKA See also D118

D108. Orders of Magnitude - Listings in Wikipedia

D109. Web Resources for Astronomy & Particle Physics and Quantum Physics

D110. Japanese Tsunami and FukuShima Reactor: Web Resources

D111. Video analysis software

D112. Neuroscience: Implications for education and lifelong learning. A Royal Society publication

D113. Demonstration Videos for Physics Teachers

D114. Misconceptions: Resources

D115. Girls and Physics

D117. GeoGebra: A free software package

D118. Astronomy Resources including "How I killed Pluto and why it had it coming"

D119. Big History Project:

D121. Perimeter Institute: Resources for Science and Physics Teaching

D122. Up Close: Physics Podcasts from the University of Melbourne

D123. CSIRO publication: Climate Change: Science and Solutions for Australia

D124. The Language of Measurement: A resource for investigations

D125. VCE Physics Podcasts: A Teacher Initiative

D126. BBC Radio Reith Lectures now on line

D127. How many balloons would lift a house?

D128. New NOVA Feature: Piezoelectric Sensors and Self Monitoring Planes

D129. 'A robot that flies like a bird' video - TED: Riveting Talks by Remarkable People

D130. Innovative Physics CD: Update on transfer to the Vicphysics website

D131. Nobel Prize in Physics to Prof Brian Schmidt, ANU - Resources

D132. Rutherford's big discovery – 100 years later (a 10 min video)

D133. Respect the Science: A new Initiative by Australian Scientists

D134. Faster than light Neutrinos

D135. Newton's first paper on a new theory of light and colour - online at the Royal Society archive

D136. Strandbeests

D137. What do physicists actually do? Why do they do it? And what is their work for? Four short films

D138. Understanding Uncertainty: Making sense of chance, risk, luck, uncertainty and probability

D139. Nuffield Physics Teachers' Handbook and other resources

D140. Exploring Physics Apps

D141. Extra Applets and Web Resources

D142. Focus on Optics and Lasers: A Physics World Publication - Free Download

D143. The Royal Society: Online picture library

D144. The Weather of Who We Are: An ABC Ockham's Razor podcast

D145. Universe Sandbox: Interactive Astronomy Software for Everyone

D146. Australia and SKA

D147. Black Holes booklet - free download from Institute of Physics (UK)

D148. More on the Higgs Boson

D149. Physics Questions without Numbers: A Resource

D150. One Minute Physics: Video animations from New Scientist

D151. Light Field Camera: 'Shoot now, focus later'.

D152. POSTnotes: Briefing Notes on Science and Technology Issues: British Parliamentary Office

D153. Some Physics Humour from The Guardian Newspaper and other sources

D154. Scientific Valentines - A flickr site of amusing valentine posters with a scientific edge

D155. Beginning Teaching: some useful hints

D156. Free iPad book on Heat Energy for Years 8 - 12

D157. App for Unit 3 Electromagnetism

D158. A Boy and his Atom: The World's Smallest Movie

D159. Astronomy Resources from the UK National Schools' Observatory

D160. The Life of Psi - Philosophical interpretations of Quantum Mechanics

D161. Physics App - Spectrogram for Sounds

D162. UK Astronomy Resources

D163. 'fizzicseducation' - School visits, kids parties, video science club

D164. Achieving order from chaos: A cute video

D165. Accelerators and Beams: Tools of Discovery and Innovation: A free 36 page download

D166. Higgs Boson and the Future of Physics: ABC TV Big Ideas talk

D167. SPT: Supporting Physics Teaching - A UK Online Resource from the Institute of Physics

D168. Nova: Science in the News - 'Agriculture in the face of climate change' (Aust Academy of Science)

D169. BBC Radio and Melvyn Bragg: Science interviews

D170. NASA Astronomy Resources developed by Australian researchers

D171. Physics of Cancer: a free download from the IOP's Physics World

D172. How can a bike go at a constant speed? A talkphysics discussion

D173. Benchmarks on equipping science in schools - the UK experience

D174. 'Project Physics' - The highly regarded text book is now available on line

D175. Physics Applets on Compadre - New Edition

D176. Seeking more Science coverage in the News - A petition

D177. Earth viewed by Cassini spacecraft from Saturn - NASA photograph

D178. Blog: An astrophysicist's-eye view of societal issues relating to energy production, climate change, and economic growth

D179. A smartphone app to hunt for the Higgs Boson

D180. Revision strategies, Advice for students and Course summaries

D181. Some engaging Videos (Singing wine glasses and Meissner Effect)

D182. Do instructional videos really improve student learning? Dr Derek Muller at The Perimeter Institute

D183. Oscilloscope apps and software CROs

D184. ANSTO's 60th anniversary celebrations: An e-book and an Apple app

D185. Digital Cameras with High Speed Video option

D186. A new topic at NOVA: Science in the News - Higgs Boson

D187. Freely Accessible Remote Laboratory for students - FARLabs

D188. Video Tutorials for Teachers

D189. Sally Ride Science: A website compilation of STEM resources (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

D190. Fish Tank Cloud Chamber - Instructions with video

D191. Using LEGO to teach Nuclear Physics

D192. Bohemian Rhapsody and String Theory - An engaging video.

D193. Video of a Rotating Moon from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

D194. The Science of Medical Imaging: Three articles in 'The Conversation'

D195. Lessons from Finnish Education

D196. Blogs by Physics Teachers

D197. Science of the Olympics

D198. Making Physics Toys from Recycled materials: Arvind Gupta:

D199. Exoplanets: a teaching and learning resource guide

D200. A Catalogue of Astronomy Apps for Phones and Tablets

D201. Physics Manual for Lab Techs

D202. Physics: A Force for Future Security - an article in The Conversation - a SHE activity?

D203. Physics, Skating and Ice

D204. A Human Loop the Loop. A slot car can, can a human?

D205. 'Science' in the Classroom: A Resource from the Journal 'Science'

D206. AstroEDU An online science activity database

D207. Earth Exploration Toolbook A Geoscience web resource for schools

D208 Benjamin Franklin and Electrostatics

D209 Demonstration webpage on Canadian Physics Teachers' Website

D210 Turn your iPhone into a personal spectroscope.

D211 Resources for Promoting Careers in Physics (US)

D212 Graphing challenge - Kinematics Game

D213 Red Bull Stratos Jump analysis

D214 A Brief History of Physics (animated) from the BBC Science Club

D215 FUNcube: Satellite for Students

D216. Science And Technology In Society: SATIS Materials for classroom use

D217. Physics Online Resources from TES (Times Educational Supplement)

D218. Electrolights: A blog explaining day to day physics

D219 Real World 21st Century Examples for Physics

D220 Astronomy Resources

D221 Web resources for Sound

D222 Conceptions of Energy: a new UK approach

D223. Resources from the Distance Education Centre - the old 'Correspondence School'.

D224. Ruhmkorff Coil and detecting ionising radiation

D225. Observing a real image: An impressive Youtube video from Exploratorium

D226. Stunning Images: The 2014 International Earth & Sky Photo Contest

D227. Smashing Physics: A Royal Institution Youtube talk by Jon Butterworth from CERN

D228. Information is Beautiful: A visualisation on nuclear exposure

D229. Amusement Park Physics: Some resources from the US and Europe

D230. Hundreds of Videos of Physics Demonstrations

D231. Datamouse: Making a two photogates from a mouse

D232. 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics: Resources

D233. 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Physics related, again!

D234. More Resources from the Distance Education Centre - the old 'Correspondence School'.

D235. Visualising Sound: A Youtube video

D236. Radioactivity Decay App - Free

D237. Teacher Developed Websites

D238. Pioneering Women of Physics: A Poster Resource

D239. Exoplanet Physics for Junior Science

D240. Making a Science Poster - Some Tips

D241. Project LITE: Light Inquiry Through Experiments: A Resource

D242. International Year of Light: Resources

D243. 100,000 Stars - A 3D visualisation

D244. 'Teaching High School Physics' A Kindle resource

D245. Unlocking your car with your brain - Youtube video from Sixty Symbols

D246. EPIs and Posters

D247. Future of Nuclear: The Conversation series of articles

D248. Slow motion analysis of experiments: Exploding balloons, deformed balls, strange reflections and breaking rods - A Physics Education article

D249. Extended Practical Investigations and Posters

D250. Star Wars VII trailer and using Tracker software

D251. Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs) back on line

D252 General Relativity: Holiday reading and viewing

D253 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse: Analysis of film and video footage

D254 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics: for the discovery ... that shows neutrinos have mass

D255 Juggling Giant Newton's Cradles: Youtube video

D256 Feynman Poetry on Atoms

D257 Seven Brief Lessons on Physics: A bestselling book by Carlo Rovelli, a theoretical physicist

D258 US Websites on teaching strategies and curriculum materials

D260 Nuclear Resources from ANSTO

D261 A Brief History of Everything by Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Youtube video

D262 Course Planning Resources for Units 1 & 2 in 2016

D264. Dare Devil Demo: Connected bodies and Circular motion

D265 Course Planning: Which SACs? Which Pracs?

D266 Rubrics for Assessing Posters

D267 Astrophysics Youtube Videos from Monash University

D268 Course Planning: week by week program

D269 Webpages for Unit 3 topics of Fields, Electrical Energy and Motion

D270 Extra resources at 'EPI' and 'Useful Websites' webpages

D271 PhysPort: Supporting Physics Teaching with Research-based Resources

D272 Physics Video Gallery - A find from

D273 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics - The Secrets of Exotic Matter

D274 Some Engaging Videos: Quarks, rocket powered bike, tennis racket effect, homopolar motor, direct measurement videos, site of 877 videos

D275 Institute of Physics (IOP) “Physics Education” Journal: Free downloads of selected articles.

D276 Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools: A CSIRO initiative

D277 Seeing the world as a colour blind person does: A free app.

D278 Share My Lesson: An online resource of 1000's of lesson plans

D279 A Capella Physics: Gravitational Waves

D280 Space Tourism Posters from NASA

D281 The Nuclear blogosphere: Nuclear Hitchhiker, Restricted Data, Nuke Power Talk, Energy From Thorium

D282 Physics Simulations from Interactives.

D283 Exploring Light: Hands-on Activities and Strategies for Teachers: A free online course

D284 Gravitational waves: the Australian connection

D285 Gravitational Waves detected

D286. Bottle Flip Physics

D287 Classic Physics Papers: Links to original papers

D288 Resources for Flipping Physics

D289 Cheap High Speed Video Recording for Analysis in Physics Experiments

D290 Discoveries with Light: a teacher and student resource on the Australian Synchrotron

D291 A map of Physics: Youtube video

D292 Radioactive 'zombie' cows - A beat up or fake news?

D293 Cosmogenic Radionuclide Dating - An Age article

D294. Free eBooks from Physics World

D295 Radioactive cloud over Europe

D296 ANSTO Resources

D297 Perimeter Institute Resources

D298 Backyard Brains: Resources for electrical experiments on Neuroscience

D299 Visual Illusions

D300 Travelling Wave reactor

D301 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics

D302 The Back Story of the History of the Nobel Prizes in Physics

D303 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry won by three physicists

D304 Physics of Fidgets:

D305 The Science of Thinking

D306 Paul Hewitt's Videos for Physics Teachers:

D307 The Mechanical Universe:

D308 Flipping Physics: More Resources

D309 More iPhone Physics - Video analysis and magnetic fields

D310 A simple and quick Experiment on Coulomb’s Law

D311 How do you start teaching the topic of electric circuits?

D312 PhysicsWorld Magazine: Focus on Nuclear Energy - Free download

D313 Cosmic Vertigo: ABC Radio National Podcasts

Events for Students

E1. Physics Days at Luna Park

E2. Vicphysics Physics Photo Contest: up to $1000 in Prize money

E3. Vicphysics Physics Video Clip Contest

E4. Work Experience Opportunities at Parkes and Narrabri

E5. Gemini School Astronomy Contest

E6. Scinema student film competition

E7. Online Social Networks to assist Physics Students

E8. The Annual Australian Youth Aerospace Forum (AYAF) Queensland

E9. Physics of Angry Birds - A Quantum Victoria program for Students doing Experimental Investigations

E10. Industry To Classroom: A Speakers for Schools project

E11. Student Workshops in Unit 3 Electronics and Photonics, La Trobe University (Free)

E12. Sound in Practice: An excursion for the Unit 4 Detailed Study: Sound

E13. Quantum Victoria's "The Young Scientist & Engineer Series"

E14. Collision! - A multimedia competition on particle physics for students

E15. Science Breakfast for Girls: Thursday 15th August, 2013, Mentone Girls' Grammar School (This is an annual event)

E16 Videos from Victorian Young Physicists' Tournament

E17 Large Hadron Collider: World Wide Data Day for Students

E18 Victorian Young Physicists' Tournament: Judging Criteria

E19 New prizes from the Australian Acoustic Society for secondary student research projects

E20 Poster Competition for Unit 2 Experimental Investigation

E21 Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: Detecting Dark Matter School visits in 2017

General Information

F1. Survey of Class Time on Physics from the Physics Teachers Conference

F2. Victorian Physics teachers are well qualified

F3. Retired Physics Teachers: Casual employment

F4. Physics Teacher Survey

F5. Does going to the Luna Park Physics Days impact on Physics enrolments?

F6. Popularity of Detailed Studies

F7. Climate Change: Vicphysics Initiative

F8. Need an RSS Feed?

F9. Need to form a Moderation Group?

F10. How many Year 11 Physics students go on to do Physics in Year 12?

F11. Enrolments in Physics: Status and Strategy

VCAA

A1. Physics in the National Curriculum: a Discussion paper

Neil Champion wrte a paper titled “Multi-layered national curriculum design principles” that was published in the May/June, 2011 edition of ‘Australian physics’. The article has been put on our website at edresearch.html . If you wish to comment on the paper, please use the Forum section of the website.

Check austcurr.html for information about Physics in the Australian Curriculum.

A2. Want to be a VCE Exam Marker?

With Physics having a single end of year exam in 2013, there will be a need for more markers of the exam.

Marking exams is one of the most effective professional development activities, it gives you insights into how students answer questions and the types of errors they make, and you get paid for it! It can be time consuming and draining at times, but now that the marking is done online it is also quite efficient.

If you are interested, go to the VCAA website, , select 'Careers', then 'Sessional Employment'. You will then be directed to a separate website called 'Sessional Staff Management System (SSMS)' If you are applying for the first time, you will need to generate a user name and password and as part of the application process you will be asked to provide the following information: referee details, your qualification details, e-mail address, date of birth (for verification processes only) and Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registration number (if applicable).

Once registered, you select the position you are seeking and complete the details. If accepted, you will be required to attend a full day Training Meeting held after the exam. Note: It is not acceptable to do online marking at school.

A3. Popularity of Detailed Studies in 2013

A section of the application form for this year's Physics Teachers' Conference asked teachers to give an indication of which Detailed Studies they might be doing this year.

Some people had not yet decided, but about 250 provided information. Of the Year 11 Detailed Studies the proportion for each was: Astronomy (20%), Astrophysics (33%), Nuclear Energy (51%), Flight (49%), Sustainable Energy (24%), Medical Physics (25%). Students do two Detailed Studies in Units 1 & 2.

For the Year 12 Detailed Studies, the proportions were: Einstein's Relativity (9%), Materials and their use in structures (49%), Further Electronics (7.5%), Synchrotron and its applications (9%), Photonics (1.5%), Sound (26%). Students now only do one Detailed Study in Units 3 & 4.

A4. 50 years of Year 12 Physics: A personal perspective on course design and assessment by Dr Syd Boydell

At the recent University of Melbourne Physics Day, Dr Syd Boydell gave a talk on how the Year 12 Physics course and its assessment have changed and not changed over the last 50 years. He also considered what we have lost and what we have gained.

Syd taught for many years at Scotch College, prepared resources such as Checkpoints and has been the Chief Examiner for VCE Physics for the last few years.

The 17 page (6.8MB) document from his talk is available at edresearch.html . Look down the page under 'Articles on research on aspects of Physics Education'.

A5 Video of VCE Physics Implementation Workshop

Last term VCAA held a series of Implementation Workshops around the state on the new VCE Physics Study Design to be implemented in 2016 and in 2017. A video of one of the workshop is now on line at along with videos of the other VCE Sciences.

The video runs for 2 hours and features Michael Rosenbrock of Wodonga Senior Secondary College and a member of the Review Panel. The video includes the powerpoint slides and video of Michael talking to the slides. The discussion at the end on the contributions of the poster, the log book and even the planning to the assessment of the Unit 4 Practical Investigation is particularly useful.

The video can also be accessed through the VCAA website at

VCE Physics Study Design

B1. VCAA Examination Results Service. “How did my students go on Q’n 5 of the June paper?”

VCAA has established a service to enable teachers to find out how their students went on individual questions of their exams. The data the VCAA supplies for each question is your class mean, the school mean, the state mean, the maximum and the Marks for Question. Note: the maximum score is double the Marks for the question as some papers are double marked.

This information will be useful in evaluating the relative strengths and weaknesses of your students and the effectiveness of specific learning activities.

To access this information you need to approach the VASS Coordinator in your school to get the information from VASS. Once in VASS, select “School Administration”, then go to “School Statistics”, then choose “Extended Answer Questions” (this means any question that is not in a separate section of multiple choice questions a la Chemistry and Biology). Now select “Physics” and the data will be displayed...

B2. Responses, Critiques and solutions

For the last few years the VICPHYSICS Teachers' Network has prepared a report on the Exam paper including a detailed question by question critique. These are submitted to the VICPHYSICS Victorian Branch Committee for forwarding to VCAA.

Our website, , has been adapted to allow you to express your thoughts on the Physics Exams.

Just go to the “Forum” section and select “Enter”. If you have never used the Forum before, you will need to register and nominate a password. An email will be very quickly sent to you confirming your registration. If you have already registered and can remember your password, you can scroll down to the section “Comments on VCE Exams” and view comments by others and reply to them if you wish, or generate a new stream of comments by selecting “add a new topic”.

Comments made will be useful to the VICPHYSICS Education Sub-Committee in writing its detailed question by question critique of each exam paper which is sent to VCAA.

Solutions for both exams are available on the website, under “Teachers”

B3. Distribution of Letter Grades and Grade Points in the Exams

The distribution of letter grades for the previous year are available at then select VCE Statistics.

Data on grade points from previous years is on our website in the conference proceedings from the 2012 Conference at conf2012.html

B4. Revision strategies, Advice for students and Course summaries

With only one Detailed Study to be done now in Year 12, there is more class time for revision activities and a change of routine from doing past papers can be of value.

The Revision and Exam solutions page on our website, , has a link to a two page document of different activities that should be engaging and productive, including 'jigsaw' and 'speed dating' exercises. This webpage also has the solutions to past VCE exams.

If you have any revision strategies you would like to share, please email them to the Vicphysics at danok@.

The Students page on our website, has revision information including:

• revision and exam advice,

• a checklist of common errors,

• a template for the A3 summary and

• topic summaries.

This webpage also has a section of links about 'Learning Physics'.

C1. Free access to “Physics Education”, one of the best physics teacher journals

The Institute of Physics (IOP) in UK will allow free electronic access to the latest edition of any of its journals, including “Physics Education”, for 30 days after the edition appears. All you have to do is register. They will also send you a friendly email when the next edition becomes available giving you its table of contents.

To register just go to , select “User Options”, then when that page opens select “create an account”. You will need to enter your personal details and supply a password, which you use to log in to the service. A confirming email is sent once you have registered.

C2. Postcode list of teachers, schools and Detailed Studies

Data on the Detailed Studies for all Units 1 – 4 that teachers did in 2005 and intended to do in 2006 has been extracted from the applications forms for the 2006 Physics Teachers Conference and transferred into Excel along with their school and its postcode. This list has been augmented with school and postcode data from the 2007 and 2008 Physics Teachers Conferences to give 498 entries.

It is hoped that the file will assist teachers wishing to contact someone in a nearby school or someone doing the same detailed study.

The Excel file is located at

C3. Conference Proceedings: STAV/Vicphysics Physics Teachers Conferences

Notes from the some of the sessions of the Physics Teachers Conference are now on the website, under “Events”. These include:

2004

• The keynote address by Dr Russell Tytler,

• Three of the presentations on Course Planning,

• Material from most of the workshops.

A list of Physics teachers by postcode is also available at this page.

2005

• The keynote address by Dick Gunstone,

• The Chief Assessor’s report by Bruce Walsh,

• Material from 13 of the workshops.

2006

• The keynote address by Dr Christina Hart,

• The Physics Oration by Prof David Jamieson,

• The Chief Assessor’s Report by Bruce Walsh,

• Material from 14 of the workshops.

2007

• The keynote address by Dr Graeme Pearman, PowerPoint and streaming audio,

• The Chief Assessor’s Report by Bruce Walsh, streaming video

• Material from 25 of the workshops including audio streaming for 7 sessions.

2008

• The keynote address by Maria James, PowerPoint and streaming audio,

• The Chief Assessor’s Report by Bruce Walsh, streaming audio

• Material from many of the workshops including audio streaming for 7 sessions.

2009

• The keynote address by Prof David Karoly, PowerPoint and streaming audio,

• The Chief Assessor’s Report by Bruce Walsh, streaming audio

• Material from many of the workshops including audio streaming for 5 sessions.

C4. Material from the Beginning Physics Teachers In-Service

Each year the VICPHYSICS Teachers' Network runs an in-service on Saturday morning in mid Term 1 with a follow up full day event during the Term 1 holidays. Several course planning documents were prepared for the participants which may be of general use. These can be found on our website at beginning.html

C5. How do you advise students doing Unit 2 without Unit 1 or Units 3 &4 without Units 1 & 2?

A teacher has contacted the VICPHYSICS Teachers' Network wondering how other teachers would advise and assist a student coming into Unit 2 without having done Electricity in Unit 1. If you have any suggestions, please share them on the ‘Forum’ section of our website, in the category of ‘Teaching Issues’

A similar, less frequent, query is that of a student wishing to do Physics in Year 12 without having done it in Year 11.

C6. Socio-economic background and doing Physics: The UK experience

The UK Institute of Physics (IOP) set up a research program called 'The Raising Aspirations in Physics (RAP) project'. It was a three-year pilot to investigate the barriers that prevent young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds choosing to take physics. It produced four publications: i) A school case study, ii) A review of research, iii) Recommendations from the review and iv) A report on Interventions in a multi-ethnic school.

The four publications can be downloaded from

The link has other publications including two career posters.

D3. Astrophysics resources at CSIRO

CSIRO’s Australia National Telescope Facility (ATNF) is also establishing a website for students to support the Astrophysics component of the NSW Physics syllabus. Much of it is relevant to our course. The address is .

The pages each feature well expressed explanations, a set of mainly numerical questions with solutions available and links to simulations and other resources.

The ATNF is aware of our course and will in time produce a version of the website to match our course, but it is currently quite useful.

Also check No 26, 43 below.

D5. Producing colour with sticky tape and 2 Polaroid filters: A Conference follow up

There was some discussion among participants at one of the workshop sessions at the recent conference on how colours are produced when white light passes through overlapping sticky tape placed between two Polaroid filters.

Detailed answers can be found at , (Note the “zed”, this is a site of amazing facts about polarised light), select “polarized art” to see some examples and then select “what is polage” for the text (diagrams not included) of a physics lecture on light starting with the basics. An effective Flash animation can be found at microworld/polage.html . A useful “how to” website is “”

For a short answer, sticky tape is birefringent, which means that it has two different refractive indices which depend on angle. The material is also dispersive with a different refractive index for each colour. These two facts mean that the colours in linearly polarised white light emerge from the tape as circularly polarised light with each colour at a different phase. Because of this difference in phase, the second polaroid filter diminishes each colour by a different amount, so the colours now don’t combine to give white, but other hues, depending on the phase change.

D7. AIP Monthly Meetings

The AIP holds monthly meetings on topics on interest to physicists. They are held at the Laby Theatre, School of Physics, University of Melbourne. More details on the lectures listed below can be found at the Vic Branch website:

Those attending the lectures are invited to dinner after the lecture with the speaker and the AIP Committee at a nearby restaurant in Carlton. In order to assist with table reservation, could you please contact the secretary (see website) by the day before the meeting.. A $4 is required for parking on the University grounds.

D8. Mythbusters: Science on TV

“Mythbusters” is a US (although it looks Canadian) program shown on SBS. The program investigates myths, but in the process very effectively illustrates the scientific method. Some myths they have investigated are:

• Can mobile phones cause explosions at petrol stations?,

• A brickie lowering a barrel of bricks by pulley, underestimated its mass and was hit three times by the barrel. True or false?

• Electrical appliance in the bath, is it dangerous?

• Can you throw yourself through a skyscraper window?

• Can you test positive to opiates from eating poppy seed buns?

• Is coating the body with gold paint fatal?

• Will a CDROM spinning at high speed shatter?

Their experiments show the use of controls, precision in measurement, safety, logical design and trouble shooting when the unexpected happens.

A useful homework exercise for students would be to watch an episode and write up a report of an investigation. Each investigation usually lasts about 20 minutes so they could also be used in a classroom setting.

DVDs can be purchased from Discovery Channel. Their website, also has a video gallery.

D12. Web resources from the Harry Messel International Science School

The Harry Messel International Science School is held at the University of Sydney in July each year for selected secondary school students. The theme this year was “Waves for the Future”. The lectures are now available on stream. There are 15 lectures in total on the following topics:

• Radio telemetry is the study of wildlife

• Catch, move and twist using optical tweezers: 1 and 2

• Radiation physics and the treatment of cancer

• Psychophysics of real and virtual auditory spaces

• Telecommunications: the here and now

• Telecommunications: the future

• Science of the aerosols we breathe

• Scrutably Personalised Ubiquitous Computing

• Seeing in the nanoworld

• Building in the nanoworld

• Wind, waves and beaches

• The ever-changing life of galaxies

• Quantum mechanics: the wild heart of the universe

• Monsters lurking in the centre of galaxies

The material can be found at . The video of the talk and the Powerpoint slides are shown separately on the screen.

D14. Lunar Olympics: A NASA initiative!

NASA has set up a website exploring the possibility of Winter Olympics on the moon, skiing in 1/6th g! The website address is

and weekly news stories will be added. There are also links to satellite tracking.

D15. Results of Pirelli Relativity Challenge: The international multimedia competition

The competition was in 2005 and some of the winning projects are on the internet.

The overall winner, Kiran Sachdev from Canada, is a charming and engaging animation of the explanation of relativity

Other Youtube videos on relativity are in these teaching notes from Clark University.

D16. “Do we need Nuclear Power” A Physics Forum

The website of the UK Institute of Physics features an extensive discussion between a physicist and an economist on this question. It should be OK for Year 11 students.

D17. More Astrophysics Resources

Dr Robert Hollow, Education Officer at the CSIRO Telescope in Parkes sends out a regular newsletter. To register go to their Outreach and Education website at:

In the mean time relevant items from his current newsletter are:

a) New material is now available on their website on twentieth century cosmology and the Big Bang, it provides a broad overview of historical astronomy, the Big Bang theory, stars and the Sun. The new material is at:

b) "Teacher Resources & Services" page. It has a range of documents and activities that you can download for use or reference. Contributions from teachers are sought so others can share and use your ideas and activities. Some recent submissions including worksheets for classroom use will be posted online soon. If you have something astronomy-related that may interest teachers of any level please contact Rob Hollow to discuss making it available online. To view the page, go to:

c) “SCOPE” CSIRO Education in conjunction with Channel 10 has an engaging new weekly half-hour TV show about science and technology called "SCOPE". It screens at 4 pm on Mondays and is hosted by Dr Rob Bell. The accompanying website provides a schedule of upcoming episodes and video clips, resources, activities and profiles from the episodes that have already aired. The 10 October episode was "Space" and there are many useful ideas and resources to explore. More details are available at:

D18. Science Updates from the ABC

Science Updates is a weekly email alert about recent science coverage that is available online and upcoming TV and radio science programs from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). To subscribe to this weekly alert, visit

D22. UK Website to help new Physics Teachers

The UK Institute of Physics has established a website tap. to support new teachers of physics. The site is called “Teaching Advanced Physics” and contains advice on how to prepare lessons, as well as lots of ideas for experiments and worksheets. It is based on the structure of the UK curriculum, but it is relevant to Unit 1 Light waves, Radioactivity, Astronomy, Nuclear energy; Unit 2 Electricity, Movement, Astrophysics; Unit 3 Motion, Materials, Further electronics and Unit 4 Electric power, Light & matter, Photonics. Each topic, e.g. Circular motion, is divided into a number of episodes, an episode represents a coherent section of teaching, one or two periods; each episode contains links to a number of activities.

D23. Victorian Space Science Education Centre Newsletter

The Space Science Education Centre has set up a regular newsletter, called CAPCOM. It can be downloaded from their website, . If you would like to add your name to their mailing list, please contact information@vssec.vic.edu.au

D24. Teaching Medical Physics: A new resource

The UK website, .uk produced by the IOP, has an extensive range of downloadable resources including PowerPoints on the EM Spectrum, Radioactivity and Ultrasound, additional images, teaching notes with worksheets in Word or pdf, a textbook of 24 pages in either A5 or A4 size and in Word or pdf format, and also posters. The material is written for the GCSE, so it is more basic than Unit 1, but it is very valuable introductory material. The files are quite large, up to 23MB.

D30. Physics on

is a website of short videos. There are over 7,000 videos that have the word “Physics” as one of the tags. Many of these are computer game related, some are classroom projects set by a physics teacher and most of these are light on for explanatory content, but some are amusing. Several are proper demonstrations. A number of videos of resonance in a flame tube are on the “Sound” page,

An hour’s search found the following fascinating videos:

• Hurricane Balls

• Waves in a sphere of water floating in a spacecraft

• A ship of Al foil floating on nothing (SF6)

• Running on a non-newtonian fluid

• Students having fun with Newton’s Laws

• Animation on Particle Wave duality

• The 1927 Solvay Conf with commentary ,

• plus many others.

If you know of any good “Youtube” videos please let us know.

D32. Nova: Science in the News: Thinking ahead – fusion energy for the 21st century?

The Australian Academy of Science’s website: “Nova: Science in the news” at .au/nova contains curriculum resources about current science news. The latest topic is “Thinking ahead – fusion energy for the 21st century?” Fusion is the oldest, and newest, form of energy. What role will it play in our energy-hungry future?

D35. Scientists in Schools Scheme

The Scientists in Schools pilot program, announced by Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training at the recent World Conference for Science and Technology Education in Perth, will promote science education in primary and secondary schools, help to engage and motivate students in their learning of science, and broaden awareness of the types and variety of exciting careers available in the sciences.

The program allows you and your students to work with one or more scientists in a style that suits you and the scientist involved.

The scientist can act as mentor, role model or inspiration for your students, providing you and them with access to new ideas and fresh perspectives in science. In turn, you and your students will help scientists see their work from a new angle and stay engaged with the public perception of their work.

The program is open to schools anywhere in Australia, and to all levels of schooling. The 'scientists' involved will come from a wide range of disciplines and will include research scientists, engineers and people involved in applied science (such as GPs, vets and park rangers). For more details and online registration please visit:

D36. Physics for our Future: video broadcasts on the internet

Physics for our Future is a new Web site launched early June that presents exciting new physics to teachers and schools in Australia. It lists a series of public talks given by prominent Australian physicists throughout Australia over the next twelve months. Material from these public talks, will also be posted on this site and made available on CD as teaching resources for school teachers. Future Physics is supported by the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Atom-Optics Research and the Australian Institute of Physics.

Check the website:

Currently on the site is a talk by Prof Hans Buchor titled “Photons – quantum ideas that could influence your life”. A Quick time video of his talk is available as well as a pdf file of his PowerPoint presentation. The video takes several minutes to download, however the image is small, so it may preferable to run the video, listen to its audio, but watch the PowerPoint.

The next talk, which will be held in late August, is titled “The (not-so-secret) lives of galaxies’ with Prof Mike Dopita.

D37. Latest NOVA: Science in the News Site: Quantum computers, why would you want one?

The NOVA: Science in the News Site, , contains resources on numerous developments in Science. Each topic is has a key explanatory text with links to a glossary, activities, further reading and useful websites. The information is usually pitched at Year 9, 10 level. There are over 40 topics in the Physical science section from car safety to optical fibres, to the synchrotron.

D38. “Why is it so?” Sumner Miller videos now on the ABC website

The Lab, the ABC Science website, has “found some of the funniest, most entertaining segments from the “Why is it so?” series, and made them available for twenty first century enjoyment - over both dialup or broadband connections”. Currently there are 12 episodes available each running for about 5 minutes.

D39. Video of the Double Slit Experiment with Electrons

The Hitachi website, describes the experiment of electrons passing through a double slit, one at a time, yet still producing an interference pattern on a screen. It includes a video (about 3.5MB, 68 sec long) of the screen with electrons slowly accumulating to build the pattern. There is explanatory text on the bottom of the screen as well.

D40. Astronomy material from WA

Astronomy education material has been developed for secondary teachers in Western Australia that may useful for Years 9 & 10. The educational material is a three module (300 pages) set of detailed lesson plans titled "The Solar System", "Stars & Beyond" and "Projects". It is a product of a federally funded ASISTM project organised by AstronomyWA and coordinated by Peter Wheeler, Manager of the Horizon Planetarium within Scitech in Perth.

The material is up-to-date, downloadable as PDF files and copyright free to encourage the teaching of astronomy within schools. The AstronomyWA URL is and from there, visitors should be able to access the material without difficulty.

D41. Multimedia resources for Mechanics from University of New South Wales

‘Physclips” is a multilevel multimedia resource prepared by the School of Physics at the University of New South Wales, . It is an introductory resources package for university students but should useful with VCE students. There are several sections of relevance: Introduction, Constant acceleration, Projectiles, Circular motion, Newton’s Laws of Motion, Weight and Contact forces, Energy and Power, and Momentum. Each section has a film, and linked animations and graphics which are all very well designed. The derivation of equations uses differentiation or integration, but most of sections focus on conceptual understanding rather than the formulae. The section on Newton’s 3rd law does unfortunately say “the action - reaction pair add to zero”, however the rest of the description is quite sound. Angular velocity is also used in Circular motion section.

The animations and film clips used in Physclips are available for download so that teachers may use them in lessons.

D42. Multimedia Resources for the Sciences from WGBH Education Foundation

Teachers' Domain ( ): A US based website of multimedia resources for the classroom and also for professional development. It contains lesson plans from WGBH Educational Foundation, which integrate QuickTime movies, Flash Interactives, diagrams and photos, and background information in pdfs. Many of the QuickTime movies can be downloaded and saved for classroom use. Many of the resources have been developed by Nova, PBS and ZOOM (Children's program). Free registration is required to access the resources.

The resources are in four categories: Earth and Space Science (288 resources), Engineering (204), Life Science (397) and Physical Science (395). Each category has sub- and sub-sub-categories. For example, Physical Science covers Energy, Fundamental Theory, Matter and Motion & Forces. The ‘Fundamental Theory’ sub-category has four sub-sub-categories including string theory (11 resources) and the Special Theory of Relativity (13). Each resource has a grade range descriptor, e.g. K – 8, 6 – 12, 9 – 12, etc. and an indication of the format, e.g. Flash, Quicktime, lesson plan etc.

Each resource is provided with a short description, an extended background essay and discussion questions.

The VICPHYSICS Teachers' Network will search through this website and put links to the relevant resources on our website, but this will take some time, so search away now and let us know when you find something useful.

D43. A Moon Clock Resource

This information is supplied by Dr Susan Feteris of Monash University.

An instrument to tell time by the Moon is available on the internet. It helps to understand the relationship between phases and the positions of Moon and Sun, but it's for the northern hemisphere. .

The designer, Ted Latham has been asked to put a southern hemisphere version up. In the mean time an adapted version is available on our website at teachers/Astronomy.html .

There's a lesson plan on the site, explaining how to use the clock. It's aimed at 'Grades 6-8', but it has been used with first year uni students.

D44. Using Dark Matter to teaching Circular Motion and Gravitation (movie and resources)

Last year this newsletter had an item on this curriculum material. It is produced by the Perimeter Institute, , which does a number of outreach activities. One of which is the development of classroom material. The address above is about a resource package on using dark matter to teach circular motion and universal gravitation. The package contains a video which can be streamed or downloaded. A teacher’s guide can also be downloaded. A teacher’s kit with the DVD, notes, etc can also be ordered at no cost. The 52 page teacher’s guide includes i) suggestions on classroom use of the package, ii) Dark Matter in a nutshell, iii) demonstrations, iv) five worksheets, v) video chapter summaries and vi) worksheet solutions.

D45. The Naked Scientists

“The Naked Scientists are a media-savvy group of physicians and researchers from Cambridge University who use radio, live lectures, and the Internet to strip science down to its bare essentials, and promote it to the general public. Their award winning BBC weekly radio program, The Naked Scientists, reaches a potential audience of 6 million listeners across the east of England, and also has an international following on the web. ”

Stories on the website include: The Biggest Solar Storm in History, A Whole New World: The search for extra-solar planets, CT and Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound and MRI. Podcasts include ‘The Science of the Sun.

D46. PULSE: PULsar Student Exploration online at Parkes

Extract from the newsletter from Robert Hollow at ATNF. To receive his newsletter visit his Outreach and Education website at:

The PULSE@Parkes project (PULsar Student Exploration online at Parkes) is an innovative project that provides high school students the opportunity to control the famous Parkes radio telescope remotely over the internet, under the guidance of a professional astronomer to observe pulsars.

Students can analyse their data to determine a number of properties of the pulsars, the post-supernova remnants of dead stars. Their results feed into a growing database used by professional astronomers. They may discover a new pulsar or help determine the distance to existing pulsars. Students can help monitor them, identify unusual ones or sudden glitches in their rotation. Through participating in this project the students will meet professional astronomers, learn how to control a state-of-the-art telescope, experience some real science and share their work with students from other schools.

The data they collect will also used by the astronomers for real research. Astronomers from the CSIRO Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) use the data to track the evolution of the pulsars over many years, to test Einstein's theory of gravity and hopefully find gravitational waves.

Observing slots are still available for schools from June through to September. Schools can participate in three ways:

1. Apply for and be selected for an observing slot. This will require you to bring your class to the ATNF Headquarters at Marsfield in Sydney for a two-hour observing slot. Students will have pre and post-visit

material to work through as well. Schools are not charged for an observing slot.

2. Use the online learning materials and the data archive without taking part in an observing visit. You may be involved in the education research project associated with the scheme as well.

3. Use some of the materials freely available on the website.

Details about the project and how to apply to take part may be found at:



D47. The Seven Wonders of Science and Technology

Participants at the 2007 conference of the International Commission on Physics Education (ICPE) were asked to vote for the “Seven Wonders of Science and Technology” from this list of 21:

Aeroplanes Astronomical observatories Data visualisation

Electrical generators Heat engines Hubble Space Telescope

Lasers Medical and industrial imaging Microscopes

Nanotechnology Particle accelerators Optical fibre technology

Remote scanning devices Satellite communications Space travel

Spectroscopes Superconductors Telescopes

Transistor Wireless communication World Wide Web

Check their April 2008 newsletter for the result. Is there a middle school activity in this?

D48. “ScienceAlert” An Australian Science news website

“ScienceAlert is a website, , devoted exclusively to delivering Australian & New Zealand science, technology, and innovation news to science, industry, the media, government and the broader community. ScienceAlert news is selected from the websites of the top Australian and New Zealand universities and research organisations. Each news release is evaluated for quality and relevance before being posted. Most stories are presented in their original form, though minor edits to the title and text may be made to increase readability. All content is categorised, cross-referenced and archived to encourage information discovery.” Readers can subscribe to a variety of RSS feeds or email to be notified of the latest updates.

The site is s useful source of media articles. Public comment on the stories is encouraged and these can be valuable for considering different opinions.

D49. “Alternative Energy” resource that also aids Africa: “Letting Chibobo Shine”

Aquinas College in Ringwood and Overnewton College in Keilor have been involved for several years in a joint project to sponsor an African village. The project requires teachers and students to develop useful solutions which address the real challenges of providing sustainable energy. It uses the context of a developing country (Zambia) as the basis for engaging students in real world problem solving tasks.

They have recently received ASISTM funding to enhance the project. Details of the project and the activities developed so far are at . The physics teachers involved are Saverio Ciccone at Overnewton and Stephen Marriott at Aquinas College.

D50. Student Misconceptions in Physics: Some Useful Resources

• Minds*On Physics: “A constructivist, active-learning curriculum for high school physics” produced by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Select ‘Sample MOP Activities’ to access about 28 activities on Motion. Each is about 4 pages long and they are in pdf format.

• A list of students’ misconceptions in Science: ( 26 on Astronomy, 18 on the atmosphere, 20 on colour and vision, 10 on electricity and 12 other topics)

• Electricity misconceptions with explanations

D51. Fermi Questions

“In a Fermi question, the goal is to get an answer to an order of magnitude (typically a power of ten) by making reasonable assumptions about the situation, not necessarily relying upon definite knowledge for an "exact" answer.

A Fermi question is posed with limited information given.

• How many water balloons would it take to fill the school gymnasium?

• How many piano tuners are there in Melbourne?

• What is the mass in kilograms of all the students in your school?

A Fermi question requires that students ask many more questions.

• How big is a water balloon?

• What are the approximate dimensions of the gym?

• What measurement must be estimated using the dimensions of the gym?

A Fermi question demands communication.

A Fermi question utilises estimation.

A Fermi question emphasises process rather than "the" answer.”

Some useful websites with sample questions, solutions ad strategies are :



, , ,

D52. The Melbourne Solar System Trail

“Step aboard Starship St Kilda!

Now you can navigate the Solar System from our glorious Sun to the outer planets simply by following the bike and walking trail on the foreshore of the City of Port Phillip. In 2008 artists and scientists constructed a model of our Solar System to a scale of one to one billion between St Kilda and Port Melbourne. So instead of walking 5.9 billion kilometres from the Sun to Pluto, you walk 5.9 kilometres.

 

Start at the Sun

The Sun sculpture is near the white lighthouse in Marina Reserve at the south end of St Beach. From the Sun follow the foreshore trail north to visit the nine planets, accurately scaled to size and distance. You can walk to the first five planets i.e as far as Jupiter within twenty minutes. The furthest planet of Pluto at Sandridge Beach can be reached within ninety minutes.

 

Why a Solar System?

The City of Port Phillip’s foreshore has always been a superb location to view the Sun setting on the western horizon. The bay’s crescent shape is perfect for a model where the ‘Sun’ can be viewed from every one of the nine ‘planet’ locations. In December 2005 a temporary model of the Solar System was placed on the St Kilda foreshore. The response was overwhelming. The public flocked from all over Melbourne and there was great enthusiasm for a permanent display.

A vision developed for a project combining educational, environmental and artistic themes. The City of Port Phillip, Lonely Planet Foundation, Dr Chris Lansell of Monash University, artist Cameron Robbins and Scienceworks collaborated to realise that vision in 2008.

Education and Science

The Melbourne Solar System is the largest educational resource in scale in Australia, a way to communicate scientific knowledge about the Solar System and the Universe for the general public and for schools.

Our Environment

Seeing the Earth in its true dimensions highlights its immense isolation and vulnerability. We have no alternative choice in the vastness of space but to care for the rare and precious environment of our only home.”

The launch is set to be on the Sunday, 21st of September. Check the media for exact time and place. The Astronomy Society of Victoria will have several Astronomers present and they will be setting up telescopes and giving talks at the launch.

D53. Nova: Science in the News: “The quest to make hydrogen the fuel of the future”

The Australian Academy of Science’s website: “Nova: Science in the news” at .au/nova contains curriculum resources about current science news. The latest topic is “The quest to make hydrogen the fuel of the future”. Australia and many other countries around the world are preparing for hydrogen to take over from fossil fuels and move to what’s being called the ‘hydrogen economy’. But there are some big hurdles to overcome before it can happen.

The NOVA site contains resources on numerous developments in Science. Each topic is has a key explanatory text with links to a glossary, activities, further reading and useful websites. The information is usually pitched at Years 9, 10 level. There are over 40 topics in the Physical science section from car safety to optical fibres, to the synchrotron.

D54. Large Hadron Collider website

The home page of the LHC website has a link to ‘General Information and Outreach’. This link reveals a host of resources including:

• A 3D interactive view of the tunnel,

• Videos on the theme ‘Beyond Einstein’ and links to other videos,

• Animation of the ring,

• Webcam,

• LHC in 60 seconds,

• Guided Tour of the LHC and

• Much more.

Also see item under “Physics News from the Web” below.

D55. How fast could have Usain Bolt run?

A scientific article “Velocity Dispersion in a Cluster of Stars: How fast could have Usain Bolt run?” has been written and has been submitted to the American Journal of Physics. It can be accessed at . It contains graphs, photos and tables of data and should be understood by most Year 11 and 12 students.

The link has the 10 metre split times of seven 100 m runners from Ben Johnson to Bolt, which should allow easy comparison.

Other Sports Science resources include:

a) Quintic Case Studies which has material for the topics of a sprint start (Impulse), weight lifting (Power) and bouncing ball (Coefficient of restitution). Each topic has a description of the physics, the experimental setup, typical data and graphs as well as downloadable files on the written up case study, the actual data in an excel spreadsheet as well as the avi files.

b) Sport Horizon has stick figure video of various sports, the videos can be rotated in 3D and slowed down, but no data is available.

D56. Atmospheric Optics: Website on rainbows, haloes, glories, coronas and much more

The website, , is a very professional website on atmospheric optics. For example under ‘Rainbows’ there are 16 different headings including supernumeraries, Alexander’s dark band as well as a gallery of extraordinary photos. Other areas include Shadows, Ice Haloes and a gallery of general photos (OpticsPod).

D57. What is that old equipment in the back cupboard used for? “Instruments for Natural Philosophy”

If you have an old piece of physics equipment in the back of your cupboard and have wondered what it could be used for, then this website might provide the answer. Prof Greenslade of Kenyon College, Ohio USA has been researching old equipment for a few decades and set up the website which displays pictures of about 1850 pieces of apparatus, along with text and references.



The site is great fun to browse through. The early electric motor designs are instructive, reflecting the developing understanding of electromagnetism and the electrostatic apparatus look very familiar to the unusual insulated metal objects down the back. Thanks to Karlie McGrath from Mordialloc College for passing on the website.

D58. Institute of Physics (IOP) “Physics Education”: Free downloads of selected articles.

The IOP journal “Physics Education” offers free downloads of a few selected articles. These can be found at

.

If you select “Latest issue (complete)” it shows the table of contents for the current edition. Several of the articles of this edition are marked “Open access” and can be downloaded. There are six editions each year, so checking the website at the beginning at end of each term should pick up most editions.

If you select “Highlights of 2015” it reveals 16 high interest articles from editions in 2015.

If these articles are of interest, it may be wise to download then now, as the IOP may replace them with others some time in the near future.

D61. Astounding Astrophotographs

The two people who designed our website, Neil Creek and Phil Hart, who is also the son of Dr Christina Hart, are both successful astrophotographers. An amazing set of 10 photos by Phil are on display at the website: . Neil also had an impressive photograph published in Discover magazine

D62. Galaxy Zoo, where you can help astronomers explore the Universe

The Galaxy Zoo ( ) files contain almost a quarter of a million galaxies which have been imaged with a camera attached to a robotic telescope (the Sloan Digital Sky Survey). In order to understand how these galaxies — and our own — formed, we need your help to classify them according to their shapes — a task at which your brain is better than even the fastest computer.

More than 150,000 people have taken part in Galaxy Zoo so far, producing a wealth of valuable data and sending telescopes on Earth and in space chasing after their discoveries. “Zoo 2” focuses on the nearest, brightest and most beautiful galaxies, so to begin exploring the Universe, click the ‘How To Take Part’ link or read ‘The Story So Far’ to find out what Galaxy Zoo has achieved to date.

D63. Colin Hopkins’ CDROM material

Many teachers will have attended a Colin Hopkins’ session at a Physics Teachers’ Conference, his session has been a regular and popular feature of the conference. As part of the session Colin distributes a CDROM material that he has compiled and also personally prepared. He also continues to add to the CDROM. He has kindly made this material available to be put on this website. Documents will be progressively added during April 2009. They will be grouped under the headings ‘Teaching resources’, ‘Videos, ‘Images’ and Revision’. Currently several of the videos he uses have been added. These can be found at hopkins.html

In addition to teaching at Bialik College, Colin has for many years supported beginning physics teachers as well as teachers in isolated schools. He sends out an occasional email newsletter with his latest resource as an attachment. Colin’s email address is HOPKIC@bialik.vic.edu.au.

D64. Age News Story on Fluorine 18 as a tracer in PET Scans

The Age on Saturday, 25th April, featured a story on page 11 on the use of Fluorine 18 as a radioactive tracer in the identification of the parts of the brain affected in epilepsy.

A background Word document has been prepared about the radioactive isotope, Fluorine 18 and put on the Vicphysics website. The document describes its production, decay mode, half life and its use as a radioactive tracer in nuclear medicine. There are links to the Age article as well as the ANSTO press release and wikipedia sites on the radio-pharmaceuticals. The document can be found at nuclear.html

D67. Nova: Science in the News “Hunting for dark energy with the WiggleZ”

The Australian Academy of Science’s new Nova: Science in the News topic is ‘Hunting for dark energy with the WiggleZ’. Like other ‘Nova’ news stories this is supported by sections on Key text, Glossary, Activities, Further reading and Useful sites.

The Activities page has links to i) a NASA site with 5 activities, ii) a short video on the expanding universe, iii) a 76 page Teacher’s Guide from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for astrophysics, iv) activities from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, v) an interactive tutorial on the Doppler shift and vi) an activity of the speed of galaxies from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

D68. Prof Rachel Webster talks on 400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes : audio file

Astrophysicist Prof Rachel Webster discusses the evolution of the astronomical telescope on the University of Melbourne’s ‘Up Close’ audio series. The talk celebrates the International Year of Astronomy 2009. . This is a 29 min file which can be downloaded.

Astrophysicist Prof Rachel Webster discusses the evolution of the astronomical telescope - from Galileo's version in 1609 to the Hubble space telescope, and then onto the upcoming James Webb space telescope which will be parked so far from earth that it can't be repaired. Every improvement to the telescope has extended our understanding of the universe around us.

D70. Photonics Simulator for Year 10 Science

The Centre for Ultrahigh-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) at Macquarie University has produced an educational simulation of a photonics communications system.

The package does not link well to Unit 4 Photonics, but it would be a useful activity in a Year 10 physics or electronics unit. The package includes two short video animations, one on ‘Getting started’, which effectively shows how to construct systems, in a drag and drop style, to solve various challenges and another video shows in simple terms how a photonics router works. There are 15 challenges from quite straightforward to very difficult. Available components in the simulation include laser sources, buffers, couplers, amplifiers, switches, filters and beam ‘collision detectors’. To solve each challenge the required types of components are displayed and you can use as many as you need.

At this stage there is not a teacher’s guide or a set of correct solutions. Students also cannot save or print their solution to a challenge.

The developers are seeking feedback.

D71. Richard Feynman Lectures now available on the web

In 1964 just before he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, Richard Feynman gave a series of lectures at Cornell University, called the Messenger Series. These were recorded by the BBC. Bill Gates of Microsoft has just bought the rights to the seven lectures. You can now watch them for free, but first you need to download and install TUVA software from Microsoft, which is an enhanced video player (which should take only a minute or two). This is the address of the software . The original source of this information was

The lectures each run for about an hour.

1. Law of Gravitation: An Example of a Physical Law

2. The Relation of Mathematics and Physics

3. The Great Conservation Principles

4. Symmetry in Physical Law

5. The Distinction of Past and Future

6. Probability and Uncertainty - the Quantum Mechanical View of the Nature

7. Seeking New Laws

The display for the first video contains a timeline divided into chapters with titles so that you can jump to a relevant section, e.g. ‘Weighing the earth’. Each chapter also has many extras, which might a link to a scientist’s biography, or an animation on circular motion, etc. His text also appear below the video and the whole text can also be displayed. Some of the illustrations are in ‘inches’, etc.

The website says that other lectures will have their additional material of extras and commentary later in 2010, but as of October 2010, they are not yet available. The first lecture also has a relatively amusing introduction by the University Provost. Feynman seems a touch nervous at the beginning of the first lecture.

D72. Entries in the Vicphysics Physics Video Clip Contest

Two entries were received in the 2009 Video Clip Contest, both from Barry Homewood from Braemar College. They are titled “The Invariant Spacetime Interval” and “Demonstrating the Light Clock”. ‘mov’ versions of the videos can be accessed at Videocontest.html .

Entries close on the last day of Term 3.

A double sided flyer promoting both the Photo contest for students and the Video contest for both students and teachers was mailed to schools last week. Copies are available at the respective events on the website.

D73. Shining a light on the usefulness of physics

“Optics and photonics: Physics enhancing our lives” is a 20 page booklet, prepared by the Institute of Physics (IOP) in the UK. The document includes six chapters, each of which explores how fundamental research in physics is delivering practical technologies for everything from optical communications to medical scanning to semiconductor fabrication.

The chapter called “Photonic waterfalls”, for example, explains why the “quantum cascade laser has a bright commercial future”. “The perfect image” chapter outlines how adaptive optics developed by astronomers are being used in a wide range of applications including security scanning and microscopy.

Other topics covered in the report include the use of plasmonics to beat the diffraction limit and how electromagnetically induced transparency could revolutionise optical communications.

It can be downloaded at The file is 4.8MB.

Other documents produced by the IOP are:

“Physics for an advanced world: A look at the vital contribution that physics research has made to a number of major technological developments”. The 44 page booklet has articles on the following: Cancer diagnosis and treatment, DNA and physics, The Global Positioning System, Holography, Lasers, Liquid-crystal displays, Magnetic resonance imaging, Optical fibres, The ozone layer, The World Wide Web. Each article starts with an explanation of the technology, followed by a sections on the science, applications, current developments and impacts, it also includes a discovery timeline and weblinks.

. The file is 4.1MB.

D75. DVD: Engineering Connections

This is the DVD of the TV program by Richard Hammond (Top Gear) in his quest to find the ‘Engineering Connections’ behind the world's most advanced structures: the Airbus, the largest Airliner ever to exist; the Taipei Tower; one of the tallest buildings on Earth; the Troll A Platform and the strongest telescope ever made, the WM Keck Observatory. The DVD sells for $29.95 from the ABC Shop and the SBS Shop. Excerpts can be seen at . The DVD contains about 200 mins of video.

D76. Bite-size videos about science

Web life: Planet SciCast

This is the text from the above link.

So what is the site about?

Planet SciCast is an online repository for short films about science — a bit like a science-specific, moderated version of YouTube. As of July 2009, the site hosts over 150 films on topics ranging from CERN’s Large Hadron Collider to fun things to do with treacle. New content appears on the site every few weeks, and some films include links to information about related experiments, demos and activities. The site also runs an annual competition aimed at getting more people involved in making science films, with prizes in categories like “best original score” and “best presenter”.

Can you describe a typical film?

The majority of the bite-sized movies — the maximum length is two and a half minutes — come from children and young students. Accordingly, most feature experiments that are easy to do in a classroom with common lab equipment or a few inexpensive household items. Some, like a demonstration of alkali-metal reactivity, are old stand-bys of chemistry and physics lessons. Others show an amazing degree of creativity in both their choice of topic and their presentation: a film about lasers, for example, opens with its teenage cast re-enacting a scene from the James Bond film ‘Goldfinger’ before moving on to explanatory diagrams and animations.

Does this mean it is just for children?

Not at all. The site encourages contributions from parents, teachers, science communicators and researchers. Indeed, anyone with a video camera and an interest in science education is welcome to send in material, although the prize competition is only open to amateur film-makers from the UK and Ireland. Despite this limitation, competition for the 2009 best film prize in the “adults” category was fierce. The winning entry came from Andrew Hanson, a senior research scientist at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, whose animated romp through relativity beat a tutorial on levitation, a 1950s-themed explanation of baking powder, and a film on oil and water called, er, The Immiscible Love Story.

Can you give me some highlights?

One thing that the site proves is that sometimes even extremely simple ideas can make great films. A perfect example of this is The Bernoulli Waltz, which pairs table-tennis balls suspended on a column of air with Johann Strauss’ “Blue Danube” waltz in a wordless tribute to the opening sequence of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Other films rely on clever word play — particularly The Geiger Müller Groove (showcasing a catchy rap about alpha, beta and gamma radiation), which won “best physics film” in 2009. Be sure to check out The Formation of Crude Oil, which illustrates the required elements — dead sea creatures, lack of oxygen, pressure and heat — in a way that is simultaneously informative, amusing and rather disturbing to lovers of stuffed toys.

D77. Slow Motion Animation, ‘Slowmation’, for Lower Secondary and Upper Primary

“Slowmation” (abbreviated from ‘Slow Motion Animation’) is a new yet simplified form of stop-motion animation that can engage students in using the technology to create their own animations of science concepts. These learner-generated digital animations can be enhanced with narration, labels and real-life photos. The website, , has details on how to use ‘Slowmation’ in your classroom as well as examples of animations from upper primary science that have already created. This is an initiative of the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong.

D78. NOVA: Science in the News Site: Rocking on with hot rocks: geothermal energy

The NOVA: Science in the News Site, , contains resources on numerous developments in Science. Each topic is has a key explanatory text with links to a glossary, activities, further reading and useful websites. The information is usually pitched at Year 9, 10 level. There are over 40 topics in the Physical science section from car safety to optical fibres, to the synchrotron.

D79. NOVA: Science in the News Site: Excuse me! The problem with methane gas

‘When you ask people about greenhouse gases, chances are they’ll focus on carbon dioxide. But there’s another more potent gas contributing to global warming. Meet methane, the forgotten greenhouse gas’. The Australian Academy of Science’s website, , has the latest information.

D80. Alice & Bob in Wonderland (from the Perimeter Institute)

Sixty-second chalk cartoons pose some really big science questions that help spark discussion, imagination and inquiry. Questions include: Why doesn’t the moon fall down?, Is that star really there?, Can we travel through time?, How does a flashlight work?, Where does energy come from?, How can atoms exist?, Why is it dark at night?, What keeps us stuck to the earth?, What can’t we walk through walls?



D81. Quantum to Cosmos Festival Video on Demand (from the Perimeter Institute)

Full length talks and panel discussions from the recent Festival at the Perimeter Institute in Toronto.



31 Videos are available including:

Quantum to Cosmos : 9 physicists discuss what lies ahead in physics, from the Quantum to the Cosmos.

Quantifying Goethe : Performers: Penderecki String Quartet, Roman Borys, cello, Dancetheatre David Earl Quantifying Goethe presents an evening of music examining the influence of Wolfgang von Goethe on literature, music, and science. The program features the world premiere of award-winning composer Kotoka Suzuki s Quantum Quartet for the Penderecki String Quartet, plus interactive video, dancers, and a quantum computer.

Everyday Uses for Quantum Processors: Quantum computers hold the promise to revolutionize the way we secure information, compute and understand the quantum world. Although general-purpose quantum computers appear to be a long way off, we do have good test-beds of small quantum processors. One of the most versatile quantum test-beds is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR): a version of which is familiar to many in the guise of the medical imaging modality, MRI. In fact NMR has broad importance to society: it is used in drug discovery, in oil exploration and to monitor the processing of cheese and chocolate. We will introduce NMR, show how it helps us understand quantum computing and we will look at how concepts based on quantum computing can improve NMR applications.

9 Billion People + 1 Planet = ? This discussion explores the promise and perils of the next 50 years. Can humanity, heading toward a population of approximately 9 billion, advance economically without overheating the planet? Can food and water supplies be sustained without erasing what's left of wild nature?

The Physics of Innovation: Where does technology come from? Physics! Exploring basic mysteries such as "What is light?", "How can atoms exist?", and "What is space and time?" led to computers, wireless communication, mp3 players, lasers, medical imaging - indeed, virtually every "high tech" device on the planet. Join us in a celebration of the immense power of theoretical physics to transform our world for the betterment of humanity, and learn how current theoretical explorations may hold potential for even more fantastic innovations in the future.

Quantum Physics in Sixty Minutes: Along with neuroscience and rocket science, it has a reputation of being abstract, inpenetrable and horrendously complicated. Even Einstein himself struggled to get his head around it. But, there’s hope! Using references from movies, books and art, this presentation will guide you through the quantum world and give an overview of science’s best theory of the subatomic world to date. Prepare yourself for a mind-bending journey.

The Origin of the Universe and the Arrow of Time One of the most obvious facts about the universe is that the past is different from the future. We can turn an egg into an omelet, but can't turn an omelet into an egg. Physicists have codified this difference into the Second Law of Thermodynamics: the entropy of a closed system always increases with time. But why? The ultimate explanation is to be found in cosmology: special conditions in the early universe are responsible for the arrow of time. This talk will be about the nature of time, the origin of entropy, and how what happened before the Big Bang may be responsible for the arrow of time we observe today.

D82. ‘Clim’ City A simulation game on climate change

‘Clim’ City is like ‘Sim City’ is which players are in charge of a virtual city. They decide how it develops. The winner must reduce greenhouse emissions by 75%, etc, within 50 years.

The game is a French initiative and the English version game and guide (800 kB) are now available, but the background and context material for the game is still in French. If your school offers French, this is an opportunity for joint lessons.

The website explains how the game works, who is behind the site, what it is like to play, tips, who it is aimed at and how realistic it is.

The game itself is at

D84. Latest Nova: Rebuilding humans using bionics. Nova: Science in the News

Bionic bodies have been depicted in science fiction for decades. Now, researchers are making bionics the new frontier of medical science, by creating hi-tech devices to help people walk, see and hear again.

The Australian Academy of Science’s new Nova: Science in the news topic, ‘Rebuilding humans using bionics’, has the latest information. Scientists are striving to develop better controlled, lighter, smaller, more life-like and affordable bionic options. Some of the body parts being developed include bionic limbs that move via electrical signals from the body’s muscles, bionic eyes, brain implants and bionic spines.



D85. ‘Geothermal Energy from Uranium Deposits’ and other physics podcasts from University of Melbourne

Geothermal Energy from Uranium Deposits’ is a 33 min podcast. It seems well suited to Year 11 students. You can download the file, listen on line, or read the transcript at

Other Physics related podcasts include:

• Nuclear Power: Cure or Curse (Prof Sevior, 19 min).

• 400 years of Telescopes (Prof Rachel Webster, 29 min)

• A Quantum Leap in Computing (Prof David Jamieson, 23 min)

• Moving and seeing again: The promise of neural interface technologies (Bionic Eye, 28 min)

• 21st century Cosmology (Prof Rachel Webster, 22 min)

• Calming nanotechnology fears (Dr Amanda Barnard, 20 mins)

• The leap from frogs to plastic solar cells (Prof Andrew Holmes, 20mins)

D88. ‘Physics for an Advanced World’: A resource to promote physics

‘Physics for an Advanced World’ is a 44 page colour booklet, prepared by the Institute of Physics in the UK. It looks at the vital contribution physics research has made to a number of major technological developments.

It has 10 case studies: Cancer diagnosis and treatment, DNA, GPS, Holography, Lasers, Liquid Crystal Displays, MRI, Optical fibres, Ozone layer and the World Wide Web. Each case study has sections on: the science, applications, a timeline, current developments, impacts, key facts and figures, and links.

It can be downloaded from . It is a 4.4 MB file.

D89. Women in Astronomy



The website, by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, is described as follows: “This guide is not meant to be a comprehensive or scholarly introduction to the complex topic of the role of women in astronomy, but simply a resource for those educators and students who wish to explore the challenges and triumphs of women of the past and present. It's also an opportunity to get to know some of the key women who have overcome prejudice and exclusion to make significant contributions to our field”.

33 women astronomers are listed, each with a text and website resources list, as well as general resources on women in astronomy.

D90. Paper planes

This website, is put together by the holder of the world record for the longest time in the air. The website includes sections on plans, paper aerodynamics and educational material. Another future nugget!

D91. Some More Fermi Questions

“In a Fermi question, the goal is to get an answer to an order of magnitude (typically a power of ten) by making reasonable assumptions about the situation, not necessarily relying upon definite knowledge for an "exact" answer.

A Fermi question is posed with limited information given.

• How many water balloons would it take to fill the school gymnasium?

• How many piano tuners are there in Melbourne?

• What is the mass in kilograms of all the students in your school?

A Fermi question requires that students ask many more questions.

• How big is a water balloon?

• What are the approximate dimensions of the gym?

• What measurement must be estimated using the dimensions of the gym?

A Fermi question demands communication.

A Fermi question utilises estimation.

A Fermi question emphasises process rather than "the" answer.”

Some useful websites with sample questions, solutions and strategies are :



, , ,

The site, , has a set of Fermi problems from the University of Maryland listed under the following categories: General (31 problems), Mechanics (13) Waves (3), Heat (4) Electricity and magnetism (9), Modern physics (2).

D92. Physics Crosswords

Some teachers see little merit in using crosswords, while others find them a useful revision tool. The site, has a set of over 20 crossword puzzles, mainly in Year 11 Mechanics and Electricity. They were developed by a school in New York (USA). The grid and clues can be displayed for printing or the puzzles can be done on the screen (check ‘help’ for how to do this). The puzzles were created with ‘EclipseCrossword’, Windows crossword maker.

D93. Youtube videos on Ionising Radiation

The Swedish company, KSU, has produced a set of seven short (1 - 2 min) videos that are available on Youtube. The narration is in a bland, in a ‘Schwarzenegger -like voice’ and the animation is basic. Also, unfortunately the movement of alpha and beta particles is represented as a wave. It still may be a useful revision resource for students.

The titles are:

1. What is ionising radiation?

2. Our radiation environment

3. How is ionising radiation measured?

4. Harmful effects of radiation

5. Quantities and units:

6. Decay.

7. Radiation protection

This is the address of the first one. Links to the others will be on the right of screen.

D94. Physics Lyrics to Popular Songs - Check the website



This website is a compendium of websites featuring physics songs including some original material by Tom Lehrer. There is a search tool that allows you to specify a physics topic, the student level, equations Y or N?, etc. There are hundreds of songs, definitely worth a look. For example, the first two verses of “I Walk the Incline” by Ian Hartman.

1. I keep a close watch on my x and y.

My axes are important all the time.

Without friction I surely would decline.

I walk the line on the incline.

2. It’s not easy to stay on this slope --

Sometimes I need the assistance of a rope.

But knowing my formulas gives me hope.

I walk the line on the incline.

D95. Historical articles from ‘Nature’

Since 1869, Nature has published some of the world's most important physics and astrophysics research, including the discovery of the neutron, the first laser, the discovery of superfluidity, the explanation of quasars, the invention of holography, and much more...

These papers are well worth revisiting, as much for their elegance and brevity as for their seminal content.



Some papers include:

1896: Discovery of ‘Kathode rays’ by Jean-Baptiste Perrin

1896: Discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Rontgen

1910: The physics of golf by J J Thomson

1913: Isotopes and protons by Frederick Soddy

1921: A brief outline of the development of the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein

1923: Waves of matter by Louis de Broglie

1932: Discovery of the neutron by James Chadwick

1939: Nuclear fission discovered by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch

D96. Galaxiki: A fictional galaxy that anyone can edit

is a wiki based galaxy in which you can edit stars, planets and moons, invent alien life forms and create a new online world. Galaxiki is an award winning wiki based science fiction galaxy created, maintained and owned by its community. Membership is free, you can start naming and editing stars, planets and moons, or get your own personal solar system.

As a visitor you can explore the galaxy or read science fiction and fantasy stories written by the community. As a site member you may name and edit solar systems and write your own science fiction or fantasy stories, post news and stories (anything related to science, space, science fiction and fantasy is allowed.

D97. Bionic Eye

Artificial sight is being actively researched around the world. It is a medical application of physics combining electronics, image formation and colour. The following websites have material that should interest students and teachers:

The bionic eye project by the Bionic Ear Institute in Melbourne.

The Bionic Eye Foundation based in Sydney

The Artificial Retina Project based in the USA.

Intelligent Medical Implants in Germany

Retina Implants also in Germany.

D98. Nuclear Information Project



The Federation of American Scientists (see below) provides information for the public on several scientific issues of political significance. Their Nuclear Information Project, 'covers nuclear weapons and arms control and the nuclear fuel cycle'.

The information is available in three sections: Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Nuclear Calculators, each with three topics, e.g. 'Status of World Nuclear Forces', 'Uranium Enrichment Methods' and 'Weapons Fallout Calculator'. In the last example, you choose a city, e.g. Sydney, select a wind speed and direction, and yield from 1 kt to 50 Mt. The graphic shows contours of radiation doses of 300, 25, and 1 REM at 96 hours after detonation.

About FAS

The Federation of American Scientists, an independent, nonpartisan think tank and membership organisation, is dedicated to providing rigorous, objective, evidence-based analysis and practical policy recommendations on national and international security issues connected to applied science and technology. Moreover, FAS is committed to educating policymakers, the public, the news media, and the next generation of scientists, engineers, and global leaders about the urgent need for creating a more secure and better science-educated world.

Founded in 1945 by many of the scientists who built the first atomic bombs, FAS is devoted to the belief that scientists, engineers, and other technically trained people have the ethical obligation to ensure that the technological fruits of their intellect and labour are applied to the benefit of humankind. The founding mission was to prevent nuclear war. While nuclear security remains a major objective of FAS today, the organisation has expanded its critical work at the intersection of applied science and security to include the issues of bio-security, building technologies, conventional arms sales monitoring, energy security, government secrecy, international science partnerships, learning technologies, and terrorism analysis. Their Learning Technologies section is of interest, and the game based learning tool 'Discover Babylon' should be passed on to history teachers.

D99 Internet Resources for Physics and Astronomy Education:

The ComPADRE Digital Library, , is a network of free online resource collections supporting students, and secondary and tertiary teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. Each of the collections contain materials designed for a specific community, e.g. students,. teachers, teacher educators and lecturers. The collections include:

• Physics Front: Resources for teaching physics from K to 12. Material can searched by Year level, topic and type of activity: lesson plan, learning activities, pracs and assessment.

• Physics to Go: An online biweekly mini-magazine for students of physics stories and images drawn from more than 800 websites. Each issue has a particular theme, e.g. 'Martial arts' or 'Colours of stress' with related stories under each of the headings: 'Physics in your World', 'From Physics Research', 'Physics at Home' and 'Worth a Look'. Under each heading there is an introductory paragraph with a link to related material. There are currently over 100 issues available. These could be used as a homework task or a focused enrichment activity. There is no teacher support material for the issues.

• PSRC: The Physical Science Resource Center. The premier US resource for physics teachers of students from primary to undergraduate years.

• The Physics Classroom: This website for students contains tutorials, animations and movies, Shockwave files and collections of multiple choice questions designed to challenge misconceptions. However students need to enter a nominal password to access the questions. Teachers can also use it as an assessment tool. There is also a Review Session for numerous physics topics, with test questions in a range of formats from multiple choice to problem solving and short written response questions.

D101. One of the greatest public lectures in the history of science.

"It has to be one of the greatest public lectures in the history of science. Indeed, the presidential address by Arthur Stanley Eddington to the 1920 meeting of the British Association in Cardiff is still worth reading for the simplicity and clarity of the arguments alone (See below). But it is his extraordinary vision that stands out nearly a century later. Until Eddington's lecture, it was widely accepted that the Sun was powered by gravitational contraction, converting gravitational potential energy into radiation. Some 60 years earlier, Lord Kelvin had argued that this mechanism means that the Sun can be no more than 20–30 million years old. But using simple arguments based on a wide range of observations, Eddington showed that the Sun must be much older than Kelvin's estimate and that stars must draw on some other source of energy". He goes on to propose the formation of helium from hydrogen as the source of energy.

Quote from

The lecture can be found at the following websites:

The lecture has been annotated by Richard McCray of Colorado University for his students.

This is a pdf file of a photocopy of the pages of 'The Observatory', a journal in which the lecture was published in 1920.

D102. Richard Feynman: BBC Interviews online

Program: Richard Feynman: Fun to Imagine Using physics to explain how the world works

In 1983 Richard Feynman recorded a series of 6 interviews. The series focuses on the joy of imagining. The interviews are very accessible and quite inspirational.

Richard Feynman (1918-88) was one of the most remarkable and gifted theoretical physicists of any generation. He was also known as the 'Great Explainer' because of his passion for helping non-scientists to imagine something of the beauty and order of the universe as he saw it. In this series, Feynman looks at the mysterious forces that make ordinary things happen and, in doing so, answers questions about why rubber bands are stretchy, why tennis balls can't bounce for ever and what you're really seeing when you look in the mirror.

The titles of the videos, each about 12 minutes long, are:

1. Jigging Atoms: I get a kick out of thinking about these things

2. Stretching, Pulling and Pushing: Why rubber bands stretch and why magnets are magnetic.

3. How to enjoy a trip to the dentist: The mystery of magnetic and electrical forces.

4. How mirrors turn you inside out: Richard Feynman discusses the 'psychology' of mirrors.

5. Big Numbers: Richard Feynman talks about the role of imagination in astronomy.

6. Ways of Thinking: Feynman ponders the process of thinking.

The video can be seen at

Other Feynman resources on the internet include seven lectures at Cornell University in 1964. These were also recorded by the BBC, but subsequently purchased by Bill Gates and made freely available at . Details about the lectures and support material can be found in entry D71 of the file of past news items from these newsletters, which can be downloaded from

D103. Honeywell Nobel Interactive Video: Physics Lectures on the Internet

The Honeywell company organises a series of public lectures around the world by Nobel Laureates and makes the videos available on the internet, . The physics related ones are:

• Electricity in Biology by Rodney McKinnon (Chem 2003): He starts with a history of static electricity then moves on to electricity in nerves. He traces how scientists progressed from understanding electricity in physics to understanding this “animal electricity”, and in the process he reveals the strange and unexpected manner in which scientific ideas evolve. Select the Year: 2007

• The Science and Politics of Climate Change by Mario Molina (Chem 1995) He discusses climate change, and explores how global emissions of carbon dioxide and other man-made greenhouse gases can be significantly reduced through an international agreement —and at a lower cost than that amounting from damages caused by climate change. Select the Year: 2008.

• The History and Fate of the Universe by George Smoot (Physics 2006) He discusses the Universe's transition from its dark beginnings to its modern galaxies. He then summarises the results recorded by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Satellite, which detected the echoes of the Big Bang, and questions why there are 100 billion galaxies. Select the Year 2008.

• Quantum Physics: from Basic Concepts to Applications by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (Physics 1997) He describes quantum mechanics as an essential means of understanding the microscopic world. He charts the amazing advances made in the last four decades which have enabled us to control and manipulate quantum systems. Select the Year 2008. Note: His English is not that clear.

• Light and Matter by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (Physics 1997) He discusses new mechanisms for generating light, and the discovery of new light sources with remarkable properties. He reviews important applications that have emerged from these discoveries, including atomic clocks, matter waves and atom laser. Select the Year 2009. Note: His English is not that clear.

• The Future of Physics by David Gross (Physics 2004) He discusses 25 questions that define the frontiers of physics and that might guide physics over the next 25 years. These questions address physics in the broadest sense from cosmology, to elementary particle physics, to the physics of quantum matter, to biophysics and the understanding of the mind. Select the Year 2009

Each of the videos is divided into chapters of several minutes with a short statement on what each chapter is about.

D104. Scale of the Universe Animation: A 'must show' to students

This animation, , by Primax Studio uses a slide control to zoom in and out from a distance of a Planck length (10-35 m) out to the size of whole universe (1027 m). Along the way there are diagrams of the numerous objects to give you a sense of the scale, e.g. quarks, carbon atom, DNA strand, ant, bus, Venus, Kuiper belt, Crab Nebula, our galactic supercluster, observable universe. There is much to engage the user, and it uses metres!. The animation is not another 'Power of Ten', rather, it shows the relative size of objects, so a human and a car appear together as do the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy.

D105. More Physics on YouTube

a) Hubble Rap

The “science rapper” Zach Powers has made a three minute video of his interpretation of how the great astronomer would rap about his discovery of the expanding universe.

b) I am radioactive! or my technetium scintigraphy (9:53 min)



A young woman monitors her radioactivity before, during and after a Technetium examination of her thyroid. She has an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid. She uses a Geiger counter reading in microsieverts per hour to measure the count. She speaks briefly with the doctor in German, but mainly in very good English to the camera and in the narration. She shows the gamma ray scan of her thyroid and also observes the count over the following hours. She also tests the radioactivity of her urine, as well as the sediment from its distillation. You can also check her flickr for more results. She also answers the many questions from viewers of the video, including the difference between Tc-99m and Tc-99 and how the Tc targets a particular organ.

She has also made other videos using her geiger counter including i) a tour to a uranium mine to collect some samples and ii) a visit to a nuclear medicine operating room where she measures the radiation before and during the application of an Iridium 192 dose to control prostate cancer in a patient, she also measures the radiation either side of the viewing window. These are on our website in the sections for the various Areas of Study in Units 1 & 2, i.e nuclear.html , medical.html and nuclearenergy.html .

She has made a number of science videos and has her own channel on Youtube, which can be accessed by clicking on her username. Her interests are: computers, internet, medicine, natural sciences, nuclear physics and radioactivity.

c) Institute of Physics (UK)

The IOP has its own Youtube Channel, , but their focus is not wholly educational, some are just good videos, e.g. the gliding snake (worth a look), some are high tech, some career oriented, others for teachers and a few for students.

d) Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bill Nye also has his own channel on Youtube. The videos are short, engaging in an American sort of way and could be useful with Years 7 and 8 students. The videos cover a diverse range of science topics.

D106. Resource on Graphene: An Institute of Physics publication

Graphene: A new form of carbon with scientific impact and technological promise

The booklet highlights the extraordinary properties of graphene and its potential applications, for which the University of Manchester's Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics. The booklet illustrates the unique characteristics of graphene and how they may be exploited for use in a range of practical applications, in particular, for use in electronic devices. The booklet has pages on 'what is graphene and how it was discovered', its unique electronic properties, possible uses as a strong and stretchy material, and in bio-devices, how it is made and how it is currently used.

A PDF (7MB) of the 8 page booklet can be downloaded from the Institute's website at

D108. Orders of Magnitude - Listings in Wikipedia

Wikipedia has fascinating pages with examples across the orders of magnitude from the smallest to the largest for several physical quantities. e.g.

• Speed: 10-9: 1.3 x 10-9 m/s is the average rate of recession of the moon from the earth.

• Energy: 109 J: 2.3 x 109 J is the approximate average amount of energy expended by a human heart muscle over an 80-year lifetime.

The lists would make a useful classroom poster.

Speed: Over 70 entries in the table from 10-11 m/s to c

Energy: Over 140 entries from 10-31 J to 1069 J.

Similar tables for length, area, volume, density, frequency, temperature, pressure, time, mass, charge, power, magnetic field, voltage, radiation, specific energy density and specific heat capacity as well as computing and currency can be found by selecting the quantity at

D109. Web Resources for Astronomy & Particle Physics and Quantum Physics

The Science and Technologies Facilities Council in the UK maintains a website on many aspects of particle physics, including a section for teachers. The section that is useful to us is the resources section, , which has a large set of leaflets, booklets and posters that can be download. The topics covered include planetary science, space hardware, syncrotron, LHC and particle physics.

Other resources include:

• A set of particle physics summary sheets: A3 and A4 sheets which provide a concise summary of important points about quarks and leptons, forces, particle accelerators, particle detectors, and particle physics and the big bang.

• A set of posters on the standard model of particle physics

Schrodinger's Quantum Kittens: A BBC Radio 4 program

A 30 min radio program:

Robin Ince examines Schrodinger's Cat, the paradox at the heart of quantum physics, and discovers its influence on science and popular culture. Fifty years after the death of Nobel laureate Erwin Schrodinger, the quantum mysteries of his cat-in-a-box paradox still continue to drive physicists in research today. Can a living thing be both alive and dead at the same time?

Schrodinger's experiment was an almost playful creation, but one that stabbed at the heart of the 1930s physics establishment. By the 1950s, US physicist Hugh Everett concluded that, indeed, both a dead cat and an alive cat can exist, but in separate universes. His 'Many Worlds' theory inspired authors, from Philip K Dick to Philip Pullman.

Robin follows in the Austrian physicist's footsteps to Oxford University, where Schrodinger was once a fellow, and unearths some original archive at Magdalen College. Physicist Sir Roger Penrose speaks about its impact on quantum theory to this day. Why has Schrodinger's Cat gained such currency not just in science but popular culture? Writer Alan Moore tells how it created a new wave of 1960s sci-fi literature.

So why has Schrodinger's Cat caught the imagination of non-scientists? How is it misinterpreted and used to explain mankind's many unknowns? What is its place at the cutting edge of quantum physics? Robin meets today's physicists and thinkers who still tangle with the idea. And we find, no doubt, that Schrodinger's Cat (in all probability) is very much alive today.

Also available from Radio 4, is a series of 45 minute programs by Melvyn Bragg titled 'In Our Time'.



The titles include: i) The Vacuum of Space, ii) The Measurement Problem in Physics, iii) The Physics of Reality and iv) Time.

D110. Japanese Tsunami and FukuShima Reactor: Web Resources

Authoritative and detailed reports on the impact on the Tsunami on the Fukushima nuclear reactor are difficult to find in the daily papers.

These are some links that provide information of some depth that could be used with students.

a) Brave New Climate has a detailed and well written summary of the event. There is also a length discussion thread.

b) The Wikipedia site, , is both extremely detailed and is updated regularly.

c) A blog run by a Professor of Physics, Prof Apetrov, at Wayne State University in the US.

d) Selection of news stories by Physics Today:

e) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) runs a Nuclear Events website of which reports nuclear incidents and accidents with a detailed description including dosages and a rating of 1 - 7. Just as hurricanes are rated for severity, and earthquakes have their Richter scale, so the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) communicates the safety significance of nuclear events with a consistent numerical protocol.

More than 60 countries have agreed to report nuclear events to the IAEA, most within 48 hours. Here is what the designations mean: A scale 1 event is referred to as an anomaly; a rating of 2 is an incident (where, for example, the regulatory limit for a radiation worker has been exceeded); 3 is a serious incident; 4 corresponds to an accident with mainly local consequences; 5 an accident with wider consequences; 6 a serious accident; and 7, the highest rating, is for major accidents. On this scale, the Chernobyl accident (1986) is a 7, while the Three Mile Island accident (1979) receives a 5 rating. Fukushima is currently a 4.

FukuShima: An update Here are a few more.

a) BBC graphics The website , , features a graphic of 10 animated slides showing the sequence of events at Fukushima, each slide has a explanatory text. Further down the page there are links to Q & A on Radiation health risks and 'New ways to look at radiation'

b) A surprising article by George Monbiot in the Guardian.



c) A radiation dose chart:

Mapping Background Radiation on Google Maps and more on Fukushima

• Background Radiation Google Map: . A group of physics teachers in Scotland have set up a website for teachers to enter the background radiation reading in counts per minute, in their locality using the equipment in their schools. It was quickly realised that the accuracy of such measurements will depend on the brand and size of the GM tube, the voltage at which it operates, etc. So the website was modified to ask contributors to give details of the equipment used and how it was used. However given that schools have comparable equipment, the exercise still has merit. So if you wish to make a contribution from the Southern hemisphere, please taking a reading and add it to the website. You will need a Google account to sign in, but it is easy to obtain.

• Interview with Alexander Yuvchenko, the chief mechanical engineer of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant at the time of the accident. Yuvchenko was in the Reactor 4 control room at the time of the accident. The interview was originally published in New Scientist.

• How 'The Internet of Things' helps us understand radiation levels (see link below). This is on the website of 'ReadWriteCloud'. The article is mainly about data visualisation, but down the page there is a map of Japan showing the radiation levels in microsieverts per hour in various locations. Click on 'Failed Robot' for more information and a more detailed graphic.

D111. Video analysis software

Mike Pekin from Northcote High School gave a session at the conference on using Tracker software. Tracker is a free video analysis and modeling tool. It is designed to be used in physics education and can be downloaded from: . The website also has help files, sample experiments and videos and presentations from AAPT conferences.

Another example of video analysis software is Kinovea, , which is also free. It is mostly used by sports coaches and athletes to study a performance, but useful in a school context. You can output the annotated results as an mp4 video file, and the data to a text file for further work in Excel.

A google search on 'video analysis software' also reveals a number of commercial packages for sports coaches that have a range of demonstration videos and also offer a free trial offer.

D112. Neuroscience: Implications for education and lifelong learning. A Royal Society publication.

The Royal Society's Brain Waves project is investigating developments in neuroscience and their implications for society and public policy. This 2nd report focuses on education. The report authors, including neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and education specialists, agree that if applied properly, the impacts of neuroscience could be highly beneficial in schools and beyond. The report argues that our growing understanding of how we learn should play a much greater role in education policy and should also feature in teacher training. The report also discusses the challenges and limitations of applying neuroscience in the classroom and in learning environments throughout life.

The report can be downloaded from . The report is available in three forms: Full Report (36 pages) , Full Report with appendices and a printer friendly version (14 pages)

D113. Demonstration Videos for Physics Teachers

The National STEM Centre in the UK, that is (STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) supports education in a variety of ways. One is videos for teachers showing how to make the most out of specific demonstrations, currently there are 8 videos available at .

However once you in the site, check for physics related material in other categories.

D114. Misconceptions: Resources

The preconceptions (that is, misconceptions or alternative conceptions) with which students enter a science classroom are not only difficult to identify, but also difficult to correct. A webpage, misconceptions.html, has been set up on our website that brings together resources from around the world. The resources, numbering over 20, not only include lists of misconceptions and their explanations, but also methods to identify them and strategies to overcome them.

The resources have been grouped in the following categories: i) General, that cover several areas of physics, ii) Forces and motion, iii) Electricity and magnetism and iv) Astronomy.

Some examples include:

a) Veritasium Videos is a science video blog by Dr Derek Muller from the University of Sydney. The goal is to make scientific ideas clear, accessible, and interesting. The videos, 24 in number, are short, 2 - 4 minutes, on a range of physics topics, but mainly on motion and are very engaging. They are interview based and focus on people's misconceptions. A highly recommended video is 'The Khan Academy of the effectiveness of science videos' which explains his methodology and pedagogy.

b) Helping Students Learn Better: A10 page pdf document on 'Preconceptions and Misconceptions: A Guide to Enhancing Conceptual Understanding'. It is specifically on high school physics. It has a seven stage strategy for 'Successful Implementation of a Conceptual Approach' s well as several preconceptions or misconceptions for specific aspects for each of the following topics: motion, light, relativity, electromagnetism, modern physics and atomic physics.

c) Force Concept Inventory: The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is designed to assess student understanding of Forces. It consists of 30 multiple choice questions on kinematics, Newton's First, Second, and Third Laws, and types of forces (such as gravitation, friction). Each question has distracters that reflect common misconceptions. The FCI is a respected tool and professionally guarded. It is only available by a password which must be obtained by email from a school email address.

d) Deakin University Activities: Deakin University has prepared a set of activities across the range of science for Years 5 - 10 and are designed to address students' misconceptions.

D115. Girls and Physics

A webpage has been set up on our Vicphysics website on Girls and Physics, girlsandphysics.html . The content is organised in the following categories: i) Resources, ii) Research, iii) Reports, iv) Commentary, v) News stories and vi) Images and Videos. There are over 30 links or documents. The page can also be found from the home page by hovering over "issues".

Worthy of particular mention are the strategies, resources and reports from the Institute of Physics (IOP) in the UK. If you know of any other useful material, please send it to the Vicphysics at danok@

D117. GeoGebra: A free software package

GeoGebra, , is a 'free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that joins geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package. It has received several educational software awards in Europe and the USA. Features include: i) Graphics, algebra and tables are connected and fully dynamic, ii) Easy-to-use interface, yet many powerful features , iii) Authoring tool to create interactive learning materials as web pages iv) Free and open source software'.

Some physics work includes: (dynamic ray diagrams , interactive exponential decay ), but a general search on physics revealed many more and probably better applications, although some are in another language. However the multinational aspect of the resource has its advantages.

D118. Astronomy Resources including "How I killed Pluto and why it had it coming"

The Astronomical Society of the Pacific website, has over 30 podcasts available on accessible topics, like the one above.

Their online magazine 'The Universe in the Classroom' has an extensive article on the Drake Equation along with classroom activities:

The website also has a 5 page article of interest titled 'An Astronomer looks at Astrology'

Thanks to Gary Bass for passing on these resources.

D119. Big History Project:

Big History: An Introduction to Everything

"Everything has a history: each person, plant, animal and object, our planet, and the entire universe. Each history offers valuable insights. Together, they reveal even more. Big history weaves evidence and insights from many scientific and historical disciplines into a single, accessible origin story – one that explores who we are, how we got here, how we are connected to everything around us, and where we may be heading. The Big History Project is dedicated to fostering a greater love and capacity for learning among high school students. Started by Bill Gates and David Christian ...(the) goal is to get big history taught to as many students around the world as possible. "

This site offers a high-level timeline of universe’s entire history. 13.7 billion years is an enormous scale of time, so also included is a timeline that shows these events over the span of a single year

The site describes the themes of the curriculum, Course units, the links to US and Australian curricula and resources with obvious strong links to science.

The organisers invite high schools in the US and Australia to apply for the 2012-13 pilot phase of the Big History Project. This large pilot will include as many as 50 schools that commit to teaching Big History. Participating schools have the opportunity to pioneer the curriculum and will play key roles in evaluating and improving the course. Application forms are available on the website.

They are seeking a diverse set of schools, strong veteran teachers, and supportive administrations. Schools should have the ability to incorporate Big History into the history/social science sequence as a substitute for a required class or as a featured inter-disciplinary elective.

D121. Perimeter Institute: Resources for Science and Physics Teaching

a) Alice and Bob in Wonderland: Nine animated adventures for the Middle School on the following topics: i) Why doesn't the Moon fall down?, ii) Is that star really there?, iii) Can we travel through time?, iv) How does a flashlight work?, v) Where does energy come from?, vi) How can atoms exist?, vii) Why is it dark at night?, viii) What keeps us stuck to the earth?, ix) Why can't we walk through walls?

b) The Physics of Invention: Where does technology come from? Explore, Understand, Build.

"Virtually of the technology we enjoy today is powered by the four key scientific concepts of quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, special relativity and general relativity. The power of ideas and the physics of innovation connects science, technology and society. Enjoy an inspirational video of a live presentation by Dr Richard Epp."



D122. Up Close: Physics Podcasts from the University of Melbourne

On Friday 20th May a podcast interview with Prof Roger Rassool titled 'Radiation for the rest of us: Explaining the alpha, beta and gamma of radioactivity" will be uploaded to the site . A week later a podcast with Assoc Prof Timan Ruff on 'Waiter, there's cesium in my soup: Radioactive contamination and its health implications" will be uploaded.

The podcasts can be listened to online, downloaded or the transcript read.

Previous physics podcast interviews include:

• What seems to be the antimatter?: Where experimental particle physics meets cloud computing (Episode 131)

• Nuclear Power: Cure or Curse (Ep 3)

• 21st Century Cosmology (Ep 45) with Prof Rachel Webster

• 400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes (Ep 67) with Prof Rachel Webster

• A Quantum Leap in Computing (Ep 7) with Prof David Jamieson

• The secret life of shampoo: Bubbles and droplets through the eyes of engineers (Ep 115)

• Getting it on the grid: Integrating renewable energy into our power supplies (Ep 107)

• Geothermal Energy from Uranium Deposits (Ep 69)

D123. CSIRO publication: Climate Change: Science and Solutions for Australia

CSIRO launched Climate Change: Science and Solutions for Australia to help inform business, government, and the community about the many issues that need to be addressed in response to climate change.  The publication draws on the latest peer-reviewed literature and can be found at: .

D124. The Language of Measurement: A resource for investigations

"The Language of Measurement" is a publication by the Nuffield Foundation and the Association for Science Education (ASE) UK. The booklet describes the terminology used in school science investigations. It is designed to help teachers become confident about the special terminology associated with practical investigations, when it should be used, and what specific terms mean.. The aim of the booklet is to enable teachers, publishers, awarding bodies and others to achieve a common understanding of important terms that arise from practical work in secondary science, consistent with the terminology used by professional scientists.

The booklet is in three parts:

• an introduction giving a rationale for the approach taken

• a glossary of key terms

• investigations illustrating the use of the terms in context

The investigations include examples from school biology, chemistry and physics. 'The Language of Measurement' is also applicable to evaluating aspects of scientific claims made in the public domain.

It is available ₤6.50 to members of the ASE and for ₤10 to non-members. Individual ASE membership is ₤80.

Further details at

D125. VCE Physics Podcasts: A Teacher Initiative

Justin Vincent from Warrnambool College, a regular presenter at the Physics Teachers Conference, has set up website, of podcasts and other resources for physics students.

The main focus is video / animated podcasts explaining concepts of VCE Physics. At the moment these are just for Units 3 & 4, (Units 1 & 2 wil be added next year). These podcasts are also available for free subscription through the iTunes store. PDF notes are also be available for download.

Students are currently able to discuss aspects of the podcasts. In the future, there will also be a forum available.

If you wish to contribute to Justin's website, please contact him at vincent.justin.t@edumail..au

If you have set up similar or complementary initiatives, please let the Vicphysics Teachers' Network publicise your efforts.

D126. BBC Radio Reith Lectures now on line

The BBC Reith Lectures are like the ABC's Boyer lectures. The Reith lectures have been going since 1948 and there have been a number of prominent physicists who have presented. They include:

• Robert Oppenheimer examines the impact of quantum and atomic theory on the way societies view themselves and others in six Reith lectures (1953).

• Bernard Lovell, Professor of Radio Astronomy at Manchester University, examines the history of and current inquiry into our solar system and the origin of the universe (1958)

• Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, Master of Trinity College and Astronomer Royal, delivers four lectures exploring the challenges facing science in the 21st century (2010)

Others of general interest include: Bertrand Russell, Arnold Toynbee and Peter Medawar.

Transcripts and audio downloads are available. They can be found at :

Another BBC Radio material that might be of interest is Melvyn Bragg's discussions on the history of ideas across a range of topics, . Physics related ones are:

The Neutrino, The Age of the Universe, Random and Pseudorandom, Thomas Edison, Women and Enlightenment Science and Imaginary Numbers. The programs run for 45 minutes

D127. How many balloons would lift a house?

The answer to this question and many other engaging questions can be found in The Journal of Special Physics, which is a journal by undergraduate students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester. The articles are about two pages in length and many are accessible to teachers and interested students. Go to and select Archives. There is also a search facility.

The above article was triggered by the animation film Up!. Other articles include:

• Determining the smallest migratory bird ... able to carry a coconut. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Vol 9 No 1)

• Using a laser to heat a 'Cup a Noodles' Big Bang Theory (Vol 9 No 1)

• How radioactive is a banana? (Vol 9 No 1)

• Playing football (soccer) on Mars (Vol 9, No 1)

• Gravitational influence on the pole vault (Vol 9 No 1)

• Spider silk, can it support a man? Spiderman (Vol 9 No 1)

• Sunshades for the Earth (Vol 8 No 1)

D128. New NOVA Feature: Piezoelectric Sensors and Self Monitoring Planes

Nova: Science in the News is an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science, . It has numerous features on topical science, each with extensive support material. This text article looks at the use of piezoelectric sensors in non-destructive testing by the DSTO. The support material includes: Activities with links to several websites of construction tasks, Links to further reading, Useful websites and a Glossary.

The Nova topic list for the Physical Sciences has sections on Astronomy, Energy, Road safety, Materials, etc.

D129. 'A robot that flies like a bird' video - TED: Riveting Talks by Remarkable People

TED is a nonprofit devoted to 'Ideas Worth Spreading'. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

This link from TED, , is a video of a short talk about such a robot. The highlight is footage of the robot with a wingspan of an albatross flying above the heads of the audience - a beautiful, graceful video to excite your students.

Closer searching of TED reveals many other short videos by inspirational speakers, the presentations are designed to be accessible to the general public. There are 260 videos on Science. A search for Physics gave 156 talks by people such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Brian Cox, Freeman Dyson, George Smoot, Lee Smolin and Martin Rees.

A Word document containing details of interesting TED videos can be found at news.html, then you can search the TED site. This file will be updated as more titles are identified.

D130. Innovative Physics CD: Update on transfer to the Vicphysics website

In 2003 VCAA produced a CD of Physics resource material in partnership with the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (DIIRD). The CD contained information for five Detailed Studies: Aerospace (now called 'Flight'), Astrophysics, Structures and Materials (now called 'Materials and their use in structures'), Medical Physics and Photonics. The information included:

• Class material: contexts related to innovative and emerging industries, practical activities and assessments,

• Careers: personal profiles and career information and

• Resources: numerous web-links.

The CD was distributed to schools, but with time such things are easily misplaced. So, the contents are being added to the Vicphysics website, .au. This is being done by Karlie McGrath and Dan O'Keeffe.

The attack of the website at the end of Term 2 interrupted the transfer, but it is now progressing.

The content for Astrophysics has been uploaded and can be accessed at innovativeastrophysics.html. Some material for 'Medical Physics' has been uploaded with the rest to follow in the coming weeks, it can be accessed at .

The content for Unit 3 'Materials and their use in structures' was uploaded last term and can be accessed at innovativematerials.html.

The resources can also be accessed from the home page by selecting 'Teachers', then 'VCE Resources', then choosing the specific unit.

D131. Nobel Prize in Physics to Prof Brian Schmidt, ANU - Resources

The Nobel Prize for Physics in 2011 has been awarded jointly to Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, Adam G. Riess for "the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae".

The following information is available from the Nobel Prize website:

The scientific background (19 pages, 1 Mb):

Information for the public (7 pages, 4.9 Mb):

Interview with Brian Schmidt:



Prof Schmidt's home page, , also has a document 'The accelerating Universe - an explanation for the interested non-scientist'.

The IOP Journal, PhysicsWorld, has two relevant articles:

• Dark Energy: the decade ahead, An article from 2007 by Saul Perlmutter, Nobel Prize recipient:

• Dark Energy, An article by science historian, Robert Crease from 2007 in which he says " The competition between the two teams of scientists that discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating reveals how hard it can be to assign scientific credit – particularly when a Nobel prize may one day be at stake "

Each year in the weeks after the announcement, the AIP Vic Branch holds a public lecture on the Nobel Prize in Physics. The next newsletter will have details of this year's talk.

Note also that the Nobel Prize for Chemistry has a strong physics component. It was given to David Shechtman for his discovery of quasicrystals. For details:

D132. Rutherford's big discovery – 100 years later (a 10 min video)

Note: the video is only available for a short while.

In 1911 the New-Zealand-born physicist Ernest Rutherford published a paper that was to revolutionise science. The pioneering work was carried out at the University of Manchester where Rutherford held the Chair of Physics for 12 years. To mark the centenary of these landmark experiments, the university hosted a special week-long conference in August 2011. The event was organised by the UK's Institute of Physics.

In this short film, journalist James Dacey reports from the conference where he caught up with two of the keynote speakers. First, Dacey meets the University of York physicist, David Jenkins, who describes how Rutherford's experiments overthrew the prevailing picture that atoms were solid building blocks of nature. In this discussion, Jenkins talks about how Rutherford's work has led to some important practical applications, including big advances in the field of medicine. "Understanding the nucleus and radioactivity has led to many diagnostic techniques for medicine like positron emission tomography, or the radiotherapy cancer treatments that people receive."

For a different take on Rutherford's discovery, Dacey also met physicist John Schiffer of Argonne National Laboratory. Schiffer explains how, after visiting Rutherford's laboratory, Niels Bohr was able to develop a coherent theory of quantum mechanics based on the idea of a nuclear atom. Dacey also encourages Schiffer to take his imagination beyond fundamental physics by asking what might have happened if Rutherford had not made his discovery in 1911. In a fascinating response, Schiffer speculates that other scientists would have been unlikely to make the discovery before the onset of the First World War. Continuing this line of thought, Schiffer believes that the discovery of fission may then have been delayed until after the Second World War. "Would the first use of nuclear weapons have been in a third world war?

D133. Respect the Science: A new Initiative by Australian Scientists

'Science and Technology Australia', the new name for the Federation of Australian Science and Technological Societies (FASTS) has set up a website 'Respect the Science' to get on the front foot in the public discussion of matters such as climate change.

One feature that will be useful in schools is a series of short videos, each about 2 min, explaining the scientific process. The titles of the five videos are: Intro, Ideas, Testing, Peer Review and Certain. The website is and select 'Video'. There are no support materials, but the videos are clear and direct.

D134. Faster than light Neutrinos:

More links See also Physics newsletter 2011, Term 4 No 1

Some interpretations and comments:

• A short BBC Radio interview with Brian Cox

• An explanation from Popular Science

• The Guardian newspaper has a detailed article as well as links to articles by Brian Cox and others and also a Q&A section

D135. Newton's first paper on a new theory of light and colour - online at the Royal Society archive

Newton’s first published scientific paper and James Clerk Maxwell’s paper describing his electromagnetic theory of light are among the Royal Society’s historical journal archive, which is now permanently free to access online. More than 60,000 papers are available in a searchable database where all papers published more than 70 years ago (all 8000 of them) are free to view online or download. Check for more details.

 

The distinctive feature of Newton's paper is that not only is it written in the first person, but his language conveys his curiosity, enthusiasm and method. The original has the old style of printing, that is, 's' as an 'f'. Below is an extract, the full transcripted version will be on our website in the Light section by the end of the year . The article may be of use in the classroom.

 

Sir,

 

To perform my late promise to you, I shall without further ceremony acquaint you that in the beginning of the year 1666 (at which time I applied myself to the grinding of glasses of other figures than spherical), I procured me a triangular glass prism to try therewith the celebrated phenomena of colours. And in order thereto having darkened my chamber, and made a small hole in my window-shuts, to let in a convenient quantity of the Sun's light, I placed my prism at his entrance, that it might be thereby refracted to the opposite wall. It was at first a very pleasing divertisement to view the vivid and intense colours produced thereby; but after a while applying my self to consider them more circumspectly. I became surprised to see them in an oblong form; which according to the received laws of Refraction I expected should have been circular.

 

They were terminated at the sides with streight lines, but at the ends, the decay of light was so gradual, that it was difficult to determine justly, what was their figure; yet they seemed semicircular.

 

Comparing the length of this coloured spectrum with its breadth, I found it about five times greater; a disproportion so extravagant, that it excited me to a more then ordinary curiosity of examining from whence it might proceed. I could scarce think, that the various thickness of the glass, or the termination with shadow or darkness, could have any influence on light to produce such an effect; yet I thought it not amiss, first to examine those circumstances, and so tried, what would happen by transmitting light through parts of the glass of divers thicknesses, or through holes in the window of divers bignesses, or by setting the prism without so, that the light might pass through it, and be refracted before it was terminated by the hole: But I found none of those circumstances material. The fashion of the colours was in all these cases the same. ...

 

D136. Strandbeests

Dutch Engineer, Theo Jansen, has built, using only PVC tubing and plastic bottles, structures that mimic animals. Using only wind power they walk.

His creations called Strandbeests (literally beach animals in Dutch) are self-propelling structures made from stiff plastic tubing and plastic bottles. They look like a moving dinosaur skeleton and have a spine, legs, a "stomach" for storing air, and "muscles" (pistons within the tubing) for movement. These unlikely elements come together in a creation that draws power from the wind, enabling it to "walk". Theo Jansen likes to think of his creations as "new forms of life" and hopes to one day put his "animals" out in "herds" on beaches to "live their own lives". The strandbeests are engineering marvels and quite beautiful in their fluid movement.

The enormous Animaris Umerus measures 12m by 4m by 2m . It comes to life on weekdays at 10am, 12pm, 1pm, 4pm and 6pm, and on weekends at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm. The beast is powered up a few minutes before the hour and the display only operates for about five minutes, until the next scheduled time.

The smaller Animaris Ordis Mutantis comes in at 4m by 2m by 2m and will be available for students to use at anytime between 10am and 6pm on weekdays and 10am and 8pm on weekends. Students can take it in turns to gently push it along and see up close how it moves.

Useful videos are:

2:35 min video that appeared on the Wallace and Gromit 'World of Invention' program

This shows the leg mechanism using the 'Geometer's pad'.

A TED talk by Theo Jansen with video of his recent machines

There are numerous other videos, just google 'Strandbeest'.

Theo Jansen has a website, from which you can order kits to build mini versions, as well as books and DVDs.

The experience is quite short, so it is more convenient to schools close to public transport, otherwise students could be encouraged to see it at the weekend.

D137. What do physicists actually do? Why do they do it? And what is their work for? Four short films

"Physics Lives" is an initiative of UK's Institute of Physics. There are currently three films with a fourth to follow soon. They are:

• Prof David Tong, (Baths and Quarks- 8:35 min). David is at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, The film follow David in his day-to-day life.

• Dr Jim Wild, (Written in the Sky- 9:37 min). Jim is at the Department of Physics, University of Lancaster. The film looks at his research into aurora borealis.

• Dr Melanie Bailey, (Ion Beam Cop - 7:29 min) Melanie is at the Ion Beam Centre, University of Surrey. The film looks at her research using an ion beam accelerator to develop methods to analyse gunshot residue.

The films are at

D138. Understanding Uncertainty: Making sense of chance, risk, luck, uncertainty and probability

It is not about error bars!

This site is about chance, risk, luck, uncertainty and probability. It is produced by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge. The aim is to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining! They say "Mathematics won't tell us what to do, but we think that understanding the numbers can help us deal with our own uncertainty and allow us to look critically at stories in the media."

The web site features animations, videos and articles. There is a schools-based enrichment activity. The resources may be useful with teaching about radioactivity and nuclear energy.

D139. Nuffield Physics Teachers' Handbook and other resources

One of the highpoints of physics curricula over the last forty years was the 1971 Nuffield Physics course. One of its distinguishing features was its innovative approach to experimental investigations, which our EPI was modelled on when it was introduced in the 1980's. The course had a 247 page Physics Teachers handbook. Victorian schools that were in existence in the 1970's may still have a copy of the distinctive red book, but many teachers will have never seen a copy. The National STEM Centre in the UK has a 12 MB pdf version available on their website at . The companion teachers' guide with detailed pracs is also available at

In fact the National STEM Centre has considerable archival physics material that can be downloaded. The full list pf physics resources can be accessed at

[0]=subject%3A%22Science^Physics%22

D140. Exploring Physics Apps

A quick browse of the internet revealed some potentially useful Physics apps that might be worth checking out over the holidays. Go to iTunes and search for the title from the table below.

|Title |Maker |Cost (US$) |Description |

|Simple Physics |Andrew Garrison |$0.99 |Lets you design complex structures for everything from tree houses to |

| | | |ferris wheels and then simulates your design. The cost of the design is |

| | | |also determined. |

|Vernier Video Physics |Vernier |$2.99 |Video analysis software |

|PhysicsWorld |Institute of Physics |Free |Monthly journal. Source of Vicphysics Newsletter items |

|Messenger |NASA |Free |Provides information that Messenger, NASA's Mission to Mercury, sends back |

| | | |every day |

|Exoplanet |Astronomer: Hanno Rein |Free |Visual database of recently discovered exoplanets. Updated as discoveries |

| | | |are made. Includes animations. |

|Kepler |NASA |Free |Kepler telescope detects exoplanets. The app shows how as well as |

| | | |background info. Includes an interactive 3D visualisation of the galaxy. |

|SparkVue |Pasco |Free |Real time measurement of position, vel and accel'n as well as connection to|

| | | |Pasco sensors. |

|Star Walk |Vito Technology |$2.99 |Labels all the stars and constellations and satellites that you are |

| | | |pointing your iPhone at. |

|Solar Walk |Vito Technology |$2.99 |Interactive model of the Solar System and the Milky Way |

|Khan Academy Physics 1, 2,|Khan Academy |Free |Set of instructional videos |

|... | | | |

|New Horizons |NASA |Free |NASA voyage to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Up to date information and |

| | | |images. |

|Coaster Physics |Ziconic |$0.99 |Design and ride your own roller coaster, gives speed, accelertaion and |

| | | |g-forces as you ride along. |

|Phyzios Studio |Phyzios |Free |Draw objects of any material and watch them interact according to the laws |

| | | |of physics. |

|Wind Tunnel Lite |Algorizk |Free |Wind Tunnel simulator, runs best on iPad, iPhone 3GS and 4 and iPod touch |

| | | |3rd gen. See also Wind Tunnel Pro. |

|Ripple Tank Free | |Free |Make waves with your fingers, then view all the wave properties. |

D141. Extra Applets and Web Resources

Over the holidays additional websites of applets and useful resources have been put on the Vicphysics website. Check out and .

The extra applet websites includes F-Kwan Hwang from Taiwan University's extensive list.

The extra web resources include:

• Factsheets on radiation therapy,

• Calculators of radiation dose,

• Investigations of lightning,

• Physics of mobile phones (with lesson plans)

• a Solar website for junior secondary students

• The history of the laser,

• Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory as well as

• Sites featuring videos of public lectures by prominent physicists.

If a resource is linked to a particular Area of Study, the link is also available on that topic's webpage, just go to Teachers/VCE Resources and then to the relevant Unit.

D142. Focus on Optics and Lasers: A Physics World Publication - Free Download

The 26 page magazine is available at It examines some of the latest applications of optics and lasers. It includes a pick of the top 10 advances in scientific imaging as well as a look at the advanced optical system lying at the heart of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. In an interview, Martin Pfeiffer, who founded the German photovoltaic maker, Heliatek, discusses his firm's plans for cracking the organic solar cell market. There are articles on using lasers to make rain and on the applications of short-wavelength quantum cascade lasers.

The offer will not be available indefinitely and may end soon.

D143. The Royal Society: Online picture library

The Royal Society has launched an online picture library, , to allow people to browse and search its vast collection of images online for the first time. The collection includes paintings, drawings and prints dating back to when the society was founded in the mid-17th century. They are mainly portraits of scientists or drawings or photos of apparatus. They can be either purchased or collected in a 'light box' for easy access on their website.

D144. The Weather of Who We Are: An ABC Ockham's Razor podcast

The recent edition of the ABC program, 'Ockham's Razor' featured an Australia writer and poet, Mark Treddinick, reading a piece he wrote about weather and climate. It is an impressive piece of writing, effectively delivered. It is a joy to listen to, but it would make an excellent start if one was teaching the topic of climate change, but the piece also resonates with reflections about the Australian psyche and our myths about climate disasters.

The program can be heard at and the text and audio file can be downloaded. Some teaching notes will be placed on the website at news.html shortly.

D145. Universe Sandbox: Interactive Astronomy Software for Everyone

An article in Physics World, , has an extensive review of 'Universe Sandbox', which in part says 'Universe Sandbox bills itself as "an interactive space simulator", presumably because "a really cool program that lets you do all kinds of things with moons and planets and stars and other stuff" didn't sound professional enough. This simulation/game/teaching tool/artwork has at its core the sort of gravity simulator that would have made Apollo-era rocket scientists turn puce with envy. As a result, orbits, collisions and other dynamic events that take place in your simulated universe appear physically realistic. In addition, the program's flexible user interface means that the nature of those events is pretty much only limited by your imagination.' The review goes on to address 'Who is behind it?' 'How do you get started?', 'What are some other things I can do?', 'Is it worth getting the paid for upgrade?' and 'Why I should visit?'

Universe Sandbox can be accessed at

D146. Australia and SKA

It was recently announced that Australia, with its partner New Zealand will share the Square Kilometre Array Project with South Africa and its associated countries.

To find out more about the decision and the SKA, check out the following links:

• Read the official AIP press release here: .au/media-releases/aip-ska

• Read the official SKA announcement here: news/dual-site-agreed-square-kilometre-array-telescope/

• More on Australia’s radio astronomy and the SKA project here .au/other/ska-announcement

• For more background, have a look at this talk given by SKA astronomer Lisa Harvey-Smith: ww3.video/176947/lisa-harvey-smith-ska-mega-telescope

• Physics World article: Five questions for SKA

D147. Black Holes booklet - free download from Institute of Physics (UK)

The 20 page 9MB pdf colour publication can be downloaded from The booklet is thorough and comprehensive without being mathematical. It will be of value to the interested student rather than the general reader.

Introduction to the booklet:

"Black holes provide an important tool for probing and testing the fundamental laws of the universe

All objects exert an attractive gravitational force which depends on their mass. Now, imagine an object with a very large mass which is concentrated into such a small volume that the gravitational field generated is powerful enough to prevent anything from escaping its clutches – even light.

This bizarre concept intrigues everyone, in particular physicists who theorise about the nature of matter, space and time, and astrophysicists who look for real black holes out in space.

Their study brings together the big ideas in fundamental science: Einstein’s theory of gravity – general relativity; the theory of the very small – quantum mechanics; and the origin and evolution of the universe – cosmology. "

The IOP has another pdf booklet on 'Exoplanets: The search for planets beyond our solar system' 4MB at

. There are other publications on 'qubits' and 'graphene'.

D148. More on the Higgs Boson

As part of the July Lectures in Physics there was a panel discussion that can be viewed, listened to or downloaded from The third speaker in particular was very impressive in using expressive language to describe the importance of the discovery. There is also video of another lecture on the ATLAS experiment with the LHC at CERN.

D149. Physics Questions without Numbers: A Resource

Professors Richard Gunstone and Richard White from Monash University, have produced an online publication titled 'Physics Questions without Numbers'. It consists of over 200 questions with a two page introduction on the origin and intent of the questions and a page of advice on their use. There are 144 questions on Mechanics and Heat, 41 on Light, Sound and Waves, 32 on Electricity and Magnetism, 8 on Nuclear Physics and 4 general questions.

The questions are not diagnostic questions per se, as no solutions are provided, but they give students an opportunity to think about physics questions and come up with logical explanations.

The file can be accessed at The file includes the following statement: The resources in this document are made available without charge via this website for use by teachers at all levels with their students, and for other ‘not for profit’ uses. When such use is made, attribution of the source of the material would be appreciated.

D150. One Minute Physics: Video animations from New Scientist

On the 'New Scientist' website there is a series of short animations on physics topics. They are called 'One Minute Physics' but usually go for a couple of minutes.

The titles include:

• How to travel through the Earth

• Quantum weirdness: Catching the ghost in the atom

• How to become a real Spider-Man

• Extinguish a fire by blasting it with sound

• How the Higgs could explain secrets of the universe

• One-Minute Physics: Why the Higgs is the missing link

• First full universe simulation zooms in on dark matter

• Tiny boat keeps going and going on drops of fuel

• One-Minute Physics: Why planets can only orbit in 3D

• Zapped droplets tap dance to the beat

The topics may not directly relate to the classroom, but students may wish to check them out in their own time.

D151. Light Field Camera: 'Shoot now, focus later'.

There have been recent news stories about a camera that enables you to shoot now and focus later! An example of the images can be found at , where there are a series of images with some objects sharp and others fuzzy. But just click on a fuzzy object and it comes into focus, while the previous sharp object becomes fuzzy.

These new cameras are called light field cameras or plenoptic cameras.

The design for a light field camera was developed in 1908 by Gabriel Lippmann, a French physicist. In that year he also received the Nobel Prize for Physics for his earlier work on colour photography. An article on the camera design by a journalist with photographs appeared in Scientific American in 1911, see . Adobe produced a camera a few years ago, but the Lytro development is a significant improvement in cost and power.

A normal camera only records the total amount of light entering a point on the screen, the directional component of the light has been lost. The light field camera has an array of microlenses near the focal plane of the main camera lens that enable this information to be recorded and to be analysed later.

The concept of a light field was proposed by Michael Faraday by comparison with the magnetic field. see The light field is now defined as a 'function that describes the amount of light travelling in every direction through every point in space'.

Further references:

• A short explanation of the technology can be found at .

• A news story is at

• The wikipedia link:

• The PhD thesis of Ren Ng who developed the Lytro camera, it has introductory chapters on the background:

D152. POSTnotes: Briefing Notes on Science and Technology Issues: British Parliamentary Office

Since 1992 the British Parliamentary Office has produced short briefing notes that focus on current science and technology issues. The notes aim to summarise the key issues on a particular topic in attempt to anticipate policy implications for parliamentarians, so they are not just summaries of the underlying science.

The notes are very accessible in language, comprehensive and authoritative and would be useful background material for students. They do tend to have a UK focus and each is about 4 pages long. So far 421 briefings have been prepared. The list can be accessed at .

Some physics related titles include: 403: Low carbon technologies in energy-intensive industries, 400: Climate variability, 365: Electric vehicles, 351: Lighting technology, 317: Future nuclear technologies, 306: Electricity storage, etc. The full list of titles sorted by subject, e.g. physics, biology, etc, can be found at usefulwebsites.html .

D153. Some Physics Humour from The Guardian Newspaper and other sources

• Do posh ducks emit quarks?

• Looking for a material with mediocre musical skills? You need a semiconductor

• Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana

• Entropy isn't what it used to be

• Laser physicists never die, they just become incoherent

• Dr Heisenberg was out for a drive, and stopped by police. "Do you know how fast you were going?" "No, I know where I am'

• Xsquared + 1 walk into a bar, barman says "Sorry, we don't cater for functions"

• What does the B in Benoit B Mandelbrot stand for? It stands for Benoit B Mandelbrot

• Q: What do you call a Superposition of uncertain states, theoretically without mutual interference?

A: Europe

D154. Scientific Valentines - A flickr site of amusing valentine posters with a scientific edge

The website, , has 24 posters that will lighten up a classroom.

D155. Beginning Teaching: some useful hints

The UK Institute of Physics runs a very popular forum for physics teachers called 'talkphysics'. The many contributors make for valuable discussions on aspects of teaching physics as well as teaching in general. A recent discussion topic was 'Advice for the beginning teacher' . The various comments have been compiled into a three page Word document, which can be accessed at beginning.html under 'lesson planning'.

The Vicphysics Teachers' Network offers a mentor scheme of beginning physics teachers and will be holding an in-service later this year some time during the first term holidays. To access the mentor scheme, please contact the Vicphysics by email to danok@ with subject 'Mentor Scheme'.

Future newsletters will have details about the in-service.

D156. Free iPad book on Heat Energy for Years 8 - 12

TES, (the UK Times Education Supplement), has a website of teacher resources has, in its physics section, 12,164 Free physics resources: physics lesson plans, physics worksheets, physics revision, physics teaching ideas and much more. Check here: .

A recent addition is a free iPad book on Heat energy for GCSE 11 - 16. It can also be downloaded from iTunes at There are no reviews at present.

D157. App for Unit 3 Electrical Energy

While not directly related to the course content, the app shows Australia's energy consumption, and the energy flow around Australia. It is called Sparky Pro and is produced by Phanalytics Pty. Ltd. It is free and can be downloaded at Its size is 3.6 MB and is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. It requires iOS 5.1 or later. The app is optimised for iPhone 5.

The app gives close to real time info on the electrical energy flow between the states that are linked in Australia. It also gives information on all the power generation plants connected to the grid including type, capacity and current output. You need to register to get a password to use it.

Submitted by Paul Fielding, Billanook College

D158. A Boy and his Atom: The World's Smallest Movie

'Wallace and Gromit' is a form of stop motion animation using clay figures. IBM have just produced a stop motion animation using individual atoms. Each atom was placed on a substrate in turn and moved into position to make up a frame, the image was then recorded. The atoms were then moved into new positions for the next frame. The atoms were moved by a scanning electron microscope. The story of a boy and his atom can be seen as a youtube video, it lasts for about 100 seconds. There is also a 4 minute video showing how the film was made. The speakers are enthusiastic, young, male and female and explain their work well.



D159. Astronomy Resources from the UK National Schools' Observatory

Schools in the UK have access to a professional robotic telescope. The telescope was conceived, funded, designed and built in Merseyside by Liverpool John Moores University, but due to the inclement weather in the UK, it is located on a small island off the coast of Africa. Schools elsewhere do not have access to the telescope, but their website has an extensive range of classroom resources.

The address is . Select 'Teacher Zone', then 'Resources'. There are also videos in the 'Student Zone'.

D160. The Life of Psi - Philosophical interpretations of Quantum Mechanics

The meaning of Psi, the symbol for the wavefunction solution to Schrodinger's equation has been the subject of much discussion of prominent physicists, such as Bohr, Einstein, Bohm and Feynman.

The article, , is a detailed description of historical approaches as well as recent attempts to give meaning to the wavefunction.

D161. Physics App - Spectrogram for Sounds

'Spectrogram Pro' does a real-time spectral analysis of the sounds around you. You can use it to analyse music, birdsong, etc. You can choose between three sampling-rates, four FFT-resolutions, logarithmic or linear frequency and amplitude scale and four color-schemes and adjust the sensitivity. Also you can save the spectrogram to a photo library. The app will reveal the harmonics in any sound.

This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad, is optimised for iPhones 4 retina-display and compatible with iPod touch (2nd generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPod touch (5th generation). Requires iOS 4.0 or later..

Cost US$2.99

Some sources of Australian birdsong are : , and

D162. UK Astronomy Resources

The University of Leicester has established a website of astronomy classroom resources for a range of age groups, .

D163. 'fizzicseducation' - School visits, kids parties, video science club

Our 6 year old grandson has been invited to a science birthday party. The entertainment will be provided by someone from . Their website says that they offer school visits to secondary and primary schools with a range of topics and prices. They also offer a science club by video conference for $110 per week for a 60 minute after school session for up to 30 students, aged 7 to 12 years.

D164. Achieving order from chaos: A cute video

Watch 32 discordant metronomes achieve synchrony in a matter of minutes. The metronomes are placed on a board with a bit of give. They are set operating at random times, but in a few minutes that they start to begin to synchronise. There is one stubborn one on the right that seems to be locked in an out of phase position, but it changes eventually.

Check out Item supplied by Peter Otzen.

D165. Accelerators and Beams: Tools of Discovery and Innovation: A free 36 page download

The booklet 'Accelerators and Beams: Tools of Discovery and Innovation' is a free full colour publication by American Physical Society. It is the 4th edition from their Division of Physics of Beams. The purpose of the booklet is educational and promotional and accessible to students from Year 10 onwards.

It can be downloaded from . Item supplied by Helen Lye.

D166. Higgs Boson and the Future of Physics: ABC TV Big Ideas talk

The ABC program 'Big Ideas' recently featured an excellent, engaging and accessible 60 minute program on the Higgs Boson. It is a lecture by Sean Carroll, professor of astrophysics at Caltech.

It can be accessed at as part of Series 6, episode 34.

D167. SPT: Supporting Physics Teaching - A UK Online Resource from the Institute of Physics

The Institute of Physics in the UK has set up a facility called 'talkphysics' with the intention of 'linking teachers of physics'. Its main feature is a bulletin board in which teachers readily contribute suggestions and ideas to the queries and concerns of their fellow teachers. The discussion is very enriching, many items in this newsletter have been identified in those discussions. The discussion has a lot of English education acronyms, which mean nothing to us, but many of the discussions, such as Newton's 3rd law, are instructive.

However what is of more immediate value is their SPT Resources (under 'Resources' on their home page). In the SPT Resources section there are loads for files which can be downloaded as pdf's or zip files.

There are 12 topics e.g .Electricity, Magnetism, Sound, Forces, etc. Each topic has 3 to 4 sections and for each section, there are three categories, each with a pull down menu of several items, under which advice is provided. These categories are: Physics Narrative, Teaching and Learning Issues and Teaching Approaches.

For example, the topic 'Radiations and radiating' has 5 sections, one of which is 'Photons shift energy' with the following support:

• Physics Narrative: The 9 items in the menu elaborate on the subtleties of content, with titles such as 'Energy shifted in many small chunks', 'Coloured filters affect photons', 'Calculating the brightness of a beam'. Each title is a link to a few paragraphs of explanation.

• Teaching and Learning Issues: This highlights aspects that are difficult for students to understand, e.g. 'Waves and particles', 'What difference does shifting energy in chunks make?'

• Teaching Approaches: Activities to help clarify learning issues, e.g 'Modelling photons' and 'photons and filters'

The topics are more for middle level students, but the advice should be relevant to Year 11 content and some Year 12 content.

The only difficulty is that you need to register with a username and password before you can access the resources, but no other information is sought.

The home page is

D168. Nova: Science in the News - 'Agriculture in the face of climate change' (Aust Academy of Science)

A new topic has been posted on the Academy’s education website Nova: Science in the news. The title is 'Feeding a hot, hungry world - agriculture in the face of climate change'.

To learn more, or to access the full range of other Nova: science in the news topics, visit the Academy website: . Each topic contains: key text, glossary, activities, further reading and useful sites. Physics related topics can be found under the sub-headings of : Astronomy, Communication, Pollution, Greenhouse Effect, Energy, Road safety and Transportation.

D169. BBC Radio and Melvyn Bragg: Science interviews

Melvyn Bragg's radio series 'In Our Time' covers a range of topics including culture, history, philosophy and science. The science podcast can be found at

In each program he discusses a topic with a panel of three eminent contributors.

His physics related programs include:

The Neutrino, The Age of the universe, Thomas Edison, Women and Enlightenment Science,

The Cool Universe, The Vacuum of Space Radiation, Calculus (Newton & Leibniz),

The Physics of Time, Godel's Theorem, Heat, The Measurement Problem in Physics,

The Laws of Motion, The Multiverse, Antimatter, Gravitational Waves,

The Speed of Light Galaxies, Optics, The Poincare Conjecture,

The Graviton, Asteroids, Magnetism, Dark energy,

Theories of Everything Electrickery, The Planets, Higgs Boson (Dec 2004),

The Life of Stars, Rutherford, Maxwell, The Second Law of Thermodynamics,

The Physics of Reality Meteorology, Nuclear Physics, The Universe's Shape,

Quantum Gravity, Laws of Nature, Black Holes, Grand Unified Theory,

The Universe's Origins Time, Climate Change (2000),

'101 years of cosmic rays'

Panel members have included Joyce Bell Burnell, Roger Penrose, Martin Rees, Jim Al-Khalil and John Gribbin.

D170. NASA Astronomy Resources developed by Australian researchers

NASA in collaboration with Macquarie University at Sydney, the Australian Centre for Astrobiology and the ICT Innovations Center at Macquarie University have developed an educational and research tool on planetary science.

There are three packages, which can be downloaded as zip or sit files, although they still very large:

• Virtual Field Trip This is an "immersive multimedia application developed to support student and user exploration of areas on Earth, that is the Pilbara, that have been identified as analogue sites to regions on Mars. Within the application, users are taken from a global view directly down to a surface view of a site. They are then seamlessly placed into a 360 degree spherical virtual reality surface panorama of that location. Next users navigate around the site selecting various objects and scientists to learn more about how and why this site was chosen, how it relates to Mars, and why it is of interest. The environment consists of various linked 360 degree spherical stitched virtual reality environments, 3D based layered environments, global fly downs, as well as compressed streaming video files within each area of research." The zip file is 1000 MB. The address is

• What's the Difference? This is a free multimedia software application that facilitates scientific analysis by allowing virtually any pictures, graphics, animations, and movies to be compared side by side. The application includes data sets: i) Solar System which contains comparisons of the planets and major moons within our solar system and ii) Pilbara which contains comparisons between modern and ancient environments on Earth and Mars. The zip file is 130 MB and include guides and workbooks. The content is at a junior science level.

• Moon Math(s) : four classroom lessons centered on pre-algebra topics such as measurement, unit conversion, ratio and proportion, scale, data analysis, and data representation. Teacher's guides and student workbooks can be downloaded.

Item supplied by Gary Bass.

D171. Physics of Cancer: a free download from the IOP's Physics World

The July 2013 edition of the journal Physics World by the Institute of Physics (IOP) looks at the physics of cancer. Physicists have made many valuable contributions over the years to the treatment, diagnosis and imaging of cancer using X-rays, magnetic fields, protons and other subatomic particles. This special issue of Physics World instead focuses on a fledgling area of research in which physicists – and other physical scientists – are bringing an entirely new perspective to our understanding of cancer. They are trying to examine the physical parameters that control how cancer cells grow, evolve and spread around the body. Articles include:

• Find out why Paul Davies thinks cancer could be an ancient genetic program with roots in our multicellular past.

• See if cancer cells be made to act normally simply by adjusting their electrical polarisation.

• Learn how cell rotation could play a role in making human breast cells turn malignant.

• Explore why the tip of an atomic-force microscope can test the mechanical properties of cancer cells



D172. How can a bike go at a constant speed? A talkphysics discussion

Recent newsletters have mentioned a UK based bulletin board for Physics teachers run by the Institute of Physics (IOP) called 'talkphysics'. The home page is . The discussion is very enriching, many resources in these newsletters have been identified in those discussions.

A teacher recently posted this query "Imagine a cyclist (in spacesuit) cycling on the level on the Moon (so no drag). The external forces acting on him are contact force upwards (from Moon) and weight downwards (from Moon), which balance. Plus an unbalanced friction force forwards (from Moon on his tyres). I can't think of any other external horizontal forces which could balance this frictional force. How can he ever travel at constant speed on a level surface on the Moon?" .

The ensuing discussion has been going on for two weeks now with over 90 contributions as teachers seek to clarify the complexities of the problem and the need to be precise with language. Highly recommended.

To access the discussion you need to register with a username and password, but no other information is sought.

D173. Benchmarks on equipping science in schools - the UK experience

SCORE is a partnership of UK science organisations, which aims to improve science education in UK schools and colleges by supporting the development and implementation of effective education policy. It comprises the Association for Science Education, Institute of Physics, Royal Society, Royal Society of Chemistry and Society of Biology.

One of their current interests is the extent, nature and resourcing of practical work in UK schools. They have produced research papers, policy documents, but more usefully benchmark documents on the facilities that schools should have as well as equipment lists. The documents have not yet been evaluated for their relevance to Australian schools, but they will form a valuable basis for developing our own benchmarks.

The documents can be found at

The SCORE website also has a link to CLEAPSS. CLEAPSS first started in 1963 as CLEAPSE (Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Equipment). In 1988 the name was changed to CLEAPSS (Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Services) to reflect a change of emphasis from equipment to a range of services. It has been THE authority on science equipment in all that time. Their website is . Their current home page has a download link to an updated guide on the safe use of radioactive sources in schools, a comprehensive 93 page document.

D174. 'Project Physics' - The highly regarded text book is now available on line

'Harvard Project Physics' was a US curriculum development project initiated by Harvard University. The project was active from 1962 to 1972, and produced a series of texts, which were used in physics classrooms in the 1970s and 1980s.

The series was distinguished by an emphasis on an historical context with human interest embedded in the text. "The approach was quite sophisticated, building a conceptual understanding of Physics while not over simplifying the curriculum. Frequent reference to the historical works where concepts were first discovered and debated, defined physics as a fundamental search for understanding of the universe. In addition to the texts there were readers to further explore a topic and lab exercises to verify for one's self that the conclusions reached agree with nature." Wikipedia.

For the reasons above the text was popular with girls' schools.

All the material is available at It includes: the text, the handbook and the resource book. The text and handbook are also combined into 6 topic based volumes. The readers of historical works are also available in 7 topic related volumes. There are also 6 volumes of transparencies and 6 volumes of test questions, each by topic and finally some programmed instruction material which was also popular at that time.

Each document can be read on line, with the number of pages indicated, e.g. one of the readers has 280 pages, or downloaded as a pdf, a B&W pdf (12 M), Kindle, full text, etc.

Item supplied by Gary Bass.

D175. Physics Applets on Compadre - New Edition

Physlets, a contraction of physics applets, is a collection of computer animations generated in Java to show physics content. The second edition to Physlet Physics now has 800 Physlet-based interactive materials for teachers and students. They are compatible with Java 6 and 7.

They can be found at . The home page offers 7 categories: Mechanics, Fluids, Waves, Thermodynamics, Electromagnetism, Circuits and Optics. In each category, there are several chapters and for each chapter there is a description of the content covered and several applets under each of the headings: Illustrations, Explorations and Problems. Each applet has a clear title that conveys exactly what it is about.

Item supplied by Gary Bass.

D176. Seeking more Science coverage in the News - A petition

A recent story in 'The Conversation', , highlighted the lack of science related items in the mainstream media, while at the same time such items were what most people wanted to see.

The article mentions an on line petition, initiated out of the University of Queensland, to address this issue, starting with Triple J, presumably the station of choice for university students. The petition can be found at

D177. Earth viewed by Cassini spacecraft from Saturn - NASA photograph

The Cassini spacecraft has sent back a photo of Saturn's rings with planet Earth in the background as a small dot. This and other photos from Cassini can be found at:



D178. Blog: An astrophysicist's-eye view of societal issues relating to energy production, climate change, and economic growth

To give you an insight to the blog, below are extracts from the article 'Web life', which can be found at

" 'Do the Math(s)' is a blog that "takes an astrophysicist's-eye view of societal issues relating to energy production, climate change, and economic growth," according to author Tom Murphy. A physicist at the University of California, San Diego whose main research project involves bouncing laser beams off the surface of the Moon, Murphy became interested in energy and the environment after teaching a course on the subject for non-science students.

Major ingredients in Murphy's writing include a focus on hard numbers, a healthy dose of estimation and what might be described as a "long view" on the relative importance of human civilization in the history of the universe.

One of the most thought-provoking posts to appear on Do the Math so far (and also one of the most controversial) is "Exponential economist meets finite physicist". In it, Murphy describes a lengthy conversation he had with an unnamed economist at a dinner party. The conversation was a debate about whether physical principles place some kind of intrinsic (as opposed to practical) limit on economic growth, with Murphy arguing that they did and the economist disagreeing with him. Early in the discussion, Murphy wheeled out one of his favourite party tricks, which is to show that if human energy usage grows by just 2.3% per year – less than the average annual rate of growth in the US during its history, he notes – then in just 400 years, we will have pushed the Earth's average temperature above the boiling point of water. In other words, we'll cook ourselves. In Murphy's telling, at least, it was all downhill from there for the hapless economist – although as one commenter noted, it would have been nice to get the latter's perspective on the conversation, too."

The blog can be accessed at .

D179. A smartphone app to hunt for the Higgs Boson

For the first time, a smartphone app will allow anyone to hunt for the elusive Higgs Boson using their iPhone or Android device. Designed by physicists at the University of Oxford, Collider allows users to search for the Higgs using real data direct from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Previously only available for Android, this major new release also includes games at different challenge levels and a successful identification of the Higgs can be shared to Facebook. More information can be found at

It is now available for Android via Google Play and the iOS version will be coming very soon.

Collider is a mobile application that lets you view high energy particle collisions directly from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), making it simple to understand what's going on at a glance.

You can:

• View live events, straight from the ATLAS Detector at CERN.

• Find out how to identify different particles.

• Hunt for the Higgs Boson

D180. Revision strategies, Advice for students and Course summaries

With only one Detailed Study to be done now in Year 12, there is more class time for revision activities and a change of routine from doing past papers can be of value.

The Revision and Exam solutions page on our website, , has a link to a two page document of different activities that should be engaging and productive, including 'jigsaw' and 'speed dating' exercises. This webpage also has the solutions to past VCE exams.

If you have any revision strategies you would like to share, please email them to the Vicphysics at danok@.

The Students page on our website, has revision information including:

• revision and exam advice,

• a checklist of common errors,

• a template for the A3 summary and

• topic summaries.

This webpage also has a section of links about 'Learning Physics'.

D181. Some engaging Videos

a) The glass harp: Wine glasses and goblets are tuned with water. A quite ethereal sound is produced, an impressive musical experience. , also check out , the website of the performer.

b) Superconductivity & Meissner effect: A cooled superconductor not only floats above a magnet, but does a lot more.

Links courtesy of Jenny Sharwood.

D182. Do instructional videos really improve student learning? Dr Derek Muller at The Perimeter Institute

Some teachers may remember the opening address from the 2012 Physics Teachers' Conference. It was a talk by Dr Derek Muller on 'Misconception Alchemy: Turning thought-lead into thought-gold' . You may also know of him from his Veritasium website.

The prestigious, cutting edge physics research establishment, The Perimeter Institute, invited Dr Muller for a three week residency. As part of his time there, he gave a live webcast titled 'The Secret to Engagement - Lessons from Videos' . Do videos really improve student learning?. His PhD in physics education research suggests the answer may be no! In this one hour talk, he will share insights from his research as well as the incredible physics phenomena he has captured for his YouTube channel. Derek created the popular YouTube channel Veritasium in January 2011. With almost 1 million subscribers, Derek’s 140 videos have received over 45 million views.

The video can be accessed at .

D183. Oscilloscope apps and software CROs

• 'Oscilloscope for iOS' is a digital Oscilloscope & Signal Generator app. Designed to plot audio signals, monitor equipment, analyze events, and test circuits, it is also an excellent learning tool. Its GUI includes many standard oscilloscope controls, such as: triggering, time and voltage per division, signal measurement cursors, and more. For iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. US$10.

• . MC Oscilloscope is a digital multichannel oscilloscope and full scale level meter for your iPad or iPhone. It displays signals from the internal microphone as well as the 3.5 mm audio jack. In combination with an external multichannel USB-audio-interface it is capable of displaying even up to 8 channels simultaneously. US$5.

• Soundbeam, that turns an iPhone or iPod touch (compatible with iPad) into an oscilloscope. Soundbeam is an audio analyzer that processes the input of your microphone in real time, displaying it like a classic oscilloscope. You can also use the built-in mic. US$1.00

• A soundcard oscilloscope. The PC based Soundcard Oscilloscope receives its data from the Soundcard with 44.1kHz and 16 Bit resolution. The data source can be selected in the Windows mixer (Microphone, Line-In or Wave). The frequency range depends on the sound card, but 20-20000Hz should be possible with all modern cards. The low frequency end is limited by the AC coupling of the line-in signal. Be aware, that most microphone inputs are only mono. The oscilloscope contains in addition a signal generator for 2 channels for Sine, Square, Triangular and Sawtooth wave forms in the frequency range from 0 to 20kHz. These signals are available at the speaker output of the sound card. These can be fed back to the oscilloscope in order to generate Lissajous figures in the x-y mode. Free, but support is requested.

• Winscope. Free, comes as a zip file, instructions at this website.

• Zelscope is a Windows software that converts your PC into a dual-trace storage oscilloscope and spectrum analyser. It uses your computer's sound card as analog-to-digital converter, presenting a real-time waveform or spectrum of the signal - which can be music, speech, or output from an electronic circuit. Zelscope features the interface of a traditional oscilloscope, with conventional gain, offset, timebase, and trigger controls. As a real-time spectrum analyzer, Zelscope can display the amplitude and phase components of the spectrum. Free 14 day trial, US$10.

• Visual Analyser is a real time software, transforming a PC in a set of measurement instruments; no new hardware necessary, you can use the Sound Card of your PC. Free.

• Picoscope. An extensive range of PC based oscilloscopes that use an interface between the circuit and the PC. The cheapest model sells for about AU$184 from RS Components.

D184. ANSTO's 60th anniversary celebrations: An e-book and an Apple app

In 15 April 1953 the Federal Parliament passed the Atomic Energy Act, leading to what is today the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). This year, ANSTO has been celebrating its 60 years of delivering research and nuclear medicines to the Australian public.

To commemorate this milestone, ANSTO has developed an e-book and Apple app that provide a summary of ANSTO’s history, present day achievements and important infrastructure including the OPAL Research Reactor, Centre for Accelerator Science and the Australian Synchrotron.

ANSTO has also produced an interactive app for students called Elementals. Suitable for all levels, there are five games that will familiarise students with the various elements, their atomic numbers and their groups. The app can be downloaded from either the Apple App store or Google Play – just type “ANSTO Elementals” into the search field.

Go to

D185. Digital Cameras with High Speed Video option

The prices of cameras with high speed video are coming down and getting within reach of a school budget. They are very effective for capturing real time motion for analysis or viewing in slow motion. Gary Bass has been chasing up some details.

Two possible cameras are:

• Sanyo VPC-FH1A - about $500.

Hi-Speed video: 448X336 pixels at 240 frames per second (fps), 192X108 pixels at 600 fps.  At 240 fps, the picture quality is quite acceptable.

• Casio Exilim EX-ZR200 - about $300. There are a range of models available at different prices.

It can shoot at 240 frames per second (fps) with a frame resolution of 432x320 pixels, 480fps at 224 x 160 pixels, or 1,000fps at 224 x 64 pixels - 64 pixels high = a rather useless picture.

The consumer cameras, above are colour, and you cannot control the shutter speed in the high-speed video mode. This means that closer shots will be too blurred to be of much use.

When searching for cameras, please note that when consumer cameras refer to 'high-speed', they often mean 7 still pictures per second. Look for 'high-speed video' or 'super slow-motion'.

How do high-speed cameras differ?

The Sanyo and Casio are 'streaming' cameras. You press Record, and it streams the video directly onto the flash card, so there is a limit to the amount of data that can be pushed down that pipe, and the event has to be ready to happen soon after pressing record.

A 'proper' high-speed camera records into an endless memory buffer within the camera - 1GB to 64GB, giving a record loop of 2 to 50+ seconds. When the event of interest takes place, you press "stop" and the event is there in the memory. You then save the frames of interest to a hard drive or flash card.

Most high speed video cameras sold are monochrome (black and white). Unless colour is absolutely required, monochrome cameras are recommended as they require much less light, have much smaller file sizes and are therefore much easier to work with. You must buy colour or monochrome. You cannot have both in the same camera.

Please Note: The information below is gleaned from the Web, and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. There will be other similar cameras now available.

For further information, check out , there are samples of high speed video as well as more technical information

D186. A new topic at NOVA: Science in the News - Higgs Boson

The Australian Academy of Science’s website: “Nova: Science in the news” at .au/nova contains curriculum resources about current science news. A new topic has been posted on the website with the title 'One more piece in the puzzle of the universe – a Higgs-shaped one'. It considers questions such as 'What is the Higgs boson? For that matter, what is a boson? and Why is this Higgs one so important?'.

Each topic on the website has a key explanatory text with links to a glossary, activities, further reading and useful websites. The information is usually pitched at Years 9 & 10 level. There are over 40 topics in the Physical science section from car safety to optical fibres, to the synchrotron and now the Higgs boson.

D187. Freely Accessible Remote Laboratory for students - FARLabs

FARLabs is a Freely Accessible Remote Laboratory giving school students and teachers access to cutting-edge university research equipment from their classroom. FARLabs allows students to conduct a variety of experiments including the investigation of radioactive sources and the effect they have on different materials, controlling robots to perform tasks and watching them move in real-time, and using sensors to monitor heat transfer.

All available data can be downloaded and each activity is supported by student and teacher notes. FARLabs is a La Trobe University initiative with funds from Federal Government, so it is FREE!

Visit FARLabs at , and sign up for teacher access for the full FARLabs experience. Note: You need to initially sign up to activate the website, book a time slot and use the equipment.

D188. Video Tutorials for Teachers

Two video tutorials have been made by Dr Chris Creagh from Murdoch University that are nominally designed to let university physics students 'eavesdrop on experts discussing a relevant topic'. The topics are i) Using diagrams and ii) Interrogating Formulas and are pitched at a secondary level. Both videos are available on YouTube. The videos may be useful for beginning teachers to view and consider the language being used in the explanations. Secondary students could possibly use them as part of revision.

The videos are at:

• A Toolbox of Diagrams

• Interrogating Formulas

D189. Sally Ride Science: A website compilation of STEM resources (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

This website brings together links to thousands of educational resources. They can be searched by the categories above, topics with each of these categories and sub-topics within those, e.g. 'Force and motion' in 'Physical Sciences' under 'Science'. You can also select by resource type, e.g. article, app, lesson plan, assessment, etc and rating as well as audience e.g. teacher resource or grade resource for each of the years K to 12.

It is difficult just be sampling to determine the quality of the site, but there were 14 links to lesson plans/activities for Force and Motion for Years 10 - 12.

The website is

D190. Fish Tank Cloud Chamber - Instructions with video

A Physics Teacher Network Coordinator in Cumbria, UK, yes such positions can exist, has devised a clever way of allowing many students at one time to see the vapour trails in a cloud chamber. Frances Green used a small, transparent plastic fish tank, about 30 cm x 15 cm x 20 cm, inverted over a tray of dry ice.

The cloud chamber can also show cosmic rays entering the chamber and instances of pair production have also been observed.

The instructions as well as a video of showing her assemble the cloud chamber can be found at . The article has a list of useful links at the end.

Another novel aspect is that the radioactive source she uses is a 'thoriated welding electrode' These are 10cm lengths of Tungsten wire, a few mm in diameter, that have been embedded, if not alloyed, with Thorium, to produce more reliable operation. They are used in TIG welding. However the Thorium is radioactive producing Radon, but in doses well below accepted safety limits. The electrodes are readily available, from most welding suppliers e.g Blackwoods, and quite cheap, only a few dollars each. But they only come in packs of 10.

So schools may like to contact a local welder, or with other schools, make a group purchase, or if there is sufficient interest, the Vicphysics could buy a batch in bulk.

This is a link to a report on the 'Estimated dose from Thorium and daughters contained in Thoriated Welding Electrodes' , most of which could be read by students.

D191. Using LEGO to teach Nuclear Physics

Another UK Physics resource. The Physics and Astronomy Dept at the Queen Mary University in London has produced a set of resources on radioactivity and particle physics that use LEGO blocks to convey the concepts.

The resources include:

• Building the Universe (14 - 18): i) A poster 'Build your own Universe' which uses small LEGO blocks to represent quarks, which can be combined to produce protons and neutrons, which then can be used to form Helium, then Carbon. ii) a 6 page booklet to support the poster.

• Fission and Fusion (GCSE or Yr 11): A 6 page booklet showing how to use LEGO blocks to explain Fission and Fusion.

• Particle Physics (A Level): A 6 page booklet using LEGO blocks for the 6 quarks to show the formation of elementary particles and their strong and weak interactions, as well a lesson plans and a powerpoint.

These resources can be downloaded from

D192. Bohemian Rhapsody and String Theory - An engaging video.

A physics masters student in Canada has produced a video on string theory to the music of Bohemian rhapsody by Queen. He has written new lyrics explaining string theory, sung all the parts himself and then produced the video. It is an astounding video, not only do you learn something, but you are thoroughly entertained for the full 8 minutes of the song. It is an extraordinary achievement.

Play it the staff room, show it to your students - at the end of the class.



D193. Video of a Rotating Moon from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Check out the video at

Explanation: No one, presently, sees the Moon rotate like this. That's because the Earth's moon is tidally locked to the Earth, showing us only one side. Given modern digital technology, however, combined with many detailed images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has now been composed. The above time-lapse video starts with the standard Earth view of the Moon. Quickly, though, Mare Orientale, a large crater with a dark center that is difficult to see from the Earth, rotates into view just below the equator. From an entire lunar month condensed into 24 seconds, the video clearly shows that the Earth side of the Moon contains an abundance of dark lunar maria, while the lunar far side is dominated by bright lunar highlands. Two new missions are scheduled to begin exploring the Moon within the year, the first of which is NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). LADEE, which launched a few weeks ago, is scheduled to begin orbiting the Moon in October and will explore the thin and unusual atmosphere of the Moon. In a few months, the Chinese Chang'e 3 is scheduled to launch, a mission that includes a soft lander that will dispatch a robotic rover.

D194. The Science of Medical Imaging: Three articles in 'The Conversation'

'The Conversation' is an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public. It has three articles on different medical technologies: i) MRI, ii) X-rays and CT scans, and iii) SPECT and PET. The articles are short and written for the general public and would be useful for students doing the 'Medical Physics' detailed study.

They can be accessed at , then move down the page.

D195. Lessons from Finnish Education

Finnish education is often cited as model to be emulated. To find out what they are doing well, Pasi Sahlberg is an obvious source. He has worked as schoolteacher, teacher educator and policy advisor in Finland and has studied education systems and reforms around the world. His expertise includes international educational change, future of schooling, and innovation in teaching and learning. His best-seller book “Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland” (Teachers College Press, 2011) won the 2013 Grawemeyer Award. He is a former Director General of CIMO (Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation) in Helsinki and currently a visiting Professor of Practice at Harvard University.

His home page, features aspects of his work. To get the key points of his book, click on 'Finnish Lessons', then select 'Presentations' and download one of the files, they are mostly the same. They are a set of powerpoint slides that tell a clear message.

Youtube presentations by Pasi Sahlberg include: at Vandebilt University (79 mins), at Chicago Humanities Festival (60 mins), at Stanford University (10 mins), , TEDx talk (18 min)

Youtube presentations by others include , part 1 of a 4 part series on the Finnish Phenomenon by Dr Tom Wagner of the Change Leadership Group. These are less academic than the other presentations.

D196. Blogs by Physics Teachers

Many Physics teachers in the US and the UK have established blogs about their teaching practice, often making their resources available. Three from the US that seem particularly helpful are:

a) The Blog of Phyz

This is a blog by Dean Baird, a Californian Physics teacher. It has loads of teaching ideas and descriptions of classroom experiences. A particularly useful section is a set of high speed videos that he has produced. Another is a set of short explanatory videos based on Paul Hewitt's work called 'Hewitt Drew-It'. Yet another is a collection of 'Road runner' and 'Simpsons' cartoon clips with some guiding questions.

b) Action - Reaction: Reflections on the dynamics of teaching

Frank Noschese, a New York Physics teacher, maintains a personal website of teaching ideas and resources covering applets, modelling instruction, Angry Birds, poster ideas. There is also a link to a TEDx talk he gave with the title 'Learning Science by Doing Science'.

c) Physics Blog by Kelly O'Shea

Kelly's blog has some useful strategies such as 'Goal less problems', Modelling Instruction and 'Whiteboarding mistake game'. Her comments on saying 'the right thing' are also pertinent.

Three from the UK are:

d) Alessio Bernardelli

Alessio's blog also looks at broader educational issues such as curriculum design, but he is a regular contributor to the IOP's , the UK's physics teachers' network.

e) Neil Atkin

Neil's is enthusiastic, his blog is engaging and like Alessio's also looks at broader issues.

f) Alastair Reid

Alastair's blog mainly features discussion about articles he has written for the journal, Physics Education.

D197. Science of the Olympics

London Summer Olympics



As part of the 2012 London Summer Olympics, NBC Learn (part of the US broadcaster, NBC, in association with the NSF and US Olympic Committee has created a set of 10 five minute videos appropriate for middle level science on topics that include running, foot impact, biometrics, weightlifting, fluid dynamics, measurement and long jumping, wheelchair mobility engineering, safety helmets and pool design. There are detailed (e.g. 12 pages) lesson plans on using the video, for example: safety helmets at . There are links to the lesson plans for other topics at the bottom of the web page.

Winter Olympics



NBC Learn, in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), unravels the physics, biology, chemistry, materials science and maths behind the Olympic Winter Games. The videos are also available at the NSF website

Lesson plans are available at

D198. Making Physics Toys from Recycled materials: Arvind Gupta:



Arvind Gupta is an Indian toy inventor and populariser of science. His website has instructions, including short video clips on YouTube, in a number of languages, for making hundreds of improvised toys, which he makes available freely.

The website features a collection of photos, instructions and short videos describing the making of science toys from recycled materials. The toys illustrate concepts across science with most on physics. For example, Air (26 toys), Balance (23), Electricity and electromagnetism (35), Friction (14), Heat (14), Light (20), Magnetism (30), Mechanics (57) and Pumps (20). Each toy has a series of photos showing the components and stages of assembly, a pdf of instructions with diagrams and a short video showing the construction.

His TED talk is at

D199. Exoplanets: a teaching and learning resource guide



The guide, as a pdf file, provides details on written, web, and audio-visual resources for teaching about planets orbiting other stars. Materials in the guide include video and audio files of lectures and interviews phone and tablet apps, a citizen-science website, books and articles. Published by the NASA Astrophysics Education and Outreach Forum and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific,

D200. A Catalogue of Astronomy Apps for Phones and Tablets



Click on download and the 9 page pdf document from the journal, Astronomy Education Review, should appear. Over 90 apps with links and a short description of each. At the bottom of the list is a collection of links to review articles of some of the apps.

D201. Physics Manual for Lab Techs

The Laboratory Technicians' Association of Victoria (LTAV) has produced an upgraded 4th edition of their manual. The manual has been produced to assist lab techs and teachers to prepare equipment for physics demonstrations and practical classes in secondary schools. Its purpose is to have, in one book, information on safety, equipment maintenance and laboratory skills. It was prepared by Svetlana Marchouba from Camberwell Grammar School.

The 75 page book has chapters on a tool kit, electrical safety, radiation of all types, soldering, measuring instruments, power supplies, timers, meters, air tables, air tracks, ripple tanks, Van de Graaff generator, lenses and mirrors and solar panels. There is also a glossary and an index.

The publication can be ordered from the LTAV website, Check out , for $23 which includes a black and white copy and a CD version in colour.

D202. Physics: A Force for Future Security - an article in The Conversation - a SHE activity?

A recent edition of The Conversation, featured an article by Professors Michelle Simmons, David Jamieson and Chennupati Jagadish, titled 'Physics: a fundamental force for futuresecurity'. It is at:

The article outlines the value of physics to the development of technology and Australia's economic future. There are 31 comments so far.

The article and more particularly the comments could form the basis of a SHE activity in which the students not only summarise the article, but more importantly categorise, critique and evaluate the subsequent comments. Any worksheets that are developed will be gratefully received and acknowledged.

D203. Physics, Skating and Ice

a) The Physics of skating on Ice: a Youtube video: An engaging 9 min video on the physics behind the different types of blades used in figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating.

b) A Veritasium video on Regelation



c) A short explanation on the theory of ice skating - it may not be pressure melting the ice

and on page 25 of

d) Lutz or flutz? The tricky physics of figure skating

An article on 'The Conservation' on the physics of two leaps in figure skating, the 'axel' and the 'lutz' . The article gives some insight without being too detailed.



e) A back story on OMEGA's timing of sporting events



D204. A Human Loop the Loop. A slot car can, can a human?



A three minute video of the preparation to do a loop the loop with a little physics thrown in, although the calculated speed at the top is wrong, but what was the incorrect assumption?

Now for the analysis

D205. 'Science' in the Classroom: A Resource from the Journal 'Science'

The publication 'Science' has established a new resource, which is a collection of annotated research papers with accompanying teaching materials. There are not many articles yet, only one so far for physics, but they also cover biology, ecology and chemistry.

The one current topic for physics may not be appropriate for VCE Physics, but the nature of the teaching materials, the type of questions and further activities suggest that the format may generate some useful SHE type activities in the future. So, it may be useful to register to get future updates. For example, if you register you get access to a 13 page teacher's guide to the particular article.

D206. AstroEDU An online science activity database

AstroEDU is a newcomer to the "online science activity database" category, having posted its first tranche of astronomy-themed projects in autumn 2013.

The following comments are provided by Physics World.

" ... aside from its novelty and its focus on astronomy, what sets it apart is its commitment to peer review. In fact, all of the activities on the site have been vetted and approved by two reviewers – one astronomer and one educator.

Who is behind it?

AstroEDU is managed by Edward Gomez of the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope and Pedro Russo of Leiden University in the Netherlands, with support from the International Astronomy Union's Office for Development.

Can you describe some of the activities?

At the moment, AstroEDU is still a prototype, with only around a dozen projects in total. However, they are off to a promising start, with a pleasing range of activities suited to children of all ages and abilities. "Meet our neighbour: Sun", for example, is designed to help mixed classes of sighted and visually-impaired primary-school children build and explore tactile maps of the Sun, complete with flares and sunspots. At the other end of the scale, an interactive Web app called "Star in a box" gives advanced students the chance to explore what happens as stars of various masses get older and age out of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram's "main sequence".

Anything else I should know?

Each activity comes with extensive documentation for teachers. Some also give information on how the activity could fit into particular science curricula.

How can I get involved?

Educators, astronomers and interested members of the public are welcome to upload their own astro-themed activities to the site and/or volunteer to act as peer reviewers for others' submissions. '

The current collection of activities is under the headings: Sun (1 primary, 1 lower secondary, 1 upper secondary), Stars (0, 1, 2), Drawing (1, 1, 0), Galaxies (0, 1, 0), Moon (1, 0, 0), Earth (2, 0, 0)

D207. Earth Exploration Toolbook A Geoscience web resource for schools



Comments from Physics World.

So what is the site about?

The Earth Exploration Toolbook (EET) website is home to a series of projects, or "chapters", that are designed to teach older children and young adults about geoscience. At the time of writing there were 43 different chapters to choose from, on subjects ranging from climate and atmospheric science to plate tectonics and astronomy. Each chapter gives students a bit of background on the subject, points them towards online sources of real earth-science data, and then shows them how to analyse these data for themselves. ...

What sorts of earth-science data are we talking about here?

Earthquake locations and magnitudes. Air-quality information recorded by NASA satellites. Ocean temperatures measured during and after El Niño cycles. Sediment cores. Weather patterns. A few different climate models. In fact, one project even requires students to analyse images of other planets in our solar system. The common thread here is real data, packaged in a user-friendly way.

Can you give me an example of a project?

One of the more visually appealing projects involves the IRIS Seismic Monitor, a continually updated, zoomable online map that displays the location of every earthquake our planet has experienced in the past five years. The most recent quakes are marked with circles (the size of the circle depicts the earthquake's magnitude), while the older ones show up as tiny pink dots that line the edges of tectonic plates. ... The main aim of the project is to get students to prepare and analyse their own Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data using some basic software packages.

D208 Benjamin Franklin and Electrostatics



A useful resource for Unit 3 Fields, this 'Compadre' website has links to Benjamin Franklin's research papers as well as a lab manual to repeat some of his experiments.

D209 Demonstration webpage on Canadian Physics Teachers' Website

Demonstration Corner from the Ontario Association of Physics Teachers (OAPT)



The OAPT has been running since 1979. As well as a regular newsletter (three editions per year, each about 25 pages), it has a Demonstrations webpage: Mechanics (26), Waves and Sound (22), Light (11), E & M (18). The newsletters can each be downloaded, but there is no table of contents to identify which editions might be of interest.

D210 Turn your iPhone into a personal spectroscope.

SpectraSnapp, is a new app released by the American Physical Society, and it is now available free of charge on Apple’s iTunes store. It allows users to turn their iPhone or iPad into a spectroscopic device that can analyze common sources of light.

The SpectraSnapp app comes with directions to build a simple spectrometer that fits over the phone’s camera. All that is required is a tube made out of construction paper, with a thin diffraction grating at the end.

For more details go to



D211 Resources for Promoting Careers in Physics (US)

The American Physical Society has a number of resources on its Careers page at . These include:

• Physicist profiles: Interviews with about 50 people from recent graduates to Nobel prize winners on aspects such as Why physics?, Using physics and Advice for students.

• Slide Shows that contain a mixture of profiles and examples of innovation in physics and technology. The Slide Shows are constantly being updated. Currently there are over 15 available including several focussing on Women in Physics.

D212 Graphing challenge - Kinematics Game



This is a kinematics game in which students are given a position - time or a velocity time graph, depending on level, and they have to set the initial position and velocity, and acceleration if needed and also, if needed, the time and value of any velocity or accel'n change. The game then draws out the graph from their set values and then identifies the sections of that graph that match the original graph.

The package provides effective and rewarding feedback. The graphs seem to be all straight line segmented graphs and there is no comparison of s - t, v - t and a - t graphs for the same motion.

D213 Red Bull Stratos Jump analysis



The Red Bull Stratos jump is the jump from space by Felix Baumgartner from a height of 128,000 feet. This website, by Prof Rhett Allain of South Eastern Louisiana University, is an analysis of Felix's motion as it relates to variation of the speed of sound with altitude. A very accessible article with useful graphs for kinematics.

D214 A Brief History of Physics (animated) from the BBC Science Club



A four minute amusing, animated history of physics highlighting contributions by Galileo, Newton, Maxwell, and particularly Einstein. It describes how scientists have tried to build on each other's work for hundreds of years—with varied success.

D215 FUNcube: Satellite for Students

The FUNcube-1 satellite was designed and built by a small group of members from the volunteer amateur satellite organisations AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL. It was launched into space from Russia aboard a DNEPR rocket on Thursday November 21st, 2013.

The aim of the FUNcube project is to create an educational satellite through which school students can learn about radio, space, physics and electronics.

Paul Butler from Lauriston Girls' School has used the satellite with his students. He has written an article about i) how he has used FUNcube at his school, ii) what resources and software is needed and iii) the benefits for the students. The article has a list of useful websites and his email address. The article can be found at among the Conference Proceedings.

D216. Science And Technology In Society: SATIS Materials for classroom use

Those who were teaching in the 1980's may recall an impressive package of UK curriculum materials titled 'SATIS'. They are now out of print, but like all good UK curriculum material from the last 50 years, it can be found on the National STEM Centre website at

The SATIS material was of value for Years 10 and 11. The key features of a SATIS unit were that they should to be short, easy to use, cheap and relevant to young learners and the curriculum. The units typically required about two periods of class time (that is about 75 minutes). Teachers were encouraged to use the units flexibly - to tear them up, rearrange and modify them.

SATIS units were intended to involve young learners as actively as possible. Units involved a variety of teaching and learning methods including: comprehension questions, directed activities related to text (DARTs), small-group discussion, problem-solving, surveys, simulations, decision-making exercises and role-plays.

There are over 40 physics related units on Alternative energy, Nuclear energy and radioactivity, Electricity, Astronomy, Sound, Light, Structures, Motion and Thermal physics.

A more detailed description of the SATIS material and each of the physics related units as well as links to the material can be found at .

There were two other similar projects developed at the same time for older students.

• Science in Society Readers

The Science in Society readers were written to provide a range of resource materials for class use. They were written in the 1980's in the UK and were aimed at the senior students. Each reader was about 60 pages long made up of articles from experts. Readers included tables of data, charts and graphs but relatively few pictures. There were 13 readers published, mainly in the biological fields, but several related to physics. There was also a teacher's guide.

The physics related readers were on the topics of Energy; Defence and Energy Issues, and Science and Defence. More details can be found at the Vicphysics link above.

• SISCON: Science in a Social Context

SISCON was one of the early UK science courses to include topics with wide political implications. The aim of the course was to exhibit science as an endeavour rooted in the society which uses it. The project team aimed to widen the scope of science teaching by helping learners to arrive at an understanding of some of the critical interactions between science and society. Topics covered included the role of government and industry in science; commercial applications of scientific findings; the role of scientists in the production of food; the fight against disease; the development of modern weapons; the responsibility of scientists for the outcomes of their work; and the effects of science and new technologies on people's daily lives.

The physics related topics were i) Energy: Power to Work, ii) The Atomic Bomb and iii) Space Cosmology and Fiction. More details can be found at the Vicphysics link above.

D217. Physics Online Resources from TES (Times Educational Supplement)

The TES (Times Educational Supplement) maintains a resource for teachers of teacher generated material. The material is structured on the UK Curriculum and covers the ages from 11 to post 16. There are over 4000 documents for Physics in the Post 16 section. The content has 5 topics: Earth & space, Energy & electricity, Force & motion, Matter and Waves & oscillations. For each of these there are subtopics. The material can also be sorted by type, covering activity, lesson plan, game, revision aid or assessment.

You need to register to download the files, but there is no cost. The UK website is



The TES has also recently set up an Australian site. Some of the material is common, but there seems to be additional Australian material being developed. The Australian website, has a similar structure, but uses the NSW physics curriculum as the basis for the categorising material. However while the topic names can be difficult to interpret, e.g. 'From Ideas to Implementation', a quick drilldown reveals the specific content.

D218. Electrolights: A blog explaining day to day physics

URL:

The blog 'electrolights' is about 'explaining day to day phenomena in simple terms and showing that physics, though mind-boggling sometimes, is really about the basic things in life. The blog is aimed at non-experts, especially students, and is written in a straightforward style reminiscent of the Simple English Wikipedia, which is designed to be understood by children, adults who are trying to learn English and people with learning difficulties.

Posts can be searched under the categories: Cosmology, Electricity, Energy, Force, Measurement, Motion, Quantum and Waves with several entries for each.

Comments from PhysicsWorld ()

What are some of the topics covered?

Although some posts do indeed focus on the physics of everyday things, such as compact discs, the subject matter of others is decidedly more esoteric, with black holes, double-slit experiments and the theory of relativity all covered. Posts about conventional physics often put a fresh spin on the topic. For example, a May 2013 post about "Weighing the Earth" does a nice job of framing the difference between weight and mass, noting that "to weigh something, anything, means to determine the force being exerted on that thing by another body...You can't have a body in isolation, in complete isolation, away from any other planet, star or galaxy, in the depths of vacuous space and talk about its weight". However, it continues, "that isolated body will have a mass, regardless of it being on its own or not". Another great example is a February 2014 post about addition and subtraction, which reveals that even the most straightforward mathematical operations have unexpected depths.

Who is behind it?

The author of electrolights is Swetam Gungah, a London-based mathematical physicist who has made his career in the financial industry and is currently director of business development at S&P Capital IQ. A staunch advocate of science outreach, Gungah also occasionally writes for the Institute of Physics-supported blog physicsfocus and gives talks around the UK about the importance of physics and other STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

Can you give me a sample quote?

From a July 2012 post entitled "Bright", which begins with the causes of the seasons and then moves on to discuss the challenges of using solar energy: "In a matter of days...the Earth will be at its furthest from the Sun. Yet, in the Northern hemisphere, summer temperatures will be in the mid-20s Celsius. Isn't it strange that it's hotter in the Northern hemisphere when the Earth is actually furthest from the Sun? Shouldn't it be cooler instead? Had things been plain and simple, that's how you would expect the temperature to vary: the closer one is to the Sun, the warmer one should be. ..But things aren't that plain – though they can still be simple – and therefore it is the tilt of the Earth that determines the season, not its distance from the Sun. Had the Earth not tilted at 23.5° from the vertical, the seasons would have been pretty much non-existent. A minimal and boring hot/cold variation would have prevailed throughout the year depending on how far the Earth was from the Sun as opposed to how much it was leaning off its axis of rotation."

D219 Real World 21st Century Examples for Physics

The Canadian website, , is a resource for teachers 'who are interested in teaching physics concepts in current real world contexts'. So far their emphasis is on medical physics and energy in the environment. However the website has material in a range of formats including:

• articles that clearly explain the physics concepts in a real world context

• take-home experiments that can be done by students or by teachers as demonstrations in class

• lecture notes in the form of power point presentations

• multiple choice questions to use as a quick test of understanding during lectures, and as a way to stimulate critical thinking.

• problem sets and exam questions that would interest students (including solutions)

• data sheets with realistic numbers and information

• videos further explaining physics concepts in real world contexts

D220 Astronomy Resources

a) Teach Astronomy:

Teach Astronomy is an astronomy learning tool, intended either as a supplement for classroom instruction or for informal learners wanting to know more about the subject. It has a range of resources including an online textbook of 400,000 words and 1200 images, 40,000 articles from Wikipedia, over 1100 video clips covering all topics in astronomy, over 6300 images from Astronomy Picture of the Day and AstroPix, over 1400 podcasts from 365 Days of Astronomy, and about 25 astronomy news stories each week from Science Daily.

b) Public lectures by distinguished astronomers

Over 30 lectures by distinguished astronomers describe the latest research in everyday language at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (audio only). Speakers include:

• Frank Drake, who began the experimental search for intelligent life among the stars (over 60 min)

• Mike Brown, who discovered most of the dwarf planets beyond Pluto (and whose humorous talk is entitled “How I Killed Pluto and Why it Had it Coming”)

• Natalie Batalha, project scientist on the Kepler Mission to find Earths around other stars

• Alex Filippenko (national professor of the year) on finding black holes.

Recent topics added to the offerings include: multiple universes, Saturn's moon Titan (with an atmosphere, rivers, and lakes) and our explosive Sun.

D221 Web resources for Sound

These are some recently found websites of resources for teaching Sound. For other resources, go to .

a) Explore Sound by the Acoustical Society of America

Lessons, activities, bibliography, and web lists. There is material for years from Prep to Year 12.

b) Physics of Music

Physics of Music and Acoustics site from UNSW. The site has many resources, including research publications concerning band and orchestral instruments. There is also a section to construct a rough personal hearing curve of loudness versus frequency

c) Acoustic and Vibration Animations

A comprehensive set of animations prepared by Prof Dan Russell, Professor of Acoustics at Penn State University. Some of the animations go beyond the VCE course.

d) Phet applets on sound

Select 'Sound', choose type, e.g. lab, demo, etc, then Level and language

D222 Conceptions of Energy: a new UK approach

The National Curriculum (NC) in the UK has revised the statements on energy. There is a change of emphasis with a 'more consistent approach to the teaching of energy across the sciences than the “nine types” paradigm that is often seen in textbooks'. In the revised NC statements, there is no mention of types of energy (let alone nine of them), conversions or transformations. Instead, there is an emphasis on:

• energy as a quantitative tool

• explanations that rely on processes rather than energy

• start and end points in energy analyses quantifiable terms

• heating (as a process) rather than “heat” as a substance

• differences as the cause of change

• dissipation and ideas from the second law of thermodynamics

• the Big Ideas.

The old VCE 'Heating and Cooling' Area of Study had a similar approach to some of the points above.

The NC's approach to energy is discussed in the UK's Institute of Physics (IOP)'s Supporting Physics

Teaching (SPT) resources ( ). The SPT Resources for the various topics have the common features:

• Physics narrative: an account of the physics at the level it will be taught in the classroom

• Teaching & Learning issues: key teaching issues plus common mis-representations and confusions amongst pupils

• Teaching Approaches: resources, teaching tools and strategies which also address the teaching and learning issues

The Energy section for the ages 11 - 14 has the following sub-sections, with the titles reflecting the new emphasis:

1. Paying for getting things done

2. Shifting energy between stores

3. Energy resources and pathways

4. Calculating energy everywhere

5. Warming and cooling

D223 Resources from the Distance Education Centre - the old 'Correspondence School'.

One of the Physics teachers at the Distance Education Centre, Yibo Zhao, has kindly provided his list of Youtube links that he sends to his students. There are two files, one for Unit 1 and one for Unit 3. Each file contains a weekly program of content and supporting Youtube videos with active links, many of the videos Yibo produced himself.

The two files can be found at Over the next few weeks the content of files will also be added to the webpages for each relevant Area of Study.

If you know of any other useful videos, etc, please send us a line.

D224 Ruhmkorff Coil and detecting ionising radiation

UK schools have an item of equipment to detect ionising radiation from radioactive sources, called a spark counter', see . It is not exactly a counter, it consists of 'a fine metal gauze mounted about a millimetre away from a thin wire. A (high) voltage is applied between the two so that sparking takes place between them'.

For the Practical Activities Workshops held during the holidays, we thought we would try out the idea by bringing an alpha source close to the pointed electrodes of a Ruhmkorff coil. However this did not work.

Replacing one of the two pointed electrodes with the metal disc electrode made all the difference, with sparks readily jumping from the point to the disc.

Many thanks to Paul Cuthbert, University High School for getting it to work.

D225 Observing a real image: An impressive Youtube video from Exploratorium

The Exploratorium in San Francisco has a 2 metre diameter concave mirror. Observers can see their inverted real image. The video shows a tour guide talking to students. He shines a torch on a student's forehead and you see the bright spot on the forehead of the image. He then shines the torch on the forehead of the image and the student's forehead is illuminated. Very powerful, the students are overwhelmed.



D226 Stunning Images: The 2014 International Earth & Sky Photo Contest

There are some stunning photographs among the winners and finalists of this Photo Contest, including photographs by Australian photographer, Phil Hart, one of which got 5th prize. The photos are quite stunning, many focus on the beauty of the image, butt here are many impressive photos of aurorae and long exposure shots of the night sky. Check them out at



D227 Smashing Physics: A Royal Institution Youtube talk by Jon Butterworth from CERN

The Royal Institution is famous for its public lectures, going back to the time of Faraday. This is a talk on the Large Hadron Collider by one of the researchers. As with other RI lectures, it is engaging and personable, with background stories about the machine, science and the media.

The speaker, Jon Butterworth, is introduced by his friend and colleague, Brian Cox. The full video goes for about 90 minutes with much time for very good questions from the young audience.

The link is .

Jon Butterworth is a professor of physics at University College London. He is a member of the High Energy Physics group on the Atlas experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider and also manages to write regularly in The Guardian, as well as taking part in other science communication. His book, Smashing Physics: The Inside Story of the Hunt for the Higgs, was published in May 2014.

The video can also be seen at the Royal Institution website , , select 'Watch'. Also by the selecting 'Videos' and filtering for physics, you find about 50 videos of varying length by people such as Brian Schmidt and Jim Al-Khalili, including ones on wave particle duality and the double slit experiment.

D228 Information is Beautiful: A visualisation on nuclear exposure

You might find this website fascinating, for yourself, your students and colleagues. The website is about presenting information in ways that visually conveys a message. " 'Information is Beautiful' is dedicated to distilling the world’s data, information and knowledge into beautiful, interesting and, above all, useful visualizations, infographics and diagrams." The physics one is on effects of nuclear exposure.

Go to 'Prints, posters and pdfs' and select 'Instant Print Your Own Downloads'. The Radiation Dosage poster is at the bottom. The cost is US$5. Check out the others, they are very impressive.

D229 Amusement Park Physics: Some resources from the US and Europe

Scott Daniel from Swinburne University has passed on a physics education article titled 'Teacher roles during amusement park visits - insights from observations, interviews and questionnaires' by Ann-Marie Pendrill, Cecilia Kozma and Andreas Theve from universities in Sweden. It can be accessed on our website at lunabackground.html . The article has an extensive reference list, including links to websites on specific physics days at amusement parks. These include:

• about Physics, Science and Maths Days in California. An extensive list of worksheets and advice is provided.

• A collection of relevant articles by one of the authors and resources on the Physics Education page of Goteborgs University in Sweden.

D230. Hundreds of Videos of Physics Demonstrations

Another useful resource found by Scott Daniel is this website of short videos of physics demonstrations, each a few minutes long, by a group of Slovenian physics teachers. The demonstrations are highly visual, to such an extent that the demonstrators rarely need to explain what they are doing.

They are grouped under Mechanics (mainly pressure), Electricity and magnetism, Light and Thermodynamics. Check out and look under 'Experiments'

A full list of the video titles, each with a short description is at

You must check out the 'SF6 is denser than air' science experiment.

D231. Datamouse: Making two photogates from a mouse

Two Italian physics teachers, Alessio Ganci and Salvatore Ganci, have developed a method of turning an old mouse into a time measuring device. Their method is described in , it was published in the UIP journal 'Physics Education' in 2009. The project simply involves replacing the two switches with photoresistors and using two laser pointers to give the two photogates. They also wrote a Visual Basic program to display the measurement. The above link gives you access to the pdf file, the supplementary data section gives you access to the zip file for the program.

This is a short Youtube video by the IOP, showing the finished product.

D232. 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics: Resources

The 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura for their development of blue LEDs.

The Nobel website: has links to i) the Press release, ii) the 'popular' information about blue LEDs and iii)the 'advanced' information (11 pages).

The PhysicsWorld news page has a useful summary of the impacts of blue LEDs.

Inside Science: has Quotes, links and notes.

D233. 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Physics related, again!

The 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. The Nobel website, has a popular information article with the title 'How the optical microscope became a nanoscope' and talks about lasers, fluorescence and diffraction limits.

D234. More Resources from the Distance Education Centre - the old 'Correspondence School'.

The newsletter, No 1, Term 3, 2014, featured Youtube resources prepared by one of the Physics teachers at the Distance Education Centre, Yibo Zhao. There were two files, one for Unit 1 and one for Unit 3. Each file contained a weekly program of content and supporting Youtube videos with active links, many of the videos Yibo produced himself.

Yibo has now provided files for Units 2 and 4. All the files can be found at . If you know of any other useful videos, etc, please send us a line.

D235. Visualising Sound: A Youtube video

A short Youtube video using schlieren photography to show sound waves produced by various sources, such as a firecracker, a clap and a gun. Go to

D236. Radioactivity Decay App - Free

Alistair Shaw from Aitken College has produced a radioactivity decay app. It is free and available at .

Users are able to select from three sources; Pa 234, Be 11 and C11, or enter their own half-life. Users then enter the number of atoms and choice of display either 'atoms decayed' or 'atoms remaining'. The randomness of radioactive decay can be modeled in a real time graph. The simulator can also be sped up to allow atoms with a longer half-life to be analyzed quickly. There is also an online manual to explain these steps.

D237. Teacher Developed Websites

Many teachers are now developing their own websites, either i) to assist their own students, ii) provide additional support to students in general, or iii) to share their material with other teachers. Here are three that came out of the conference. These websites can also be accessed through , but specific links are included below.

If you have developed a website you would like included on the Vicphysics page, please contact the Vicphysics at danok@.

a) SACs, Pracs and Resources for Units 1 & 2 Detailed Studies: Paul Fitz-Gerald's and Paul Fielding's website has material from their conference workshop. Paul Fitz-Gerald is at Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School and Paul Fielding is from Billanook College.

b) The Virtual Physics Course: A website by Justin Vincent from Warrnambool College. is a free resource for students and teachers. The site is categorised by unit and topic and features over 45 video podcasts on all key areas of Units 1 - 4, forum, links to relevant web resources, animations and simulations. (VCE Physics Podcasts can also be subscribed to through the iTunes store.). Students can also use the quiz tasks as a revision tool; these are progressively being added to throughout the year. Registering with allows users to track their progress and see suggested solutions to completed all quiz tasks, as well as commenting on posts and using the forum. Teachers can register their classes through a contact on the website.

c) Coyley's Pages: A website by Jane Coyle from Albert Park Secondary College of course material for students.

D238. Pioneering Women of Physics: A Poster Resource

The Perimeter Institute's website has a section of 'Pioneering Women in Physics'. There are images of 14 physicists, each of which features a photo overlaid with a description of their achievement. Most are in black and white and can be easily copied and printed.



D239. Exoplanet Physics for Junior Science

The UK Institute of Physics (IOP) has produced a set of classroom material for 11 to 14 year old students. It can be downloaded from

The material includes a 28 page booklet with five activities. There are also software and video links for the activities.

D240. Making a Science Poster - Some Tips

In the new Study Design students will need to present the results of their Unit 4 EPI in a poster format, either hard copy or in electronic mode and can also use the format for other units.

Maria James spoke on posters at the recent Conference. One source of useful tips for science posters that she recommends is :

•

Others that seem useful are:

• : Free powerpoint templates

• Samples, templates and other links

• Examples and tips

• Tips

The above are all US sites and some have a tertiary focus. Some UK sites for secondary students are:

• from National STEM Centre and more for middle school students

• from Nuffield Foundation

D241. Project LITE: Light Inquiry Through Experiments: A Resource

The US funded website, , is a set of applets and apps on various aspects of Light, some of which were designed to be used in conjunction with simple and cheap optical materials. Aspects include: spectra, colour mixing, visual effects, illusions and binocular vision.

The article at is about the invention of kaleidoscopes and recent innovations. The author of the above website is also interviewed.

D242. International Year of Light: Resources

• The UN website for the International Year of Light and light based technologies has a range of resources under the headings: i) Why light matters, ii) Learning about light, iii) Hands on involvement, iv) Cosmic light, v) Light for development and vi) Science stories. There is also a catalogue of 77 images with captions which can be downloaded.

• The Perimeter Institute has a webpage of 20 Illuminating, Enlightening, Day-Brightening Facts About Light. Each is a stunning image with engaging text and can be copied.

• The International Society for optics and photonics (SPIE) has free posters, worksheets for hands on activities as well as a list of about 100 websites containing 'lesson plans, activities, demonstrations and free materials to provide resources for educators, parents and students', each website has a short description.

• The Laser Classroom, , is US based and mainly a retailer of optical kits, but it does provide free downloads of booklets and classroom material. It also offers free on line professional development for middle school level, which may require the purchase of a kit, but this is not evident.

D243. 100,000 Stars - A 3D visualisation

An interactive 3D visualisation by Google, designed for Google Chrome. It features the nearest 100,000 stars, with near neighbours named. It is possible to zoom out beyond the Milky Way. It is available at , but is best viewed on Google Chrome.

Item supplied by Michael Rosenbrock from Victorian Science Teachers' Network. To join, if you use Facebook, search for Vic Sci Ed or go to this link to join ().

D244. 'Teaching High School Physics' A Kindle resource

Amazon are selling the three volume US publication 'Teaching High School Physics' by Carl Wenning and Rebecca Vieyra. Each volume is available for $11.99 and each volume is over 350 pages. The publication is aimed at the beginning physics teachers, but is probably of general use. It summarises research of teaching and learning and describes a large range of teaching strategies. More details are available from the authors' website:

D245. Unlocking your car with your brain - Youtube video from Sixty Symbols

This short engaging video from Sixty Symbols by Prof Roger Bowley of the University of Nottingham is about the radiation from your car keys that unlocks your car. It has been suggested that if you hold your car keys to your head, you can increase the range of the signal and find your lost car in the car park. Roger tests the idea and then extends it using a large container of water.

A passing comment suggests a simple interference experiment. Let us know if it works.

Youtube link, , supplied by Jenny Sharwood.

D246. EPIs and Posters See also D249

The webpage on our website, , has advice on EPIs and Posters including:

• different ways of assessing aspects of an EPI,

• using log books,

• designing posters, including numerous templates and website providing hints and information.

There are files on EPI handbooks for students and a few lists of topics with over 500 topics across the lists including all the 12 options for next year.

D247. Future of Nuclear: The Conversation series of articles

The online news commentary website, 'The Conversation' had recently featured a series of 9 articles on the future of nuclear energy. The articles are at

The articles are mostly by academics, but are written for the general reader, so they should be fine for Year 11 students. All the articles have numerous comments in response, often quite vigorous, if not heated. The comments themselves could form the basis for a media analysis assessment task, in which the students evaluate the scientific accuracy and logic of the various comments.

The titles include:

• Harvesting usable fuel from nuclear waste – and dealing with the last chemical troublemakers

• Is nuclear power zero-emission? No, but it isn’t high-emission either

• How nuclear power-generating reactors have evolved since their birth in the 1950s

• What does nuclear power cost? Old plants dispel easy answers

• The case for nuclear power – despite the risks

• Accidents, waste and weapons: nuclear power isn’t worth the risks

• Where will nuclear power plants of the future be built?

• Power and peace: how nations can go nuclear without weapons

• Nuclear fusion, the clean power that will take decades to master

D248. Slow motion analysis of experiments: Exploding balloons, deformed balls, strange reflections and breaking rods - A Physics Education article

An article from Physics Education in 2011 is now freely available at

The article by Michael Vollmer and Klaus-Peter Möllmann from the University of Applied Sciences in Brandenburg, describes a series of experiments that happen too fast for the eye, but can be captured by relatively inexpensive cameras such as Casio Exilim cameras which operate at frame rates of up to 1200 Hz. In this article, examples are presented from exploding balloons demonstrating retardation in mechanics, karate hits, deformations associated with the bouncing of balls, strange trajectories of ‘superballs’ as well as the breaking of spaghetti.

A couple of years ago, this newsletter had an item on digital cameras with high speed option. That item can be found as item D185 in the file of 'Selected items from Physics News' on our website at

D249. Extended Practical Investigations and Posters

In 2017 the new Units 3 & 4 will be implemented. The Extended Practical Investigation, a specific Area of Study, will in part be assessed by a scientific poster, possibly in an electronic format. The amount of work that students put into the task in the up to 10 hours of class time cannot be fully contained within the poster. To properly assess the student's work the mandated log book will be an essential complement to the poster. Indeed, early planning could be formally assessed and there could be some contribution from observation in class.

It would be useful to do a practice run with next year's Year 12 students and to even to prepare them with a mini Year 11 version this year, which is what you would probably do with next year's Year 11's.

Some of the suggestions from the recent Implementation Workshops were:

• With the Year 11's, divide the class up so that some of the students talk about their poster to their class mates and then vice versa.

• With an investigation now in Chemistry and Biology, Physics teachers can share their past experiences and assist their colleagues with advice on generating topics, encouraging students to come up with their own topics, yet counselling them on unrealistic ones, your changed role to being more of an advisor, etc.

• With students producing posters across science, their output has promotional value for science within the school.

Nevertheless, the poster has some uncertainties for the teacher. The Term 1, No 5 newsletter had an item of sources of powerpoint poster templates and some basic hints on good poster design. That item is included here:

In the new Study Design students will need to present the results of their Unit 4 EPI in a poster format, either hard copy or in electronic mode and can also use the format for other units.

Maria James spoke on posters at the recent Conference. One source of useful tips for science posters that she recommends is :

•

Others that seem useful are:

• : Free powerpoint templates

• Samples, templates and other links

• Examples and tips

• Tips

The above are all US sites and some have a tertiary focus. Some UK sites for secondary students are:

• from National STEM Centre and more for middle school students

• from Nuffield Foundation

D250. Star Wars VII trailer and using Tracker software

This link , is an analysis of a motion section from the recent Star Wars VII trailer by Tracker, the free video motion analysis software. The article is well written and would be accessible to students familiar with Tracker.

D251. Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs) back on line

CUPs is a set of teaching procedures for physics developed by Monash University. They are designed to aid the development of understanding of concepts that students find difficult. There are 12 activities, 10 on Forces, Energy and Motion, and 2 on Electricity.

The link to the CUPs website has been broken for some months. The material can now be accessed at

A description on how to use them by Dr Pam Mulhall is on the Vicphysics website, , along with many other resources on students' misconceptions.

D252 General Relativity: Holiday reading and viewing

Some good Australian articles celebrating the achievement, and explaining what this important piece of physics means for everyday life are :

• Bernie Hobbs (ABC) explained How Einstein's theory explains the Universe

• Michael Brown (Monash University) asked Why is Einstein’s General Relativity such a popular target for cranks?

• Katie Mack (University of Melbourne) and Eric Thane (Monash University) assisted on a Catalyst episode, Einstein's Extraordinary Universe.

D253 Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse: Analysis of film and video footage

The AAPT publication 'The Physics Teacher' has released an article on the various versions of footage of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse. The article analyses the frame rates of the various technologies to identify which format is the most accurate.



D254 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics: for the discovery ... that shows neutrinos have mass

With the introduction of neutrinos into Unit 1 VCE Physics, some of the resources associated with this Nobel Prize may be useful in providing you with some background to this topic, particularly in answering any of those tricky questions.

The resources include:

• The Nobel Prize website, , which has links to a 6 page 'popular' description and a 20 page 'advanced' description.

• The PhysicsWorld article on the Nobel Prize with links to relevant background articles that have been published over the years.

• A PhysicsWorld blog looking at the implications with an engaging video of the physics of the discovery.

• Free Download: Teaching the Science behind the Nobel Prize. The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has compiled 10 articles from previous editions of The American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher and made them available as a free download until the end of October.

• An engaging 'Sixty Symbols' Youtube video prepared after the announcement.

• Physics Today article announcing the Nobel Prize.

• Inside Science article announcing the Nobel Prize

• An Inside Science blog discussing the Nobel Prize.

D255 Juggling Giant Newton's Cradles: Youtube video

The short video show a juggler juggling balls in the air along with the rebound ball from a giant cradle, then he moves on to more cradles.

D256 Feynman Poetry on Atoms

The short poem at this website by Richard Feynman reads very well , The website 'Physics Central' also seem worth exploring for other hidden treasures.

D257 Seven Brief Lessons on Physics: A bestselling book by Carlo Rovelli, a theoretical physicist

A tiny, 83-page book about some of the basic principles of physics has been a surprise hit in Italy– becoming the single bestselling book of any kind to be published in the country this year.

The book has now been translated into English. See a PhysicsWorld interview with the author at

Publisher's description: "Everything you need to know about modern physics, the universe and our place in the world in seven enlightening lessons "

"Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world. And it's breathtaking"

"These seven short lessons guide us ... through the scientific revolution that shook physics in the twentieth century and still continues to shake us today. In this beautiful and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, Carlo Rovelli explains Einstein's theory of general relativity, quantum mechanics, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, elementary particles, gravity, and the nature of the mind. In under eighty pages, readers will understand the most transformative scientific discoveries of the twentieth century and what they mean for us. Not since Richard Feynman's celebrated best-seller Six Easy Pieces has physics been so vividly, intelligently and entertainingly revealed"

D258 US Websites on teaching strategies and curriculum materials

a) The Diagnoser, , "is a set of diagnostic instructional tools for middle and high school teachers and students. Resources in this project have been developed and tested by teachers and are based on research into the teaching and learning of maths and science. They have designed sets of questions as formative assessments (e.g., assessments to inform learning and instruction rather than assign scores.) Students receive feedback on their thinking as they work through their assignment. Teachers can access reports on students' thinking related to the assigned content."

To access the material you need to register and set up a username and password. You can set up your classes and give each student a unique username and password and assign specific topics. There is no cost.

The areas covered include Mechanics, Waves and Thermal physics with several topics in each, but mainly at Year 10 and Year 11 level. For each topic there is a section on:

• Learning goals: expectation of what the students should understand,

• Facet cluster: a detailed breakdown of the common misconceptions,

• Eliciting questions: designed to open up many of the existing ideas among the students in the class, with typical incorrect responses and advise on how to manage them,

• Development lessons: Lessons that will challenge problems exposed by the questions and also build on strengths in students' thinking,

• Diagnoser question sets: The questions are designed to elicit different misconceptions in student thinking. The program provides feedback to students to assist them in monitoring their own learning. After students have completed a set of questions, teachers are able to view the misconceptions diagnosed for each question for each student.

• Prescriptive activities: These activities may be assigned to individual students or to the whole class. They are designed to target specific problematic ideas diagnosed in the previous section.

b) The Physics Aviary, , is a US website by teacher Frank McCulley. It is designed to assist students and has a range of activities including:

• Lab simulations which were written as a complement to real practical activities. They cover the full range of physics topics,

• 'Tools' is mainly advice on graphing,

• 'Homework problems',

• 'Games' has several basic skill based games and

• 'Review questions'.

The programs are written in HTML 5 to work on computers, tablets, phones and other handheld devices.

c) Exploring Physics, , is a commercial online product for tablets. "The Exploring Physics App is an interactive inquiry- and modeling-based conceptual physics curriculum. It combines hands-on activities with a discussion-based pedagogy where students construct mental models of scientific concepts. The app is constructed so that students input their ideas into the app in text, drawings, and graphs – so the app works as a workbook, lab book and textbook all in one".

There will eventually be 9 units that will be released over the next 18 months, with some already available. An individual unit can be purchased for US$12 per student.

d) APlus Physics is a compilation of Youtube videos and other resources. It currently has 858 videos grouped under 18 different topics.

Items supplied by Barbara McKinnon and Oliver Lovell.

D259 Highlights from the UK Physics Education Journal - Free download

The UK physics journal 'Physics Education' published by the Institute of Physics (IOP) provides free downloads of the highlights from the previous year's editions. 'The featured papers have been selected to reflect the very best of the unique mix of content in the journal, and all represent outstanding quality and a valuable contribution to the physics teaching community.'

They can be downloaded from , but will be only available until 31st December, 2015.

The list includes:

• How might educational research into children's ideas about light be of use to teachers?

• The physics of bump drafting in car racing

• History of physical terms: 'energy'

• Wobbly strings: calculating the capture rate of a webcam using the rolling shutter effect in a guitar

• The equivalence principle comes to school—falling objects and other middle school investigations

• Astronomy textbook images: do they really help students?

• The Bounce Meter

• An investigation into the nature of high altitude cosmic radiation in the stratosphere

• Three-dimensional nuclear chart—understanding nuclear physics and nucleosynthesis in stars

• Can we understand the tippee top?

• The greatest shadow on Earth

D260 Nuclear Resources from ANSTO

ANSTO has established a Discovery Centre that provides a diverse range of resources including:

• e-learning including i) videoconference of student designed experiments on the properties of radioactivity, but not including half life, ii) interview an expert by videoconference and iii) explore nuclear medicine by videoconference

• Posters, workbooks, factsheets (All these are free downloads), online games, videos and profiles of scientists

The link to the Discovery Centre is and it has also been added to the Vicphysics page for the 'What is matter? Area of Study at . Item supplied by Gary Bass.

D261 A Brief History of Everything by Neil deGrasse Tyson: A Youtube video

This 8.5 minute video is an excellent resource to assist with the Cosmology part of Unit 1 'What is matter?'. It is an animation video with a voice over by Neil deGrasse Tyson. It effectively explains the key aspects of the early history of the universe.

The link has also been added to the Vicphysics page for 'What is Matter? at

D262 Course Planning Resources for Units 1 & 2 in 2016

Units 1 and 2 of the new study design contain many of the more significant changes. These changes will impact on not only how you design your course, but also on working out the words and supporting activities you will use to explain the many new concepts.

Three resources have been prepared. They are:

• A PowerPoint presentation on the issues to consider when planning a course for Units 1 & 2. It considers i) the new concepts and how one might explain them, ii) possible practical activities and iii) assessment tasks. It also looks at how to offer a few options at the one time and also how to manage the enhanced practical investigation.

• A Word file of the commentary that accompanied the presentation of this Powerpoint is also available. This is a necessary adjunct as some slides just highlight an issue which is spoken to, rather than elaborated in full on the screen.

• A sample Course Plan for 2016. The plan has grouped related dot points and placed these groups in a teaching order and then allocated an approximate teaching time to each, e.g. 0.5 weeks, 1.5 weeks. It also includes some activities for each group and possible assessment tasks for the Area of Study as a whole.

These can be found at

The Vicphysics website already has webpages for the 'Thermodynamics' and 'What is Matter?' Areas of Study at and resp. Webpages on the options will follow during 2016. The current webpages for Electricity and Motion should suffice for the time being. The webpage, , has extensive material on practical investigations, including topic lists and poster templates.

D263 Uranium Documentary Series by Derek Muller on SBS starting 9th August

Abstract: "Uranium – Twisting the Dragon’s Tail is a new three part documentary series exploring the incredible story of uranium, from its creation in an exploding star to its deployment in nuclear weapons, nuclear power and nuclear medicine. It’s a journey across nine countries and more than a century of stories, to discover the rock that made the modern world. It’s part science, part history and all epic adventure."

Teachers will know Derek Muller from his very useful Veritasium website of videos and also from being the opening speaker at our 2012 Physics Teachers' Conference.

This website, , has details about the program and relevant videos from Derek's website, such as The Most Radioactive Places on Earth, How to Launch a Nuclear Missile and A Walk Around Chernobyl.

D264. Dare Devil Demo: Connected bodies and Circular motion

3. Dare Devil Demo: Connected bodies and Circular motion

Andreas Wahl is a Norwegian physicist who demonstrates the laws of physics by putting his life in high-risk situations.

In the videos below, he suspended on the end of the rope. The rope goes up over a strong bar and then goes out horizontally to where a mass is attached at the other end. The mass is held in place by his colleagues.

They let go the mass. Andreas falls, the mass falls ...Check out what happens next.

This is the Youtube video

This have some analysis

This also has some analysis.

There is a Youtube video of Andreas explaining to a technician what he plans to do using a string with masses on each end and a foam cup for the bar, but the address remains elusive.

Another high risk situation is where he is underwater in a swimming pool, a few metres from a rifle pointed at his chest. He then pulls the string attached to the trigger.

D265 Course Planning: Which SACs? Which Pracs?

Assessment Tasks: In the old course many teachers would have used the Extended Practical Investigation (EPI) to assess the Motion Area of Study and the Summary Report for Electric Power. Now the Practical Investigation is its own Area of Study in Unit 4, Electric Power has been split across two Areas of Study and the Summary Report has been renamed and re-designed as an 'Annotations of at least two practical activities ...' .

There are also a number of new formats in which the assessment could be done, such as:

• report of a physics phenomenon

• design, build, test and evaluate a device

• explanation of the operation of a device

• proposed solution to a scientific or technological problem

• reflective learning journal or a critique of a blog in response to an issue.

The webpage, , now has a document 'Which SACs for 2017? which provides examples of some of these new assessment tasks and also outlines possible combinations of tasks to constitute the SACs.

The examples have been prepared for discussion at the Unit 3 Course Planning Days, see details of the event below. The examples are drafts at this stage and contain discussion questions about how teachers might use the task and what further support would be useful to enhance the draft. Additional examples will be added in coming weeks. If you are not able to attend one of the Unit 3 Course Planning Days, please send us your comments on the tasks.

Practical Activities: There is also new content in Unit 3 on Electric Fields. A description of possible practical activities for the whole of Units 3 and 4 as well as Units 1 and 2 is also available at the above website.

D266 Rubrics for Assessing Posters

A teacher posted a request to Colin Hopkins' email list seeking a rubric for assessing the scientific poster. Within the day two rubrics were sent around, one by Ken Kincses and another by Paul Natoli. Both can now be accessed on the Vicphysics website at

If there is any material that you generated this year for Units 1 and 2 that you would like to share please send it in.

D267 Astrophysics Youtube Videos from Monash University

The Monash University's Centre for Astrophysics puts on several lectures throughout the year. The next one is next week see item 3a below. Videos of previous lectures can be viewed at .

There over 20 videos in total with presenters such as Brian Schmidt, Andrew Prentice as well as international speakers. Topics include: Are we alone?, supermassive black holes, origin of the elements, life of stars, the SKA, etc.

D268 Course Planning: week by week program

The webpage, , has a week by week plan of content, practical activities and assessment tasks for Units 3 & 4 in 2017 with the teaching order of Motion, Fields, Electromagnetism and Relativity. There are also links to other useful webpages on the website.

D269 Webpages for Unit 3 topics of Fields, Electrical Energy and Motion

Webpages for Fields, Electrical Energy and Motion can be accessed from the home page by .going to 'Teachers' and moving down to 'Units 3 & 4 in 2017' . They can also be opened from here: , and .

Each webpage has sections on planning the teaching of the topic, assessment, practical activities and applets.

D270 Extra resources at 'EPI' and 'Useful Websites' webpages

The EPI webpage, , now has a 10 page file of possible topics for the Unit 4 Practical Investigation. The is also useful information on assessing the EPI, the use of logbooks, the scientific poster and sample exam questions on the Practical Investigation.

The Useful Websites webpage, , has a new section on Teaching Strategies, with links to six diverse and very thorough websites.

D271 PhysPort: Supporting Physics Teaching with Research-based Resources

PhysPort supports physics teachers in implementing research-based teaching practices in their classrooms, by providing expert recommendations about teaching methods, assessment, and results from physics education research (PER). "Work in PER has made enormous advances in developing a variety of tools that dramatically improve student learning of physics". PhysPort's goal is to synthesise and translate the results of this research so you can use it in your classroom.

The website provides resources under the headings of Teaching Methods, Assessments, Expert Recommendations and Workshops.

Under Teaching Methods, there is a choice of a several areas of physics, several levels of ability from middle school to university, type activity from formal to lab or homework and you can also select for the skill you want the students to develop, e.g. conceptual understanding, lab skills, etc. For example, for Electricity and Magnetism at high school for a lecture format of < 30 students with a focus on conceptual understanding, there were 28 methods available. Selecting a particular method revealed sections for an overview, resources, teaching materials and research.

The workshops are videos that could be used for your own faculty professional development.

PhysPort is an initiative of American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), in collaboration with Kansas State University. It is supported by the US National Science Foundation. It is available to teachers world wide. There is no cost. If you are a member of the AAPT you simply register with your ID and password. If you are not a member of AAPT, you will need to provide the URL of a webpage of your school's website that lists you as a teacher, alternatively an explanation of another way that you can be identified as a teacher, e.g. they could email vicphys@ to confirm you as a teacher. Although it seems that much is available to the casual viewer.

It is certainly worth checking, the assessment resources are very comprehensive as well . The website is

D272 Physics Video Gallery - A find from

is a UK website for physics teachers to share ideas and resources and to also seek assistance form colleagues. A recent popular item was about a 'gallery of animated images', which turned out to be an initiative of a physics teacher from Queensland, Derek MacKenzie. Derek's gallery is located at .

Derek posted the following comments about using videos in the classroom.

"Some of the problems/limitations with videos when you’re in a classroom setting:

• You don’t always have access to social video-sharing platforms like YouTube and Facebook

• Videos get taken down by YouTube all the time, especially for violating copyright. (Sorry kids, it was there when I prepared this lesson last night!)

• The performance of video is unreliable, often requiring better bandwidth than the teaching facility offers

• Unless you’re playing the whole video, you have to muck around finding the exact location where a cool effect happens

A well-timed short animated GIF can solve these issues in many instances and can be great for:

• Grabbing attention at the start of a lesson

• Motivating an upcoming concept

• Re-igniting a failing lesson

• Stimulating a class discussion

• Filling in an unanticipated gap in a useful way

• Focusing on the precise phenomena without clunky overhead and time wastage

So I’ve set up a Physics GIF Gallery which I’m very happy to freely share with the physics teaching community. In particular, I can help make sure:

• Only the best GIFs will be presented, saving you time searching through pages and pages of rubbish on social sharing sites

• There are no broken image links (because I’m personally hosting all the images)\Original sources are properly attributed (shielding you from infringement issues)

• Annotations exist to give you ideas for how you might use an animation in a lesson."

Some videos include: an astronaut ‘weighing’ himself in space, a shockwave generated by a real volcano eruption, a laser pulse filmed at a trillion frames per second. There are over 30 videos.

You need to register and set up a username and password, but when you register you get an email with links to i) explanatory articles, ii) amusing videos, iii) 'best free trustworthy text books and courses, etc.

There are also regular emails about additions to the gallery.

Another topic on 'talkphysics' that generated a lot of correspondence was 'What is potential difference?'

Any teacher can join 'talkphysics'. There is no cost, you just need to generate a username and password. You will also be notified by email of new topics as the are posted.

D273 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics - The Secrets of Exotic Matter

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to three British scientists working in the US: David J. Thouless at the University of Washington in Seattle, F. Duncan M. Haldane at Princeton University, J. Michael Kosterlitz at Brown University on Rhode Island.

This year’s Laureates opened the door on an unknown world where matter can assume strange states. They have used advanced mathematical methods to study unusual phases of matter, such as superconductors, superfluids or thin magnetic films. Thanks to their pioneering work, the hunt is now on for new and exotic phases of matter. Many people are hopeful of future applications in both materials science and electronics.

The popular science explanation of this Nobel Prize from the Nobel website:



They used the mathematical tool of topology to explain physical properties that change in a stepwise manner.

This PhysicsWorld link, , has short bios of the two Scottish and one English Scientists as well as links to explanatory videos on 'topological insulators' and their potential applications.

D274 Some Engaging Videos: Quarks, rocket powered bike, tennis racket effect, homopolar motor, direct measurement videos, site of 877 videos

• Quarks. The 'PhysicsGirl' youtube website has a cute 4 min video on the quarks in a proton. The content goes further than our course, but it shows that our picture of particles gets curiouser and curiouser, the deeper you look. Check also her website for her other videos, . The 'Stacked ball drop' is a good topic for a practical investigation, it is in 'Everyday physics'. The 'Space and the Universe' has 9 videos.

• Rocket powered bicycle reaches 333 kph in 4.8 seconds.

• Tennis racket effect: A spinning wing nut in an orbiting spacecraft suddenly flips about its axis of rotation. (Video is in Russian, demo occurs 30 seconds in, but some online discussion of explanation) and ( A demo with a table tennis bat)

• World's Simplest Homopolar motor.

• Direct Measurement Videos: This website, is devoted to videos in which students can extract data. Some of the videos are shot at high frame rates. The website has pages on 'What are DM videos?', 'Why teach with them?' and 'How to teach with them?' . There are over 60 videos mainly on Mechanics. There are also detailed teacher notes for each activity.

• US Physics Teacher, Dan Fullerton has compiled an extensive range of videos (877 in number) from various sources including Veritasium, Sumner Miller and Acapella Science. They are categorised by physics topic.

D275 Institute of Physics (IOP) “Physics Education” Journal: Free downloads of selected articles.

The IOP journal “Physics Education” offers free downloads of a few selected articles. These can be found at .

Some authors allow their articles to be read by anyone and these are marked 'Open access'. At the bottom of the webpage, there is a list of the most read articles by subscribers and other readers alike over the last year. Among the open access articles are:

• Introducing the LHC into the classroom: an overview of resources

• Using Tracker to understand 'toss up' and free fall

You can also look through previous editions for free articles. For example, Jan 2016 has an article on building a low cost spectrometer with Tracker.

At the end of each year Physics Education selects articles that reflect the very best of the unique mix of content in the journal, and all represent outstanding quality and a valuable contribution to the physics teaching community. If you select “Highlights of 2015” over on the right side of the screen, it reveals 16 high interest articles from editions in 2015. These include:

• Special relativity in the classroom: a simple apparatus for cosmic ray muon detection

• Physics textbooks: do they promote or inhibits students' creative thinking?

The 16 articles are available until 31/12/16 when a new set will be provided.

D276 Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools: A CSIRO initiative

Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools (SMiS) is a national program managed by CSIRO. It provides skilled volunteers from within CSIRO and elsewhere with the opportunity to have a positive impact and make a difference to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education in primary and secondary Australian schools.

The program is about developing a partnership between the teachers in a school and STEM professionals. The website has showcase examples, : , as well as registration details for both teachers and STEM professionals, who can include research scientists and engineers; post-graduate science and engineering students and people involved in applied sciences, such as doctors, vets, park rangers, etc.

The program is about creating and supporting flexible partnerships between STEM professionals and teachers, and providing access to real-world, contemporary experiences that promote understanding of the importance of STEM. It also hopes to inspire students.

Each partnership is different and will allow teachers in the school to develop their own story. The SMiS team will work with the teachers to ensure they get the most out of the partnership.

Your involvement with the scientist can be tailored to suit your availability, interests and classroom situation, and will also depend on the scientist's availability.

For example, you could:

• Take your class on a visit to the scientist's workplace

• Ask the scientist to give a presentation about their career or area of work

• Work with the scientist to develop a project or unit of work related to their research

• Email students' science questions to the scientist

• Collaborate with the scientist to run science activities for your students

• Undertake professional development with the scientist.

The Unit 2 Practical Investigation has the potential for some useful collaboration between scientist, school and student. Similarly the Unit 1 Area of Study on 'What is Matter?' is ripe for some outside expert resource.

If you have any questions about Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools, you can contact your local Project Officer, Sally Ip, via sis.vic@csiro.au or (03) 9545 2171

D277 Seeing the world as a colour blind person does: A free app.

The phone app 'Chromatic vision simulator' simulates color vision of eye sight deficiencies, including: Protanopia (absence of red receptors), Deuteranopia (absence of green receptors) and Tritanopia (absence of blue receptors)

It is available at

D278 Share My Lesson: An online resource of 1000's of lesson plans

The website, , is run by the American Federation of Teachers. You need to register online to access the material, but there is no cost.

You can select 'Physics' under 'Subjects', then choose your grade level and finally a specific aspect, such as 'Nuclear Processes'. For example there are 87 files for Grade 12 under 'Nuclear Processes' including worksheets, powerpoints, articles, etc.

There is also a 'search' facility. 15 files came up for 'quarks'.

Item provided by Deepa Jain, Kew High School.

D279 A Capella Physics: Gravitational Waves

Tim Blais, he of Bohemian Gravity, has produced a music video on gravitational waves. It is at this Perimeter Institute link along with an interview with Tim.



Tim's youtube website, , now has twenty of his music videos, on topics from Higgs boson and neutrinos to the science of love.

D280 Space Tourism Posters from NASA

NASA has commissioned a series of travel posters in the graphical style of the posters of the 1920's The posters promote fascinating places to visit in the solar system and beyond. One example is on the right. All the posters are striking, eye catching works of art.

There are 14 posters in the set. They are free and are available in print format as TIFF, JPEG (standard or hi-res) and pdf or smaller versions for screen at

This link has a few activities for each poster.



There are also activities at the Exoplanet Travel Bureau on 'Explore possible destinations', 'Check Flight Times' and 'Plan your Dream Vacation'.

D281 The Nuclear blogosphere: Nuclear Hitchhiker, Restricted Data, Nuke Power Talk, Energy From Thorium

This is a list of blog websites on the nuclear matters. They contain interesting facts and useful back stories on nuclear history and the technology. The comments are extracted from PhysicsWorld review of the websites.

a) Nuclear Hitchhiker

URL: mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk/nuclearhitchhiker

Nuclear Hitchhiker is a blog and podcast with an ambitious goal: to "educate and inform the public as to how nuclear energy, as well as radiation and other related issues, affect all of us". It’s run by members of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Nuclear Fission/Next Generation Nuclear, a partnership between the universities of Manchester, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield.

The blog focuses on a different area each month. So, for example, November 2015 was mostly about renewable energy; posts in December concentrated on nuclear waste disposal. Other topics include ionising radiation, nuclear weapons and new nuclear technologies.

b) Restricted Data

URL:

Restricted Data is a blog about the history of nuclear weapons and the efforts policy-makers and scientists have made to try to keep this history secret. Its author is Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, US,.

Most posts on Restricted Data deal with events from the 1940s and 1950s, such as the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic weapons and the US and Soviet hydrogen bomb tests. Over the past decade or so, many formerly secret documents related to this period have been declassified, and others are emerging all the time. Wellerstein is also interested in less-well-studied aspects of nuclear history. One recent post (with the arresting title "How to die at Los Alamos") focuses on occupational safety at the wartime weapons lab, while another discusses about the use of fake "mushroom cloud" photographs (and their associated physical inaccuracies) in books.

c) Nuke Power Talk



Nuke Power Talk is primarily a forum for discussing important issues related to the nuclear power industry. You'll find information here about new reactor designs and recent conferences, plus commentary on speeches by major figures in the industry. A feature of this blog is that it connects nuclear power with the bigger energy picture. For example, an entry posted shortly after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil-rig disaster discusses how safety procedures that were developed for the nuclear industry are now being applied in other fields. Other entries focus on how nuclear power fits into the energy industry as a whole, and how it stacks up in comparison with solar and wind power.

d) Energy From Thorium

is more specialised, offering an in-depth look at deriving energy from thorium.

D282 Physics Simulations from Interactives.

Interactives. is set of interactive simulations across a broad range of physics. There are about 100 simulations covering Motion, Light, Sound, Electricity, Thermodynamics, Atomic and Nuclear and Electromagnetism, although most are on Motion.

There is a useful introductory video on the design of the simulations. Each simulation is on a specific topic, for example 'centripetal acceleration'.

Each simulation has a context based question and starts with a well paced animation of the situation with short statements explaining the physics. This leads on to a simulation in which you use a slide control to adjust the simulation and then onto a page of questions some of which have been generated by other users and to which you can add questions. Finally there are extension activities. Each screen has links to some or all of the following: explanations of the concepts involved, a tutorial and a 'challenge me' section. You can also quickly advance from screen to screen.

After viewing the first one, if you want to check out more then you need to sign in either through Google, Twitter, Facebook or Microsoft Live. Similarly your students will need to sign in to use them.

Item supplied by Jane Coyle, Albert Park College

D283 Exploring Light: Hands-on Activities and Strategies for Teachers: A free online course

This is an Exploratorium Teacher Institute (US) online professional development course open to any science teacher (particularly middle or high school level) and light enthusiast. Designed as a hands-on workshop, the course explores topics and strategies that teachers can use to help their students become active investigators of light. It is done with Coursera, a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course).

There is no cost and the course is offered at regular intervals. The next one starts in a week of so.



As a participant, you will:

• Watch videos that demonstrate natural phenomena and the Exploratorium's approach to teaching and learning

• Conduct personal investigations by engaging in hands-on activities based in those phenomena - Reflect and share your experience doing activities

• Discuss and identify challenges and opportunities for teaching

• Devise a lesson of your own based on one or more of the activities Each week, we'll look at a different light-related topic.

The course will start by examining human visual perception, then take a brief historical tour of our evolving scientific understanding. It also look at optics and optical instruments and finish by looking at modern models of light as a wave and a particle. To get the most out of this experience, you'll have to try out some activities. In return, you'll get lots of valuable teaching resources, an in-depth understanding of the subject matter, and useful tips and techniques for the classroom.

Item supplied by Paul Fielding, Billanook College.

D284 Gravitational waves: the Australian connection

Last month researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) announced they had successfully detected gravitational waves for the first time. 

More than a thousand scientists from 16 countries and over 80 institutions played their part in the discovery, including, fromAustralia:

• Researchers at the Australian National University developed the mirror-tilt systems that allow LIGO’s lasers to be steered so accurately. The ANU’s David McClelland is head of the Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO.

• David Blair’s Group at the University of Western Australia established the effect of high-powered laser light on mirror instability.

• Andrew Melatos’s team at the University of Melbourne provided theoretical input and computer modelling, using supercomputers and smart algorithms to scour LIGO’s data.

• Peter Veitch and colleagues as the University of Adelaide developed the optical sensors used to correct absorption-induced wavefront distortion of LIGO’s detectors, enabling the high sensitivity needed to detect signals that are only about one-thousandth of the width of a proton across.

• Philip Charlton and researchers at Charles Sturt University worked on calibration of the LIGO detectors and data analysis development.

• Monash University researcher Yuri Levin, with Kip Thorn at CalTech, helped identify the thermal noise that had to be addressed in the LIGO mirrors, while Eric Thrane and Paul Lasky studied LIGO data, characterising noise sources and searching for neutron star signals.

• CSIRO polished and coated some of the Advanced LIGO’s mirrors—among the most uniform and precise such coatings ever made.

Immediately following the discovery in September last year, by prior arrangement, the location of the event was shared with over 60 teams of observers around the world, including here in Australia, allowing immediate observation right across the electromagnetic spectrum. Their observations were published this week, with over 1500 authors on the paper.

D285 Gravitational Waves detected

No longer a rumour, scientists at Caltech, MIT, VIRGO and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration have confirmed that gravitational waves have been detected! The discovery of these ripples in the fabric of spacetime could revolutionise our ability to understand the workings of the universe.

The Perimeter Institute is offering you several ways to share this pivotal moment in scientific history with your students:

• Share the excitement through classroom lessons plans at . There is one free lesson on gravitational waves plus another 20 on different aspects of physics that range in price from $1 CAD to $5 CAD.

• The press release from the Perimeter Institure: .

• The webcast of the announcement is available on demand at

• A Guide to gravitational waves is at .

Other resources include:

• The Conversation website: There are articles on the i) the discovery of gravitational waves, ii) Description of LIGO and iii) reactions of scientists from around the world.

• PhysicsWorld: A detailed description of the discovery.

For additional background about the project, you may be interested in these websites:

• LIGO Lab: (Observatories: Livingston | Hanford)

• Advanced LIGO:

• LIGO Scientific Collaboration:

• LIGO Partner Experiments and Collaborations:

D286. Bottle Flip Physics

There is a post at , the UK physics teachers forum for teachers to share ideas, on bottle flipping in which the teacher has provided some teaching ideas and slides.



Other useful resources are:

• The Science of Bottle Flipping . By an enthusiastic student who mixes up some physics concepts, but the basic explanation is OK

• The complex physics of that viral water bottle trick, explained

• Mercury Bottle Flip by the backyard scientist,

D287 Classic Physics Papers: Links to original papers

The many members of the UK physics teachers' forum, 'talkphysics' contribute a host of useful resources every time someone puts in a request or call for help. A recent call to locate sources of the famous papers of physics generated several sites. These are listed below, with a brief description of the more interesting articles.

i) Classical Scientific Papers - Physics . This is a 400 page volume of facsimile copies of original papers on:

• Radioactivity by Rutherford,

• The structure of the atom by J.J. Thomson, Rutherford, Geiger & Marsden, Moseley and Chadwick on,

• further developments on the PE Effect, particle accelerators and X-ray spectra by Cockcroft & Walton and Compton on, and

• experimental equipment by C.T.R. Wilson and Aston.



ii) A directory of over 60 papers is at . Articles include:

• The 1833 and 1834 papers by Faraday on 'Experimental Researches in Electricity'

• The 1895 paper by Rontgen 'On a new Kind of Rays'

• The 1913 paper by Neils Bohr titled 'On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules' and his 1921 paper on 'The Electronic Structure of Periodic Table'

• The 1927 paper by de Broglie on the Theory of Quanta

• The three 1901 papers by Planck 'On the law of Distribution of Energy in a normal Spectrum'

• The three papers by Rutherford on the scattering on α and β particles by matter, the structure of the atom and the nuclear constitution of the atom in 1911, 1914, 1920 resp.

• A translation of Schrodinger's 1935 paper 'The present situation in Quantum Mechanics', the cat paradox paper.

iii) Papers on Quantum Physics

Over 100 papers, many in their original language. Significant papers in English include:

Bohr:

• On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules

• On the Spectrum of Hydrogen

• On the Quantum Theory of Line-Spectra

• Atomic Structure

• The Structure of the Atom and the Physical and Chemical Properties of the Elements

• The Electronic Structure of Periodic Table

• Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?

Einstein:

• On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies

• Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy-content?,

• Do gravitational fields play an essential part in the structure of the elementary particles of matter?

• Elementary derivation of the equivalence of mass and energy

• Knowledge of past and future in quantum mechanics, with Tolman and Podolsky

• Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete? with Podolsky and Rosen

Rutherford: The articles mentioned above

D288 Resources for Flipping Physics

Another talkphysics request was for resources using the 'flipped classroom'. Once again several sources were suggested. These are described below.

i) A Level Physics Online: . An online source of hundreds of video tutorials that are freely available. They are on the topics of Quantities & Units; Vectors & Scalars; Motion; Forces; Newton's Laws; Work, Energy & Power; Electricity; Waves; Quantum Physics and Properties of Materials. There is also a list of tutorial on practical skills. The tutorials are for UK AS level and so relevant to our Years 11 and 12. There are also resources for UK A level, but access to these needs to be paid for.

ii) Isaac Physics , is designed to be used by teachers for their classes. Teachers can set up groups, design assignments and track their students' progress. The theory notes are brief, but the problems are comprehensive with an extensive support structure for students. The material is at a range of levels and is a product of the Department for Education of the University of Cambridge

iii) Veritasium by Dr Derek Muller, , has a wealth of engaging videos.

iv) Playposit, , allows teachers to produce interactive videos with their own questions at key points with either i) their own videos, or ii) Youtube videos. The final video will pause at the key point and ask students to complete a task. The video does not proceed until the task is done. Data on the students' tasks can also be obtained. It is free to join.

v) Resources for Flipping Physics, A website set up by a John Eyre, a UK teacher . It cover a large range of GCSE and A level topics and so is relevant to VCE. Each topic, e.g. PE Effect, has a page of descriptive content along with links to applets and AV material.

D289 Cheap High Speed Video Recording for Analysis in Physics Experiments

A chance exploration of an intriguing website called 'Instructables' dug up instructions on how do build a cheap high speed video recorder, up to 125 frames per second, using the Sony Play Station PS3 eye camera, which can be purchased on eBay for under $30. The instructions are clear and straightforward. All you need is the camera, a fast computer with a big hard drive (high speed recording generates huge files), open source video analysis software and drivers downloaded from Code Laboratories ( for free download).

The instructions are at

'Instructables' was originally an off shoot of the MIT Squid Labs. It is a website for people to share their ideas about making things () . 'Technology' is one of the headings and a search on physics generated a fascinating list of exotic ideas such as:

• An electronic timer that uses a simple phototransistor circuit as a photogate to produce an audible beep which could be detected by a CRO app.

• Rubens tube,

• Trebuchet,

• Schlieren photography,

• Seeing alpha particles (almost)

D290 Discoveries with Light: a teacher and student resource on the Australian Synchrotron

The Australian Synchrotron has produced a curriculum package 'Discoveries with Light' with two guides – for students and teachers – on the Australian Synchrotron.

 

Discoveries with Light covers:

• the science behind how the Australian Synchrotron harnesses a light a million times brighter than the sun to empower researchers across Australia and New Zealand,

• applications of synchrotron science to society,

• interactions of light and energy,

• videos, activities, and experiments for you to draw upon,

• key components of years 11-12 Physics and Chemistry curriculum.

 

Download your free copies of Discoveries with Light, teacher and student versions at

D291 A map of Physics: Youtube video

A short Youtube video that describes all that is physics with a clear simple narration and effective drawings.



D292 Radioactive 'zombie' cows - A beat up or fake news?

On 26th February, 2017, The Age published a story with the original headline "$1bn clean up bill for Werribee's radioactive 'zombie' cows", but now modified to ' ... Now meet Werribee's radioactive cows.' at . The original story about Tritium as a radioactive tracer contained some correct factual content, but there were factual errors and omissions of relevant content. However the tone was sensationalist, suggesting the story was either a beat up or possibly fake news.

A file of useful information on Tritium including its radioactivity and decay, its risks, its uses and production, etc has been compiled and is available on our website at

If the news story comes up in class or you wish to use the article for the students to critique, the file should provide some useful background.

D293 Cosmogenic Radionuclide Dating - An Age article

The Age on Monday featured an article about a geologist analysing surface rock samples on the largely ice covered island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic ocean. The purpose is to monitor the progress of climate change. The article can be found here,

The article referred to the radioactive isotopes, Beryllium 10 and Aluminium 26, which are produced in the surface of the rock, when it is exposed to by cosmic rays. The ratio of the two elements reveals how long the rocks have been exposed.

The following is some further information, if you wish to make use of the story with your class.

• Both radioactive nuclei are produced by the smashing of the larger nuclei producing large fragments. Examples of reactions include:

neutron + Nitrogen 14 → proton + alpha particle + Beryllium 10

neutron + Oxygen 16 → Helium 3 + alpha particle + Beryllium 10*

proton + Silicon 32 → three neutrons + alpha particle + Aluminium 26 *

* Attempts at constructing a nuclear equation

• Decay Processes. Be 10: beta decay, Al 26: positron decay and electron capture

• Half lives: Be 10: 1.39 x 106 yr, Al: 7.17 x 105 yr

• A useful article for students is here It has links to other aspects such as calculating an exposure age, etc.

• A more comprehensive 31 page reference of the topic is

• The British Society for Geomorphology has a very useful 11 page overview with a further 14 pages of references.

D294. Free eBooks from Physics World

These accessible texts provide insight into the latest hot topics in physics from leading voices and rising stars in physics. Physics World Discovery collection is an ideal starting point for anyone seeking to understand these evolving fields.

Topics include:

Adaptive Optics in Biology

Philosophy of Physics

What's Next for Particle Physics?

Energy Storage Systems

Quantum Simulations

From Particle Physics to Medical Applications

Multimessenger Astronomy

The Dark Universe

Space Weather

Quantitative Finance

Proton Beam Therapy

Complex Light

They can be downloaded from

D295 Radioactive cloud over Europe

A recent item in The Guardian reported that nuclear authorities in France and Germany have detected concentrations of Ruthenium 106 in the atmosphere. The measured concentrations are small and the energies of the emitted beta particles from Ruthenium and the daughter isotope Rhodium 106 are low, so the authorities currently see no threat to human health or the environment. It is thought the radiation was released from within southern Russia sometime in September.

These notes provide some additional background if teachers wish to use the story with their classes.

The Ru-16 has been detected in the atmosphere at concentrations of a few microBecquerels per cubic metre (μBq/m3) to a few milliBecquerels per cubic metre (mBq/m3)

Constant inhalation of about 5 mBq/m3 over one week would result in a dose below 100 nanosieverts. This dose is below that from natural background radiation within one hour.

Ru-106 has a half life of 374 days, it is a beta emitter, but the energy of the electron is very low at about 39 keV, too low to be significant. However, the beta particle from Rh 106 has much higher energy at 3546 keV, still a relatively short range, it will penetrate about 7 mm of skin. It is used in the treatment of eye cancers and in brachytherapy where a radioactive source is placed near or inside the body. Rh 106 has a half life of 30 seconds

Ruthenium 106 is currently produced by three different methods, each of which involves bombarding a small quantity of uranium with particles:

1. Neutrons. Exposing 1 cm3 of natural uranium to a flux of 1014 neutrons/cm2/sec produces about 6 Ci of Ru-106 per year, equivalent to at least 3,600 eye treatments. (Note: one Curie (Ci) = 37 GigaBecquerel (GBq))

2. Protons. A 500 μA proton beam produces 0.15 Ci enough for 90 eye treatments per year.

3. Electrons. A 30 MeV, 100 kW electron beam could generate 3×1013 fissions per sec using a natural uranium target. Such a beam line could generate 11 Ci or at least 7,000 treatments per year.

Ru-106 is also used as an energy source in satellites in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG). RTGs use thermocouples to turn the heat produced by radioactive decay into electricity.

D296 ANSTO Resources

ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) has a range of educational resources, PD events for teachers and events for students in Physics and Chemistry.

The Workbooks webpage, , has

• a new 60 page workbook on Synchrotron Science,

• a Molybdenum/Technetium supply chain chart,

• Cloud chamber teacher notes and

• Material for Chemistry and for Science Years K - 10

They also offer lab sessions at the Australian Synchrotron. These are for the two Unit 4 Areas of Study on Light and for the Unit 2 option on Particle Accelerators. The cost is $40 per student. Further details and booking is at

ANSTO also runs 'Interview a Scientist' and Videoconference programs for schools.

and

D297 Perimeter Institute Resources

The Perimeter Institute has free download of posters from its new Forces of Nature poster series recognising several notable women in science. There are also posters on Science of Sport, Dark Matter and General Relativity



They have also made all their educational material free to download as well. You can choose Year level from primary to upper secondary and from a range of topics from astrophysics to particles to waves. The teaching material for a topic includes: lesson plans, videos and activities.



D298 Backyard Brains: Resources for electrical experiments on Neuroscience

'Backyard Brains' , , is a website of resources designed by group of neuroscientists and engineers who want to enable everyone to be a neuroscientist! They provide neuroscience experiment kits for students to learn (hands-on) about electrophysiology. "By following a few simple steps, everyone can experience first-hand how the brain communicates with our senses, memories, hopes, and desires."

The kits enable students to investigate the electrical activity of a muscle in the arm (US$150), use the electrical signal from a muscle to control a robot (US$190) and measure heart action potentials

There are TED talks on their home page.

D299 Visual Illusions

This is not physics, but illusions that trick the eye and the brain are always fascinating. Graphics software now enables the creation of many surprising videos.

This website, the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, , has many such videos. Click 'Illusions' to see previous years' results. The first three place getters for 2016 are particularly impressive.

D300 Travelling Wave reactor

Bill Gates is teaming with a Chinese company to build fourth generation nuclear reactors that use nuclear waste as the fuel.

The nuclear fuel is constructed as concentric cylinders, with each cylinder made of a different fuel mix. The nuclear reaction begins in the centre and travels out over time at a rate of 1 cm per year. The innermost cylinder undergoes fission, excess neutrons travel into the next cylinder of waste Uranium producing Plutonium, which eventually undergoes fission, the excess neutrons repeat the process in the next outer layer, hence the 'travelling wave' . Eventually the inner material is replaced by fissile material from within the reactor, but without reprocessing, so the cycle continues. In theory there is no waste until the reactor is decommissioned.







There are questions about the feasibility of the concept, but little in depth detail is available.

D301 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.

Nobel Prize websites:

Click here for their popular science 8 page explanation.

Click here for the more advanced explanation that gets into tensor calculus.

Other good descriptions include:

• Physicsworld: the article also has videos and links to earlier articles.

• The Guardian, ,

• Physics Today, with links to earlier articles in Physics Today

D302 The Back Story of the History of the Nobel Prizes in Physics

a) How to almost win the physics Nobel

An article with some interesting analysis, for example, Who was nominated 84 times, but never received the prize? Which country has the highest proportion of successful nominations?



b) How have favourites performed?



c) The international aspirations of the Nobel Prize in Physics. How often do nominators nominate fellow citizens?



D303 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry won by three physicists

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to examine the structure of biomolecules. The three researchers, all of whom started out as physicists, methodically developed a biomolecular imaging technique that currently supplements and sometimes even supplants x-ray crystallography.

Click here for the 'popular science' explanation.

Physicsworld article

Cryo-electron microscopy gets around two major challenges when studying large biological molecules with a transmission electron microscope. First, the molecules exist naturally in water, the vapour from which destroys the vacuum required to run the microscope. The molecules could be dried out before being examined, but this can alter their structure so much that the study would be pointless. The second challenge is that the electron beam heats up and destroys delicate biological molecules. This can be addressed by using a weaker beam, but that would result in fuzzier images. This third challenge was resolved by using a rapid freezing technique to 'vitrify' the water.

For the rest of the article click this link:



D304 Physics of Fidgets: , , A Wired article

D305 The Science of Thinking

Two videos presenting the psychology of thinking, comfort, confusion and effort by Derek Muller of Veritasium. , video 1 video 2

D306 Paul Hewitt's Videos for Physics Teachers:

1 Teaching Equations of Physics without Numbers , 2. Timeless Teaching Tips for Physics Teachers

D307 The Mechanical Universe:

A series of 52 video 30 minute videos . The Mechanical Universe... And Beyond is a 52-part telecourse, filmed at the California Institute of Technology, that introduces university level physics, covering topics from Copernicus to quantum mechanics. It was produced in 1985, the videos make heavy use of historical dramatisations and visual aids to explain physics concepts. The latter were state of the art at the time. Wikipedia link

D308 Flipping Physics: More Resources

The website, , has been set up by a US Physics teacher, Jonathan Thomas-Palmer, to assist others with introducing the flipped classroom.

Features include:

• How to flip your classroom, along with an extensive list of other resources on the flipped classroom.

• How to learn: advice for students on how to use videos in a flipped format.

• A very extensive and comprehensive list of his own videos, each with lecture notes

In June this year, Jonathan conducted a webinar for the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), which can be accessed on the website.

An edition of the Vicphysics newsletter last year detailed some useful websites on the flipped classroom. These, as well as Jonathan's are described on the Vicphysics website at under 'Teaching Strategies'.

D309 More iPhone Physics - Video analysis and magnetic fields

Vernier has a Video physics app to analyse motion. It is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It sells for US$5, but educational discounts are available. The Vernier description is here: A review is here

Item supplied by David Rayner.

There are several phone apps that measure the strength of a magnetic field. They vary in approach from being for hobby use or as a scientific instrument. They include Android: Magnetic Field Detector, Gauss Meter, iOS: Compass, Teslameter , Electromagnetic detector.

A general article on their use in measuring the strength of the magnetic field and on measuring the strength of a magnet:

D310 A simple and quick Experiment on Coulomb’s Law

If you bring a charged rod near the pan of a top loading balance, there is a measurable attractive force on the pan.

The Vicphysics Committee has used this phenomenon to develop an experiment on Coulomb’s Law. The experiment uses:

• a top loading balance,

• a charged rod and

• a laboratory jack

to measure the strength of the electrostatic force as the separation is varied.

The data can be analysed to determine:

• The value of the exponent for r in Coulomb’s law, and

• The quantity of charge on the rod, in Coulombs.

The experiment uses the equation for the attraction between a point charge and a conducting plane,

F = kQ2 / 4r2,

where Q is the charge on the rod and r is the separation.

The conducting plane is electrically equivalent to a plane mirror with an image charge of the opposite sign, but the same size equidistant behind the mirror, so the charge and its image are 2r apart, giving F = k x Q x Q/ (2r)2.

A sheet of metal is placed on the balance to provide a flat, large surface (15 x 15 cm should do). A charged rod will exert a measurable attractive force on the metal sheet from about 10 cm away, increasing as the rod is lowered to the plate.

Given the equipment needed, it may be best to do the experiment as a class experiment. A worksheet describing, the theory, equipment needed, method and hints is at .

Once the equipment is set up (before class) it takes only a few minutes to collect the data, with the rest of the time spent taking the students through the analysis. A curve fit of the data in Excel gives the value of the exponent. Results have been close to the expected value of 2 and when uncertainties are considered, the value of 2 is within the calculated range.

The equation of the trendline also gives the constant, which can be used to calculate the quantity of charge on the rod in Coulombs. This gives a physical meaning to the unit of a Coulomb and relates this to the physical effort in charging the rod.

Extension opportunities

• As a class experiment, the activity can be a useful opportunity to show students how to use Excel for recording and analysing data. It also effectively illustrates the value of a log-log graph.

• The charge of a charged rod, as measured by the balance reading, was shown to 'decay' with a half life of about 9 minutes. A more precise determination of the value of the exponent can be obtained by recording the time at which balance readings are made and calculating an adjusted reading on the assumption that the charge did not dissipate.

• The equipment setup also provides numerous possibilities for topics for the Practical Investigation. These are also listed in the worksheet.

• If an iron based metal sheet is used, then a comparison between the strength of electric and magnetic fields can be demonstrated.

Vicphysics would like to thank Camberwell Grammar School for the use of the labs and the advice of the Physics Department during the development of the activity .

D311 How do you start teaching the topic of electric circuits?

In the UK when teachers are applying for a new job, they are often asked to give a short lesson on a specific topic to a class at the school, a class they have never seen before. As you would imagine, this is a demanding task. To ensure they present an engaging lesson, such teachers often seek some suggestions on 'Talkphysics', the UK's physics teachers' forum. Many ideas are offered within hours.

These were some of the ideas offered to a teacher who had to present a 15 min lesson of electric circuits to a Year 9 class.

• A model light globe. A pencil lead is held between two crocodile clips and placed or taped inside a jar. The jar is then turned upside down and put in water. The inversion in water means that once the initial oxygen has burnt off, the bulb can continue to glow.

• A 10 minute Youtube video from a webinar on modelling electric circuits that was followed by an online discussion with about 100 contributions,

• A link to descriptions of 12 different analogies on the furry elephant website, There is link at the bottom of the page to the section on 'Teaching and Learning Electricity'. It has comments on i) the order we teach things, ii) the misconceptions students already have about electricity, iii) the electrical analogies we use and iv) the language we use when we talk about electricity. There is also a section on radioactivity with the same four sections. This is a commercial operation by a UK teacher. There is a free preview of the animations, but to use them with a class, an individual teacher can subscribe on a monthly basis for ₤5 per month.

• The IOP website, Practical Physics, has a webpage on 'Electric Circuits and Fields' at , which has 16 collections of activities and advice under 14 different headings.

D312 PhysicsWorld Magazine: Focus on Nuclear Energy - Free download

An in-depth, but accessible, coverage of some of the longer-term matters affecting the nuclear industry, including safety, reactor design, waste management and environmental concerns.

Highlights in this focus issue include:

• How green is nuclear energy? – Policy and technology expert Gail H Marcus assesses the industry’s environmental credentials

• Chernobyl’s hidden legacy – Historian Kate Brown argues that scientists should re-examine Soviet-era evidence of health effects from radiation

• The long road to ignition – A report on the status of efforts to reach the “break-even” point of inertial confinement fusion at the US National Ignition Facility

• Keeping it safe forever – an interview with nuclear-waste management expert Charles McCombie about his career and some of the latest thinking in waste science and technology

• Maintaining high standards – Karl Whittle, Mahmoud Mostafavi and Philip D Edmondson explore the materials-science challenges of monitoring nuclear reactor components.

The resource can downloaded here.

D313 Cosmic Vertigo: ABC Radio National Podcasts

Cosmic Vertigo is a new ABC podcast series about all things astronomical. It is presented by Dr Amanda Bauer and Dr Alan Duffy. Recent topics include:

• Black holes don't suck

• The Milky Way

• Where are all the aliens?

• Exoplanets

• The bigger they are, the faster they burn

• Solar System

• The Moon

The podcasts run for about 30 minutes. for details

E1. VCE Physics Days at Luna Park

The Physics Days are offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week in March. Luna Park reserves the right not to proceed with a day if the bookings are insufficient. Similarly, if the bookings are strong for these three days, a fourth day will be offered. Check lunapark.html for details.

E2. Vicphysics Physics Photo Contest: $1000 in Prize money

The Vicphysics Teachers' Network has established a Physics Photo Contest open to students in Victorian schools.

Prizes: Up to $1000 will be available for each category.

To enter: The photo must be submitted by email attachment. The photo must be accompanied by a statement of 250 words or less describing the physics in the photo and must be written by the entrant.

For details about the Contest Rules and Entry Agreement go to Photocontest.html .

Photos will be accepted until the first day of Term 4, each year.

The rules and conditions of this contest are based on those of the photo contest of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Previous winners of their photo contest are displayed at .

E3. Vicphysics Physics Video Clip Contest

The Vicphysics Teachers' Network has established a Physics Video Clip Contest. It is open to students and teachers. The video clips should demonstrate physics in action.

Videos must be in MP4 or Quicktime format, or a format suitable for video streaming. The video may not be longer than three minutes in length. Please note: Unsafe practices will not be accepted. An explanation of the Physics in the video should be either on the audio or in a supporting 250 word statement.

Entries will be placed on the Vicphysics Teachers' Network website as they are received. They will be available as streamed video.

Videos will be evaluated on their suitability for instructional use.

Prize pool: $1000 for each category

Photos will be accepted until the first day of Term 4. More details about the Contest Rules and Entry Agreement can be found at videocontest.html .

E4. Work Experience Opportunities at Parkes and Narrabri

Another extract from the newsletter from Robert Hollow at ATNF. To receive his newsletter visit his Outreach and Education website at:

ATNF provides work experience opportunities for high school students at their Parkes and Narrabri observatories. Thye also offer a Teacher Experience at Parkes. These programs are residential, with participants staying onsite at the respective observatory. More details are available

at: Places are limited so if you have a student who may be interested please encourage them to apply as soon as possible.

E5. Gemini School Astronomy Contest

Australian high schools have the chance to win an hour of observation time on the 8 metre Gemini South telescope in Chile, one on the world’s largest optical telescopes. Pick an object in the Southern sky and write a convincing explanation of why it would be interesting to photograph digitally.

More information: or Christopher Onken at IYAcontest@mso.anu.edu.au or (02) 6125 8039.

E6 Scinema student film competition

SCINEMA is holding a student film competition for Australian students of all ages. We challenge you to make a short film, under 5 minutes. Films will be judged according to age groups (Primary School, Secondary School, Tertiary Institutions) and further prizes will be awarded for humour, technical merit, and the ability to explain complex concepts. Winners in our junior and senior sections receive a trip to some of Australia’s key astronomy facilities, including The Dish in Parkes, Siding Spring, and the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Coonabarabran.

More information:

E7. Online Social Networks to assist Physics students

Online social networks are being increasingly used for educational purposes. Teachers in Victoria are experimenting with their potential. One such teacher was Adrian Camm from Mooroopna Secondary College who has set up a network for students and teachers using ‘Ning’. Adrian is now with Quantum Victoria.

Adrian describes it as follows:

“it will link all students across Victoria to experienced educators. It will provide students with tremendous learning opportunities anytime, anywhere. Students (and educators if they wish to be a part) will have access to a password-protected learning environment, where they can ask for help with questions, chat about careers in physics, have explained to them concepts in great detail etc. The best part is its free!”

 

“Students will also get access to upcoming Elluminate Live! focus sessions. Elluminate Live! is a multi-purpose virtual classroom where we will discuss various Physics topics in-depth and work through exam style questions. These sessions will be run at night, during the week, throughout the year.”

“The web address is and teachers can fill out the "VLC Invite" located on the left-hand side of the page and also ask their students to do the same. Follow all instructions and then within 24 hours you will have access to “

 

“Why should you and your students be a part of the VLC?

By using a 21st century context students will see relevance. Remove geographic boundaries. Bring the world into the classroom.. Take students out into the world. Create opportunities for students to interact with each other, with teachers and with knowledgeable adults in authentic learning experiences.”

“The VLC should not be seen as additive, but rather as transformative. The transformative aspect for students is the transparency of thought. As students participate in discussions and ask questions they have to sift through their own thinking and that of fellow community members; it’s the meta-cognitive part that makes this transformative. Students can see each other’s thoughts, challenge and discuss them, learn from them, ask further questions to get clarification about what they thought they knew, and that is the point where deep learning starts.”

 

“Enjoy! Please promote this to your students and also feel free to promote this VLC to as many Physics educators as possible.” Adrian Camm, camm.adrian.b@edumail..au

If any other teachers are investigating online social networks, please get in touch with the Vicphysics at danok@

E8. The Australian Youth Aerospace Forum (AYAF) Queensland

The AYAF is a five-day interactive forum open to 100 Year 12 and Year 11 students from all over Australia who are interested in a career in the Australian Aerospace Industry. It is a continuation of the Queensland Youth Aerospace Forum (QYAF) which has been enjoyed by hundreds of students over the past ten years. The forum will highlight aerospace engineering or avionics options for university and higher education and the employment possibilities in the industry after graduation.

AYAF is run by a team of young aerospace and avionics enthusiasts, many of whom are students studying related courses at university. AYAF will provide an invaluable opportunity for you to share their experiences of the industry and get advice on university life. Attendees will also visit two of Australia’s top aerospace engineering and avionics universities; the University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology. Attendees will hear from lecturers, industry specialists and current engineering, aerospace avionics and science students about pathways into the aerospace industry, including new technologies and research projects. A hands-on approach to experiencing the excitement of aerospace is fostered through group projects.

The forum runs from in early July with accommodation on campus at the University of Queensland, Brisbane for only $150. This is the only cost other than travel.

Some interest in flight and aerospace is expected, so Year 12 students who did ‘Flight’ last year may wish to consider applying.

E9. Physics of Angry Birds - A Quantum Victoria program for Students doing Experimental Investigations

Physics of Angry Birds - Extended Practical Investigation about Projectile Motion

Description: Students will conduct an experimental investigation of the motion of a projectile using a range of techniques including video analysis. Using this newfound knowledge, students will analyse, conjecture and hypothesize about the Physics of Angry Birds.

Cost : $10.00 per student. Duration: 4.5 hours (full day program)

Please contact Adrian Camm on (03) 9223 1460 or camm.adrian.b@edumail..au for bookings.

For more information about Quantum Victoria and the range of exciting student programs on offer please visit

Quantum Victoria is located in the Northern Metropolitan region of Melbourne, it has been established to inspire, engage and enrich students and teachers in the pursuit of knowledge and skills, with particular reference to the Middle Years of schooling as well as providing programs to cater for the Senior Years. Quantum Victoria is now open for bookings and offers a range of exciting student programs.

**The Department of Education & Early Childhood Development fully subsidises disadvantaged Government schools to participate in Quantum Victoria's student programs.**

E10. Industry To Classroom: A Speakers for Schools project

Industry To Classroom is a community project aimed at Year 9 and 10 students. It hopes to encourage them to continue in science. The members of the project are engineers in various companies based in Victoria who are giving of their time to promote science and engineering.

They use Engineering, as an application of Maths and Science, to deliver a one hour presentation to students. These presentations cover engineering solutions that are present in everyday life. The presenter then dismantles the solution into concepts that the students will be familiar with in order to understand and appreciate the application of Maths and Science.

Their aim is for every student to walk away at the conclusion of the presentation seeing:

• The solution in a completely different light - one that involves science

• Themselves as being active contributors to future technologies - not just a consumer of it

At present they have a limited number of presenters who are from the areas of Civil Engineering, Aerospace, Telecommunications, Renewable energy and Software systems engineering. Their topics currently are:

• The Airbus A380 - What makes it possible to transport over 500 people to anywhere on the planet in less than 24 hours?

• Mobile Communications – What enables your smartphone to connect to the biggest resource on the planet without any wires connected to it?

• Railway Engineering – How Science makes your journey safer

• The Science Behind Facebook and iPhone games - Helping us Communicate and Play

• The Internet – How math makes it faster, cheaper and better for you

• Civil Engineering – Buildings, bridges & structures: How we make sure what goes up will not come down

• Renewable Energy – The transition to renewable energy

There is no charge, but they prefer an audience of at least two classes. If you wish to find out more details or to book any of the speakers, please go to .

The speakers are putting aside some time from their work to visit schools in Term 2, but their availability later in the year may be more limited.

E11. Student Workshops in Unit 3 Electronics and Photonics, La Trobe University (Free)

La Trobe University’s Department of Electronic Engineering & Quantum Victoria are offering free VCE Physics Unit 3 workshops hosted at its Bundoora campus. These workshops have been specifically designed to support the Unit 3 Physics prescribed area of study “Electronics and Photonics”. They hope to give students an edge by performing experiments in quality teaching laboratories.

The workshops will be presented and coordinated by experienced academics and postgraduate researchers who possess both experience in the field and skills in communicating these concepts to students of all ages.

Two different workshops are on offer:

i) Voltage Amplifiers: (Targeted towards Physics Unit 3 Electronics)

Students investigate the behaviour of voltage amplifiers and some applications, in a simple and fun manner using a specially designed kit and digital oscilloscope. Topics covered include: DC voltage gain and transfer characterises of inverting and non-inverting amplifiers; AC (audio) signal gain; clipping and distortion; and amplification of sinusoidal, and audio signals from microphones and MP3 players.

ii) Photonics in Communications Systems:(Targeted towards Physics Unit 3 Photonics)

Students investigate photonic transducers and their application in communication systems. Topics covered include: Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), Lasers, Light-Dependant Resistors (LDRs), Photodiodes, and using light and optical-fibre to communicate digital and audio signals. The workshop uses a specially designed kit.

Availability (when not booked out): Any time between: 9am–4pm, Days: Monday – Thursday

Workshop duration: Each approximately 1.5 – 2 hours (Including a short interactive talk on careers and courses in engineering)

Cost: Free For Bookings: Administration (Quantum Victoria): Anna Ziogas Phone: (03) 9223 1466,

Email: anna.ziogas@quantumvictoria.vic.edu.au

For Enquiries

Outreach Coordinator (Electronic Engineering): Jim Whittington Phone: 9479 2051,

Email: J.Whittington@latrobe.edu.au Mobile: 0424 831 332

Outreach Officer (Electronic Engineering): Robert Ross Phone: 9479 1593Email: R.Ross@latrobe.edu.au

E12. Sound in Practice: An excursion for the Unit 4 Detailed Study: Sound

The Victorian Arts Centre has cancelled the Sound workshop for the Unit 4 Detailed Study that has run for many years. The presenter, Adrian Alexander, has relocated his program. It will now be available at two locations, each with different dates.

It will be at Quantum Victoria, , check under Programs for 'Sound in Practice'.

It will also be in The Auditorium at Swinburne Senior Secondary College.

For more details check . The excursion lasts for 2.5 hours and there are morning and afternoon sessions at each venue. The cost is $22 + GST per student.

E13. Quantum Victoria's "The Young Scientist & Engineer Series"

This free online (webinar) series aims to connect Young Scientists and Engineers with school students to show exciting career pathways that studies of Mathematics and Science can lead to. In connecting students with young professionals, Quantum Victoria hopes to break stereotypes and provide students with local role models that they can aspire to.

Available topics at this stage are: Saving the World with Science, Malaria, Immunology & Research, Games & Games Design, Mobile Communication, The Internet, Software Systems Design: Apps and the Engineering Behind Them, The Earth as a Dynamic System.

More details of these and future sessions can be found quantumvictoria.vic.edu.au

* Bookings Essential - Number of Places Limited

** There is no cost to attend these events.

*** Suitable for students in Year 9 through to Year 12

Please contact Anna Ziogas on (03) 9223 1460 or anna.ziogas@quantumvictoria.vic.edu.au for bookings.

E14. Collision! - A multimedia competition on particle physics for students

Collision! is a competition about particle physics for students under 20 years of age. Any students who fancy themselves as comic artists, visual artists, short film makers, animators or creatives of all types are encouraged to submit their artworks to the Collision website.

Current and previous submissions can be seen in The Gallery at , there are entries for comics, graphic design, animation, photography and mixed media. The website has some catchy 'minute physics' videos on background content.

Prizes: up to $1000.

Entries are due by 18th August, 2013, even though the website currently says 2nd August.

Mention the competition to the graphics and art teachers at your school. The competition is organised by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Particle Physics at the Terascale (CoEPP) as part of National Science Week.

E15. Science Breakfast for Girls: Thursday 15th August, 2013, Mentone Girls' Grammar School (This is an annual event)

On Thursday 15th August, 2013, from 7:00am until 8:45am, Mentone Girls' Grammar School will be holding a Science Breakfast for female students from any year level from any school, but preferably all girl schools. Students can attend in groups up to 6 in size and must be accompanied by teacher, preferably female.

The speaker will be Professor Elisabetta Barberio who has been a member of the Experimental Particle Physics Group at the University of Melbourne since 2004. Previously she was a staff researcher at CERN. She is currently participating in the ATLAS experiment and her group had an important role in the discovery of the Higgs boson.

Also at each table with the students will be at least one female scientist or engineer.

There is a cost of $10 per student. Closing date is Friday, 2nd August. Please book online at . For any queries, contact Helen Silvester, Head of Science, hsilvest@mentonegirls.vic.edu.au.

E16 Videos from Victorian Young Physicists' Tournament

At 2014 Victorian Young Physicists' Tournament, Terry Tan from John Monash Science School videoed the competition as did some of the other teachers. Terry has edited the footage into two packages, i) a short one using extracts from different contests to show the key features of a contest and ii) a longer one of one complete contest.

The videos can be accessed at short version at and a full complete contest at Details of the three topics the students investigated are at .

If you plan to enter teams in this year's event or are considering the events for next year, pleas check out the videos.

The Vicphysics Teachers' Network appreciates the tremendous amount of work by Terry in chasing up school approvals and then editing the material into these packages.

E17 Large Hadron Collider: World Wide Data Day for Students: Change of Entry Date

This is a pilot project run by the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG) at CERN. The Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics (CoEPP), based in Melbourne, is the participating institute in the Asia-Pacific region.

LHC World Wide Data Day (LHC-W2D2) is a 24-hour span, midnight-to-midnight UTC event, in which students from around the world can analyse data from the Large Hadron Collider and share results via videoconference with physicist moderators taking shifts in four locations around the world: CoEPP in Australia, CERN in Switzerland, Fermilab in the United States, and TRIUMF in Canada.

Dates/times:

Dec 2 from 00:00 to 23:59 UTC (11:00am Friday 2nd Dec - 10:59am Saturday 3rd Dec AEDT) 

Who is eligible:

LHC-W2D2 is open to groups of 4 or more high school students who have the aptitude and interest to analyse data from the Large Hadron Collider. The CoEPP encourages, but does not require, each group to work with a sponsoring teacher. It helps but is not required to have studied physics.

All groups should register by 8th November 2016. After which they can access the data to do the analysis and prepare their findings for the international videoconference on 2nd Dec.

For Australian groups, CoEPP encourages the ATLAS measurement to be chosen (CoEPP physicists work primarily on the ATLAS experiment)

Link for more info and to register:

E18 Victorian Young Physicists' Tournament: Judging Criteria

The judging criteria for the VYPT have been revised. The structure of the topics is different this year, necessitating a new approach. In each of the two sets of topics, one topic is the measurement of a physical quantity, another is an investigation and the third topic is to design build and test a device. The previous criteria also were difficult to use and did not discriminate very well.

The new criteria along with the topics for this year are available at

Note: Entries are due on Friday, 11th November and school can enter as many teams as they wish, but an extra judge needs to supplied for each additional two teams.

E19 New prizes from the Australian Acoustic Society for secondary student research projects

The Australian Acoustics Society (AAS) is sponsoring prizes for high school students who conduct research in the field of acoustics. The Unit 2 option: 'How instruments make music?' is closely aligned with acoustics. Some possible acoustics-related topics for practical investigations include:

• Frequency response of a stringed instrument - How does the contribution of different harmonics depend on parameters such as tension in the string and heaviness of the string?

• How can school corridors be made quieter?

• How do the acoustics change in a hall as it fills with more people?

• Measuring acoustic standing waves.

• Experiments in psychoacoustics, such as

• loudness vs frequency tests,

• perception of pitch vs duration of click,

• localising the source of sound vs frequency,

• the missing fundamental,

• the Franssen Effect

First Prize: $500

Second Prize: $250

Third Prize: $100

E20 Poster Competition for Unit 2 Experimental Investigation

Unit 2 of the VCE Physics Study Design includes an Area of Study titled 'Practical Investigation'. Each student "develops a question to investigate, plans a course of action that attempts to answer the question, undertakes an investigation to collect data, organises and interprets the data, and reaches a conclusion in response to the question." The student can present their findings as a poster.

To encourage students to undertake topics of some depth, to design effective experimental designs and then thoroughly analyse their data, the Vicphysics Teachers' Network is offering up to 10 prizes for posters that exemplify quality investigations.

Lists of possible topics and templates for the design of the poster are available here

Prizes: Each prize will be a book voucher for $100. There will be a maximum of 10 prizes.

Criteria: Each prize winner must satisfy all of the following criteria:

• an innovative topic

• a comprehensive set of variables are identified

• a detailed procedure

• precise measurements across wide range of values

• a thorough data analysis

• an insight into the physical meaning of the results

• an effective communication design to the poster

Entries must be submitted as a one page pdf.  They must be sent as an email attachment by the teacher to Vicphysics by Friday, 11th November with the email providing:

• student's name

• title of investigation

• Teacher's name

• Teacher's email address

• School name

There is a maximum of two prizes per school.  For click here more details .

E21 Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: Detecting Dark Matter School visits in 2017

One of Dr Phillip Urquijo's projects, one of the conference speakers, is the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL). SUPL is currently being built deep underground at Stawell. SUPL will host SABRE – the first ever direct-detection dark matter experiment in Australia. SABRE stands for Sodium iodide with Active Background REjection

It is expected that SUPL will be able to offer school visits in 2017. For more information go to





Dr Urquijo is part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale (CoEPP). Click here for their outreach activities

CERN provides educational resources

F1. Survey of Class Time on Physics from the Physics Teachers Conference

At the conference participants were surveyed on the following questions:

• How many minutes of class time do you have per week for: a) Year 11 Physics, b)Year 12 Physics.

• School: (Government / Private) If private, (Religious / Non-denominational)? If a religious school, please specify the religion.

• Locality: (Metropolitan / Country). Direction: (N / S / E / W). Gender: (Co-ed / Female / Male).

A more detailed report, with graphs, of the results is on the website in the conference section, here are the main points.

Only 82 schools (43 government schools and 30 private schools) supplied data.

• The average class time for Year 11 was 224 minutes with a standard deviation of 21. The maximum time was 250 minutes and the minimum was 180 minutes.

• The average class time for Year 12 was 232 minutes with a standard deviation of 19. The maximum time was 275 minutes and the minimum was 184 minutes.

Comparison across sectors

|Minutes of |Government |Catholic |Independent(Non-Catholic) |

|class time |(42 schools for Yr 11, 41 for Yr 12) |(18 schools for Yr 11, 17 for Yr 12) |(21 schools for Yr 11, 20 for Yr 12) |

|Year 11 |226 min |220 min |222 min |

|Year 12 |233 min |223 min |237 min |

Differences in Class time between Years 11 and 12

80% of schools had the same amount of class time for Years 11 and 12, with an average of 229 min and a SD of 19, while the other 20% of schools had an average of 39 more minutes in Year 12, with an average of 205 minutes in Year 11 and 244 minutes in Year 12. This 20% of schools also had a similar gov’t / private breakdown to the full sample.

There was no significant difference in class time between metropolitan and country schools for both Year 11 and 12.

Metropolitan Schools

|Minutes of |Schools in the West, North west and North |Schools in the East, South east and South |

|class time |(11 schools for Yr 11, 11 for Yr 12) |(40 schools for Yr 11, 38 for Yr 12) |

|Year 11 |228 min |220 min |

|Year 12 |242 min |230 min |

The difference is about ½ a standard deviation.

School Type

|Minutes of |Co-Educational Schools |Girls Schools |Boys Schools |

|class time |(61 schools for Yr 11, 57 for Yr 12) |(11 schools for Yr 11, 11 for Yr 12) |(9 schools for Yr 11, 8 for Yr 12) |

|Year 11 |226 min |211 min |229 min |

|Year 12 |234 min |215 min |236 min |

The average class time for the girls schools is about ¾ of a standard deviation from the average of the other two school types.

F2. Victorian Physics teachers are well qualified

It may have come as a surprise to you to see the story in The Age on Weds 20th April that read “more than 40% of senior physics teachers do not have a tertiary physics major”.

Repeated surveys of participants at the Physics Teachers Conferences have shown that over 85% of physics teachers have at least two years of tertiary physics.

The story is explained by that fact that the newspaper report was based on national survey, not one of Victorian teachers. An article on these matters is being prepared for LabTalk.

F3. Retired Physics Teachers: Casual employment

Some teachers once they retire are prepared to take on the occasional short term position as a long service leave replacement or to replace a teacher who is ill. However schools often have difficulty finding such retired teachers.

Several times in recent years conference participants have been surveyed on their qualifications, subject taught, admin responsibilities, years until retirement and also whether they would be likely to take on LSL replacement when they retire. Those who said “yes” to this last question and who may have or are about to retire have been contacted in the last week.

The intention is to compile a database of retired physics teachers that the Vicphysics could use to assist schools seeking replacement physics teachers. The letter and form that was sent is on our website at Retiredteachers.html . If any of your colleagues recently retired could you please pass on this information. We would like to encourage retired teachers to come to the physics teachers conference to maintain their social links with colleagues, as well as enable them to keep up to date on course matters, if they decide to take on replacement work.

F4. Physics Teacher Survey

As part of the recent Physics Teachers Conference participants were surveyed on their qualifications, subjects taught, administrative responsibilities, when they intend to retire and once they retire whether they might be interested in taking the occasional short term position to replace teachers seeking long service leave.

The forms have been analysed. The results are as follows:

Qualifications: 16% had 2nd Year Physics, 45 % had 3rd Year Physics, 10% had higher qualifications in Physics and 23% had Engineering qualifications.

Teaching experience: The mean was 17.3 years with a standard deviation of 10.7.

Number of physics classes: The mean was 1.6 with a standard deviation of 0.7 and values (0, 3), (1, 66), (2, 71), (3, 4), (4, 3).

Other teaching subjects: 67% also teach Years 7 – 10 Science.

Retirement: 26% will have retired within 5 years and another 28% within 10 years.

Only 155 survey sheets were handed in. Many of the results are similar to previous surveys done in 2002 and on earlier occasions. It is possible that the same diligent ones completed the survey on each occasion.

If you were unable to complete the survey during the conference or if you were unable to attend the conference, could you please complete the survey and send it to the Vicphysics Teachers' Network, PO Box 290 Flinders Lane, 8009.

The survey enables the committee to obtain a profile of the physics teaching profession. The information is of great benefit to the Australian Institute of Physics in its lobbying of government, the universities and industry on behalf of teachers.

F5. Does going to the Luna Park Physics Days impact on Physics enrolments?

The publicity for this year’s Physics Days at Luna Park was not well handled. Nevertheless 57 schools that came in 2005 have booked for 2006. Comparing their bookings for this year with their attendance last year shows that for these schools their total attendance is 24% greater than that of last year.

For many schools, attendance at this excursion is not fully or partly covered by schools fees, so that students have to pay, but the increase in attendance is promising. Anecdotal comments from the teachers will be in the next Email News.

F6. Popularity of Detailed Studies

The application form for the conference included questions on choice of Detailed Studies in 2005 and for 2006.

In Unit 1, the three Detailed Studies were comparable with Astronomy (27%), Medical Physics (34%), Energy from the Nucleus (39%) although about 1/3 of the teachers doing each Study swapped from 2005 to 2006, with the overall percentages changing only slightly.

For Unit 2 the results were similar with Astrophysics getting 27%, Aerospace 35% and Alternative Energies 38%. For this unit about ¼ of the teachers swapped studies from 2005 to 2006 with the overall percentages changing only slightly.

For Unit 3 the new Areas of Study are initially low by increasing. 13% of teachers did Einstein’s relativity in 2005 and this has increased to 17% this year.. Further electronics was at 11.5 % last year and has increased to only 13%. This means that “Investigating materials” was and is done by most teachers but with some decline, 76% last year and 68% intending to do it this year.

In Unit 4 the situation is similar, with 76% of teachers doing “Sound” last year and 67% intending to do it this year. The Synchrotron is the more popular of the new areas with 13% doing it last year and 20% intending to teach it this year. 11% of teachers did Photonics last year, this has increased to 13% for this year.

The registration form for the Physics Teachers Conference invited applicants to indicate which Detailed Studies for 2008. It is intended to update the list on our website at

70% of applicants supplied information. These are the results:

Unit 1: Medical Physics: 38.4%, Astronomy: 21.8%, Energy from the Nucleus: 39.7%

Unit 2: Aerospace: 39.8%, Astrophysics: 29.4%, Alt. Energy Sources: 30.8%

Unit 3: Einstein’s relativity: 18.9%, Investigating Materials: 62.6%, Further Electronics: 18.5%

Unit 4: Synchrotron & applications: 22.0%, Photonics: 14.1%, Sound: 63.9%

F7. Climate Change: Vicphysics Initiative

The Vicphysics Teachers' Network considers that teachers have a role to play in assisting the community to gain an understanding of the science underlying climate change. To explore the nature of that role, the Committee has prepared a discussion paper, which is on our new website. We welcome your comments on the document which can be posted in the Forum section of the website.

The above address also contains links to papers and resources from scientific bodies such as the IPCC, The Australian Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society. Some of the links contain PowerPoints and streaming video. There is also a section on Teaching Resources. We hope to add to this list over time.

F8. Need an RSS Feed?

A new feature of our website, is ‘RSS feeds’. RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ and it is a means by which users can be advised of changes or updates to a website.

To receive a notice of an update, you need to register, which you can do by selecting ‘RSS Feeds’ at the top right of the website screen.

When you select ‘RSS Feeds’ you are given several choices:

• Receive updates for all changes to the website except the forum,

• Receive updates from all new forum posts,

• Receive updates from the News section,

• Receive updates from the Careers, Teachers and Events sections or

• Receive updates on new files added to the website.

A yellow box displays ‘subscribe by email’, if click the ‘subscribe’ button beside it, an ‘Email Subscription Request’ form from Feedburner appears. In this you need to do a text recognition task for security, then enter your email address and finally another text recognition task. An email will be sent to your address containing a weblink that needs to be clicked on to confirm your registration.

Alternatively if you wish to receive upgrades through your Google home page, you can click on the orange ‘readers’ box at the right of the screen.

F9. Need to form a Moderation Group?

VCAA requires that schools with less than five students need to form a moderation group with another school. Because VCE Physics has Detailed Studies, it is preferable that the two schools do the same Detailed Studies.

If you are a teacher with small class seeking a partner, please contact the Vicphysics by email at danok@ with “Physics Moderation group” as the subject, giving your contact details and your chosen Detailed Studies. Your request will be included in the next email newsletter.

F10. How many Year 11 Physics students go on to do Physics in Year 12?

The VCAA website gives enrolment data of male and female students for each unit. The retention rate from Unit 2 to Unit 3 is an effective answer to this question.

For most of this century the retention rate for boys has been about 73% for males and 66% for females. In 2009 and 2010 the rates steadily increased to 75.5% and 70% respectively. This is a positive sign, but there is no obvious reason for the difference between the genders. By comparison, the retention rates for Chemistry are comparable, both about 70%. While for Biology, the retention rates have been falling from an overall rate of about 91% down to currently at 84% with the rates for males and females approaching comparability.

All three subjects show an improvement for 2010.

How does your school compare? Are your retention rates significantly better? If so, please let us know what you are doing. You can make a comment on the Forum on our website under a thread in the category 'Teaching Issues'.

F11. Enrolments in Physics: Status and Strategy

The Sunday Age recently reported that the percentage of VCE students doing physics had dropped from 16% in 2001 to 14% in 2011. The report is only cursory, this newsletter gives more details and identifies specific areas of concern.

Students doing Year 12 Physics

As a positive note, over the last two decades a higher proportion of the population cohort did Year 12 physics than in the previous two decades. However, this proportion has been flat for the last several years after dips in 2005 and 2006 as well as previously in 2000 and 1997.

[pic]

Students doing Year 11 Physics

A better sense of what is happening can be obtained by looking two other aspects, i) the percentage of Year 10 students who select Unit 1 Physics for Year 11 and ii) the percentage of students doing Unit 2 Physics who go on to Unit 3 Physics the following year.

This analysis shows that:

1. The proportion of Year 10 boys choosing to do Unit 1 Physics has fallen steadily from 30% to 23% over the last 17 years.

2. The proportion of Year 10 girls choosing to do Unit 1 Physics has fallen from 11.5% to 6.2% over the last 17 years.

3. The proportion of students doing Unit 2 physics who do Unit 3 the following year has been fairly steady (boys: 72%, girls 66%) but has increased in the last few years (2011 - boys: 76%, girls 70%). These increases have masked the declining intake from Year 10.

For more details of this analysis and that of other VCE science subjects, go to edresearch.html

Strategy

The downward trend of the selection of Physics by Year 10 students is of serious concern. Its persistence suggests that the reasons commonly attributed by the media, that of the nature of the curriculum and teacher quality, are not relevant. No doubt the perception of physics in the culture and the non-existence of tertiary courses with physics as a necessary prerequisite are the key determinants in this trend, but some schools and teachers may have been able to buck the trend.

The Teachers' Network has suggested a research proposal to VCAA to survey schools and interview teachers to identify successful strategies.

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