Physics News from the AIP No 2, Term 1 2005



VicPhysics News: Term 1, No 1, 2016

Dear ,

2016 promises to be an exciting year with new content in Unit 1, some on cosmology and particle physics from the late 20th Century and some from the middle of 19th century on thermal radiation. Unit 2 offers the opportunity to run a few options from a long list of the new and familiar as well as using a poster for students present the findings of their investigations. Check for resources for these Areas of Study.

In this issue there is information about the forthcoming conferences and an update on the Physics Days at Luna Park.

The next meeting of the Vicphysics Teachers' Network will be at 5pm on Tuesday, 9th February at University of Melbourne. The exact room is yet to be finalised. All teachers are welcome to attend this or any other meeting. If you would like to attend, please contact Vicphysics at vicphys@

Regards,

Frances Sidari, Jane Coyle, Barbara McKinnon and Dan O'Keeffe.

The executive of the VicPhysics Teachers' Network

Table of Contents

1. Preview of Planetarium Show on 'What is matter?' 5pm, 13th April, Scienceworks

2. Tutors wanted

3. Climate Science resources by Keith Burrows

4. Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 discovered.

5. Australian Synchrotron Lab Sessions

6. Discovery of Massive Planet

7. Forthcoming events for Students and the General Public

a) Physics Days at Luna Park and Roulette Display

b) Why Space Matters Photography Competition

8. Forthcoming events for Teachers

a) Physics Teachers' Conference, 19th, 20th February, Monash University

b) Physics in General Science Conference, 19th, 20th February, Monash University

9. Physics News from the Web

a) Throwing the book at bad ideas

b) Physics in the family - The Braggs, Father and Son

c) New type of sound wave boosts drug delivery

This newsletter is compiled by the Vicphysics Teachers' Network Inc.

1. Preview of Planetarium Show on 'What is matter?' 5pm, 13th April, Scienceworks

The Melbourne Planetarium based at Scienceworks is offering a new show for VCE Physics students. It is relevant to the new Area of Study in the VCE Physics study design 'What is matter?'.

The program is titled 'Year 11 Physics: The Universe – what we know now and how we are striving to know more'. The session will run for one hour and will include two complementary ways of visualising the Universe. The session will begin with the new planetarium show, Capturing the Cosmos, which was produced by the Melbourne Planetarium in partnership with academic researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO)., .

Concepts included in the show are: the Big Bang theory, the evolution of the Universe, the structure and expansion of the Universe, the use of Type 1a supernovae as measuring sticks for distant galaxies, and different views of the night sky using various forms of electromagnetic radiation, dark energy. The session concludes with a journey through the most complete and accurate 3D atlas of the Universe ever made.

For more information about the show go to

The preview is for MV teacher members, but it is free to join. You can join at . Once you have joined, you can register through links in their regular newsletter.

MVT teacher membership includes free entry to all three museums and a free planetarium show and Lightning room show every year to use at your leisure.

The actual program begins in Term 2 and is available on Wednesdays and Fridays, beginning at 3:30pm. The cost is $5.00 per student plus an education service fee which depends on the group size. To book go to the above website.

2. Tutors wanted

Vicphysics has been contacted by parents seeking tutors. Tutors are needed for :

• A Year 12 student in Thornbury

• A Year 12 student In Wantirna

If you are interested please contact Vicphysics and contact details will be passed on to you as well as yours to the parent.

3. Climate Science resources by Keith Burrows

Keith Burrows has presented workshops on Climate Science at conferences for a number of years. He has now designed a website called 'Climate Science 4 Sceptics', . The purpose of the website is to explain climate science and climate change to those who have uncertainties or questions about the existence of climate change, rather than to those with intransigent deniers.

The content will be of value to VCE Unit 1 students. Keith is also currently developing sections specific for students.

This and other resources for this Area of Study can be found at

4. Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 discovered.

The confirmation of the discovery of these four elements is a useful source of nuclear transformation and half life problems.

Element Ununtrium (Uut) 113:

There are a few different nuclear reactions that can produce different isotopes. The principle method used by the Japanese scientists at Riken was to fire Zinc 70 nuclei at a target of Bismuth 209. Uut 278 plus one neutron were the products, but there were only a few atoms of Uut 278. Uut 278 undergoes six alpha decays through Roentgenium 274, Meitnerium 270, Bohrium 266, Dubnium 262, Lawrencium 258 to Mendeleevium 254. The six alpha decays were convincing evidence of the discovery. Uut 278 has a half life of 0.24 ms, while for Uut 286 it is 20 s.

Element Ununpentium (Uup) 115:

About 100 atoms of Uup have been observed ranging in isotopic mass from 287 to 290. It is produced by the bombardment of Americium 243 with Calcium 48 nuclei. Three or four neutrons are also produced resulting in different isotopes of Uup. Uup alpha decays to Uut with a half life of 100 ms.

Element Ununseptium (Uus) 117

Fifteen atoms of Uus have been detected. It is produced by the bombardment of Berkelium 249 with Calcium 48 nuclei and once again three or four neutrons are also produced. The discovery was a joint US Russian effort with the US producing the Berkelium with a half life of 330 days, which was then flown to Russia to be bombarded by their Calcium. However Berkelium was rejected by customs and ended up crossing the Atlantic five times before being accepted. It has a half life of about 80 ms decaying by alpha particle emission to Uup.

Element Ununoctium (Uuo) 118

Only three atoms of Uuo have been confirmed. This time the Calcium 48 nuclei were fired at Californium 249 with three neutrons produced. Because there were only three atoms the half life has a large uncertainty, 0.89 ms with a range from 1.96 to 0.58. It alpha decays to Livermorium.

5. Australian Synchrotron Lab Sessions

The Australian Synchrotron is offering its Lab Sessions Program again in 2016. The Lab Sessions Program is designed to complement the VCE Physics study design, with particular focus on Unit 4, Study Area 2: Interactions of Light and Matter, and Detailed Study 3.1: Synchrotron and its Applications.

The lab sessions give students a practical understanding of the theories they are studying and offer a guided lab session with our experienced lab demonstrator. The program offers a full school day experience for students, with the session lasting approximately 5 hours, including a lunch break.

To book a session go to

6. Discovery of a Massive Planet

Today's newspapers have a story about what was thought to be a brown dwarf star, is in fact a massive planet. It's designation is 2MASS J2126-8140. The articles below provide more detail than the papers.

The short article has information about how the researchers analysed the spectrum to identify the amount of lithium and so determined the planet's age and mass.

This article includes details of its temperature and the time for light from its star to reach it.

This is the actual paper that was submitted to the Royal Astronomical Society.

7. Forthcoming events for Students and General Public

a) Physics Days at Luna Park and Roulette Display

Approval has been granted to hold a Roulette Display at the Physics Days at Luna Park, however unfortunately it is only for one of the five days. The display will be on Tuesday, 1st March.

The Physics Days at Luna Park will be on Monday, 29th Feb through to Friday 4th March.

For Tuesday, the aerobatic display will start promptly at 10:00am with the Luna Park part of the program running from 10:30am to 2:30pm.

On the other days of the week the Luna Park part of the program will run from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

You can book on line at or contact Luna Park by phone on 9525 5033 or by fax on 9534 5764.

The cost will be $24.95 per student with teachers free.

If you wish to book a data logger for a half day, please contact Vicphysics at vicphys@ with subject: Datalogger booking and indicating on which day you will be coming and whether you want Vernier or Pasco.

b) Why Space Matters Photography Competition

NASA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, or UNOOSA, have launched a global photography competition to highlight how the vantage point of space helps us better understand our home planet, improve lives, and safeguard our future by aiding sustainable development on Earth.

To highlight the role of space-based science and technologies and their applications on Earth, NASA and UNOOSA are inviting the public to submit photos depicting why space matters to us all in our daily lives. There are several possible themes for photos such as: Agriculture, Education, Health, Environment, Peace, etc. To participate, post a picture and description on Instagram using the hashtag #whyspacematters and tagging @UNOOSA.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who is on a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station, will announce the winning photo each month by posting it from his Instagram account @StationCDRKelly.

For more information about the competition and the monthly winners so far, visit . The Competition has been running since September last year. For more information about the International Space Station and the One-Year Mission, visit .

Supplied by Gary Bass.

8. Forthcoming events for Teachers *

a) Physics Teachers' Conference, 19th February, Monash University

The program includes:

• Day and late afternoon sessions. Participants can attend the day and/or the late afternoon sessions,

• Address on 'Cosmology: From the Big Bang to Formation of Atoms' by Dr Phillip Urquijo, University of Melbourne and CoEPP

• Address on 'Particle Physics: From Alpha particles to Quarks' by Prof Emma Ryan-Weber, Swinburne University

• Report by Andrew Hansen, the Chief Assessor, on the 2015 November Exam,

• Karaoke: Short presentations in three adjacent and linked venues,

• Over 65 workshops across four sessions, some on VCE topics, some on general topics across Years 7 - 12 and others specifically for Years 7 - 10,

• A Saturday program of excursion tasters at Quantum Victoria and VSSEC, and a medical physics in-service at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Copies of the Program, the Registration form and on line registration are available on the STAV website, . Copies of Program and the Registration form are on the Vicphysics website,

Late afternoon registrations are also available for the last two sessions of workshops which start at 4:20pm and include the Chief Assessor's Report.

b) Physics in General Science Conference

The Physics in General Science Conference is for middle school science teachers who wish to improve their teaching of physics related topics in the Years 7 - 10. It is a half day conference starting after lunch to reduce the conference fee. Please pass on the information The Physics in General Science Program includes:

• Four afternoon sessions with an emphasis on the new Victorian Curriculum starting in 2017,

• Address on 'What can be seen with rays of light?' by Dr Christina Hart

• Karaoke: Short presentations in three adjacent and linked venues,

• Over 15 workshops across two sessions specifically for Years 7 - 10.

Copies of the Program are available on the Vicphysics website,

9. Physics News from the Web

Items selected from the bulletins of the Institute of Physics (UK) and the American Institute of Physics.

Each item below includes the introductory paragraphs and a web link to the rest of the article.

a) Throwing the book at bad ideas

b) Physics in the family - The Braggs, Father and Son

c) New type of sound wave boosts drug delivery

a) Throwing the book at bad ideas



Several eminent science authors have recently claimed that bad scientific ideas “held back” good ones throughout human history, delaying the progress of science. But as Philip Ball argues, it just isn’t that simple

'If you believe in scientific progress, you will agree that the fate of all theories is to be replaced with better ones. Newton’s theory of gravitation was good; Einstein’s was better; someday we will find one that is better still, and so on. But does this mean that better theories are actually held back by inferior ones? In other words, if “wrong” ideas had not been so widely accepted, might “right” (or less wrong) ideas have arrived sooner?

To judge from comments I’ve seen in (and about) several recent popular-science books, some eminent scientists seem to think so. Their arguments are rather like a scientific version of Gresham’s law: the economic principle that “bad money drives out good”. This law got its name in the 19th century, but it was remarked upon much earlier by (among others) Nicolaus Copernicus – the father of heliocentric theory. He observed that when pared-down gold and silver coinage circulated widely, people hung on to any unadulterated currency they could find. Eventually, only the bad currency changed hands. '

b) Physics in the family - The Braggs, Father and Son



Recent years have seen a surge of material released on the lives and works of William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg, the father-and-son team who shared the 1915 Nobel Prize for Physics. Their prize, awarded “for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays”, recognized research that fundamentally changed the way we think about molecules and crystals, and laid the foundations for modern crystallography. This wonderful book – published in the centenary year of the Braggs’ Nobel prize – adds to this trend by giving us, for the first time, the family stories of Sir Lawrence Bragg (WLB) and his wife, Lady Alice Bragg, in their own words.

c) New type of sound wave boosts drug delivery



A new class of sound wave that can dramatically improve the delivery of inhaled drugs and vaccines has been identified by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Surface-reflected bulk waves (SRBWs) are a hybrid of bulk waves and surface waves. The team has already demonstrated that they can slash the time required to administer inhaled therapeutics through a nebulizer.

Nebulizers break medical suspensions and solutions into vapour that can be inhaled. They deliver drugs to patients with life-threatening or debilitating lung conditions such as cancer, asthma and cystic fibrosis.

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