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The
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Fall Meeting of the CSAAPT
Saturday, March 19, 2005
8:00-8:30 – Registration 8:30-8:35 – Welcome 8:35-8:55 - How do we identify musical
instruments?
Gordon P. Ramsey, Abstract: When a musical group plays, we have the
ability to identify specific musical instruments. How can the mind be trained
to do this? What physical properties of the instruments allow their
identification? These questions will be answered through demonstrations of
the “fingerprinting” of various musical instruments. We will see that the
unique tones depend upon the combination of how the sound is created and the
medium in which the resulting standing wave propagates. Prepare for some
interesting combinations. 8:55 – 9:00
Take-Fives - Tom Senior - New A new demonstration for sonic resonance
glass breaking. I-top, a magnetic toy. Glass as a conductor.
9:00 –10:00 - Invited Paper - What’s the
Matter with the Dark Energy of the Universe? by John J. Dykla, Dept. of Physics, The entire
universe is evolving, as first predicted by the original simple form of
Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
Its present expansion began with all matter and energy in an
exceedingly small volume at enormous pressure and temperature, an event we
call the “Big Bang”. Since the
pioneering observations and early models of the 1930's there has been much
progress in understanding the development of the universe from a time only a
small fraction of a second after the initial singularity until its present
form. During the last decade, several
groups of observers have found evidence for an “accelerating universe”, whose
dynamics must be dominated by “dark energy” and “dark matter”, and in which
the familiar stuff our senses perceive is a quite minor component. Attempts to understand the “dark energy”
from standard particle physics yield embarrassingly large “predictions” (too
big by well over 100 powers of ten!) for the mass of the particles associated
with this universal anti-gravity. I’ll
present a speculative “cure” for this flagrant conflict of theory and
observation, and point out puzzles for future exploration. 10:00-10:10 - Break 10:10-10:25 --- Why the high school
textbook Merrill's Physics:
Principles and Problems by Zitzewitz and Neff has become the
most popular text used by physics teachers in the United States in the last 10 years.
by Stewart Brekke The text Physics: Principles and Problems
is a great improvement over the pre-existing high school texts as well as
other contemporary comparable tests. The vast majority of the text deals with
physics problem solving as it should. Each formula is accompanied by an
example on how to do the problems that follow. Each formula has drills and
practices using the formula (about 6-8
problems). Each lesson is based on the single concept, one formula applied to
6-8 problems. Previously, high school physics teachers had to make up their
own problems using the previously most popular high school text Modern Physics. Modern Physics had wonderful text and
diagrams, but failed the most important aspect of a high school physics
course--physics problem solving, by not having examples on how to do
each type of problem with drills and practices on each type of problem.
Finally, after one hundred years of high school students unnecessarily
struggling with physics problem
solving, a text, Physics: Principles and
Problems, finally has incorporated the basic principles of
learning physics problem solving, relevant samples on how to do each problem
and drills and practices on each type of problem. 10:25-10:45 - Some
de-emphasized aspects of Classical Physics Laboratory Experiments
by Aleksandr Goltsiker, Thomas
Ruubel, and Asim Gangopadhyaya Many of the standard experiments that
are used in colleges and high schools today to develop experimental skills
and enhance an understanding of theoretical concepts, were once cutting edge
experiments and had a significant impact on the history of physics, and
modern civilization. Most of the introductory physics laboratory experiments
were accepted as “classical” during the second half of the 19th
century. Those that are covered in
modern physics labs are from the end of the 19th and the beginning of
the 20th century . They still have valuable applications in
metrology and some areas of modern technology. Emphases in lab manuals on these
aspects of experiments and their impact on the foundations of physics can attract
student interest. 10:45-11:00 - Shocking use of the triboelectric series.
Tom Senior New Several demonstrations will be done to
show the effects of the triboelectric series and its use in making the
electrophorus a useful demonstration apparatus. Some demonstrations of
electric fields and charge distribution will be shown. A discussion of the
use of static electricity during the Castle Electricity Curriculum will be
presented. 11:00-12:00 - Invited Paper - The Other Einstein
Dr. Pangratios Papacosta, Abstract: He was chosen by TIME and CBS as
"the man of the century" and he has been called "the prince of
physicists" and the "guru of science." This year the world
celebrates 100 years of Einstein, a hundred years since the publication of
his important work in 1905. Undoubtedly Einstein has left his mark by
transforming not only the world of physics but our very culture and way of
life, thanks to the many technologies that were spun off his work. Yet there
is another side to Einstein, the human side, that
people know very little about. He believed in a God of nature and the
contributions as well as limitations of both science and religion. He took a
stand against racism and the arms race. He rejected materialism and any
political system that enslaved the individual. His face and name were the
most recognized in the world yet he wished he lived as a lighthouse keeper.
He run to the support of all who suffered social injustice and persecution
yet he admits to have neglected his own family. The human side of Einstein is
rich in virtue, spiced up with some mystery and some apparent contradictory
behavior. As part of our Einstein celebration, Dr. Pan Papacosta will discuss
the human side of Einstein. His presentation will be enriched with slides and
quotes from Einstein. Dr. Pan Papacosta is a faculty at the
Science and Mathematics department of Columbia College Chicago andthe current
President of AAUP-IL (American Association of University Professors) of 12:00-12:10
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