A simple and very impressive version of ‘Einstein’s elevator’. A toy gun in a suitcase aims a ball horizontally towards a hole on the opposite side of the suitcase. If the suitcase is falling the ball exits the hole, demonstrating the absence of the gravitational field in a free-falling environment. […]
What is really at the core of science education? What should every student remember about physics once he/she has left high school? We stress the importance of a basic knowledge and clear understanding of the scientific method as well as the cultural insight, […]
The author proposes a ‘double threshold’ explanation of the persistence of teachers’ evaluation of pupils, based on prior experience, as an alternative to the ‘halo effect’ known in psychology, and describes a simple double threshold mechanical device that illustrates the concept and the analogy. […]
In this article we describe and analyse an experiment on magnetic induction performed using an apparatus inspired by one of the problems proposed in the latest simulation of the final State exam for Physics. The experimental measurements are in good agreement with the mathematical model suggested in the simulation, […]
The availability of low-cost thermal imaging cameras connected to smartphones opens up interesting opportunities in schools. It is now easy to take infrared images and explore phenomena where heating is involved; it is now possible to “see” heat. This article describes some activities carried out in the classroom with a “smart” […]
A hundred years ago Max Planck introduced the quantum of action concept; the anniversary is celebrated in many ways all over the world. In the present paper we want to stress that the Planck constant h ‘initially introduced to account for some facts in a field of research which seemed a marginal one’ […]
The article describes an easily performable and understandable measurement of the velocity of sound in the air. […]