The motion of a free revolving bicycle wheel, gently slowed down by air drag and bearings friction, was studied through an experiment done in the Physics laboratory of a secondary school. The experimental data were compared with different hypothesis on the resisting torque, […]
A report on the GIREP ’91 Conference on “Teaching about Reference Frames – from Copernicus to Einstein” […]
Working in the open air Newton measured the rings and from these measurements he calculated the “fit length” of light. The author repeated Newton’s measurements. Then when he went indoors using fluorescent light he was greatly surprised at what he saw. […]
A series of intruction situations related to image formation by converging lenses which show the way teachers may unwillingly, help to strengthen students’ pre-scientific structural schemata are analyzed. Very often, teachers make use of simplified sketches, stereotyped diagrams, or a somewhat inaccurate language which, […]
An open questionnaire on various aspects of energy, including phenomena involving heat, was administred to 6 classes of Italian 15 to 18 year-old students having different curricular exprerience in physics, attending different upper secondary schools. In this paper we discuss the answers in depth against the well known conceptual difficulties of energy, […]
In this controversy regarding the theory of colours, Goethe proposes a re-examination of some historical experiments in order to deny Newton’s ideas on the differentiated refraction of the various colours. Goethe analyzes Newton’s statements, step by step in order to criticize them. […]