Pascual Jordan was one of the great theoretical physicists of the century. But his attempt to modify general relativity with a variable gravitational constant did nothing to enhance his reputation. Nor did his conspicuous membership in the Nazi Party. […]
The Piedmontese mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange died in Paris 200 years ago. His interesting life and his scientific achievements are recalled and described […]
After the introduction of Joule’s work, his paddle wheel experiment is analysed. The conceptual simplicity of this experimental apparatus makes itself a useful didactic model. Therefore its reproduction, the execution of the experiment and the possible didactic purposes will be described. […]
The students of the last class of a French scientific lyceum built an electronic device that can follow the sun like a sunflower. The circuit can be used to orient solar panels in an energy-saving project. This school project has a multidisciplinary nature: for example it can be associated with the study of nervous signals in biology and can introduce the topic of artificial intelligence. […]
In 1855 Maxwell developed a formal analogy between the motion of an incompressible fluid, the electric current in a conductor, and the lines of force of a magnetic field. His analysis represents an example of interdisciplinary study of physical phenomena in the past, […]
With an educational purpose, the analogy between rotational and translational quantities is explained by comparing the behaviours of a flywheel and of a trolley moving along a rail. The inertia of the two compared systems is measured in the same framework. […]
The Thomson ring experiment is revisited obtaining higher and higher jumps. The ring’s inductance and the phase lag between the primary magnetic flux and the current are determined using a new procedure. New configurations that produce an electromagnetic cannon that fires aluminium disks are presented. […]