New Series of Videos: "Try This Experiment Right Now"

I have recently uploaded several videos in a new series called "Try This Experiment Right Now," a series that I created for the AAPT Films project. 

In this series, we introduce our talented new host Anna Spitz!

These quick and easy ideas can liven up your physics classroom in the new school year and enhance student participation in simple physics experiments!

If you are too lazy to get up from your computer, you can still try many of these experiments RIGHT NOW (hence the title of the series :))!

Get ready for Anna Spitz to teach you about the concept of "beats."




  For example, you don't have to get up from your computer to try this experiment, Easy Beats, but you do need a working set of computer speakers and Internet access. 



You may want to bookmark this website so you can try the beats experiment with your class once the new school year begins: http://onlinetonegenerator.com/

I will feature more of these videos on the blog every day this week!

Sally Ride

The Many Pivotal Roles of Sally Ride:

 Physicist, Astronaut, Leader, Teacher

What if one day you were on your college campus and noticed an intriguing ad in the college newspaper? This may be a rather common experience, but for Sally Ride, this common experience became an uncommonly important moment in her life.

While studying at Stanford University, Sally Ride noticed an ad placed by NASA recruiting astronauts, which piqued her interest. As an undergraduate, Ride double-majored in physics and English literature and then continued her studies at Stanford University to earn a Ph.D. For her dissertation research, Ride studied the theoretical behavior of free electrons in a magnetic field.

Sally Ride was chosen for our list of eminent and influential women physicists for several reasons:

1) her impact on the field and children (potential future scientists) through science outreach and education

2) a role model for women and all scientists

3) the pivotal role she played in demilitarizing NASA and representing scientists in space

 4) her physics research

Ride’s work in outreach has lit the fire of interest in science for many children through Sally Ride Science and her foundation’s efforts have a huge impact on many children. According to the Sally Ride Science website: "Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, started Sally Ride Science in 2001 to inspire young people--especially girls--to stick with their interesting in science and consider pursuing careers in science and engineering." 

Photo from the Sally Ride Science website

In 1978, Ride was chosen by NASA as an astronaut candidate; she was only one of six women among 35 trainees who were selected. That same year, she earned her Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University.Later she went on to engage in rigorous astronaut training, from flying jets to parachute jumping to working on the shuttle’s robotic arm.

 Her role as an astronaut also marked a shift in the American space program. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space and went on to become a role model for aspiring astronauts and young women interested in studying physics and astrophysics. On another level, Ride’s involvement in the space shuttle program was a step toward demilitarizing NASA. Prior to Ride’s time at NASA, most astronauts had served as fighter pilots. Ride’s contributions to the space program signified a growth period for NASA, where scientists, not just pilots, would board American spaceships.

Learning about Sally Ride’s full life can inspire many students, young women in particular, to pursue physics as a career. As a child, Sally Ride loved to play tennis and pursued a professional career in tennis for a time. She attended an all-girls high school in Los Angeles, and studied both literature and physics as an undergrad. She conducted challenging physics research, taught as a physics professor at UC San Diego, and served important roles at NASA, both through being an astronaut and other work there. Later, she took part in the Challenger investigation before retiring from NASA. She never fully retired from her mission as a leader in the sciences—months before her death (of pancreatic cancer in 2012), Sally Ride still played a leadership role at Sally Ride Science, as President and CEO.

“I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve her goals.” ~quoted from an interview at Achievement.org 

Links

Biography.com

  

https://sallyridescience.com/

http://www.aerospaceguide.net/women_in_space/sally_ride.html

Check out a photo gallery of her life here. 

Engaging Students through the Production of Student Films

As I mentioned in the previous entry, I taught a two week enrichment course for high school students about creating science films. 

Students engaged in the filmmaking process from pre-production to production to post-production. I wrote an article to advise teachers who are interested in creating movies with their students. 

This article includes advice on the three stages of film-making as well as five methods of engagement to use in the videos. I also share advice about storyboarding and scripting and additional resources for teachers to use. 

The students in my class worked on the script, storyboards, and of course, acted in the videos as lively hosts. 

Below is a still from the "Why is the Sky Blue?" video. Two student hosts scatter coffee creamer in an aquarium to show the appearance of blue light.

The article was published in the SCOPE: Curriculum Studies Newsletter, a publication of the National Association for Gifted Children, and is titled: "Engaging Students through the Production of Student Films: Advice for Successful Movies" Click on the title link above. 

If you read the article, I hope you will learn a lot and that you will consider creating science videos with your students. 

Book Review: Pythagoras' Trousers

Book Review

Pythagoras' Trousers:

God, Physics, and the Gender Wars

by Margaret Wertheim

In Pythathagoras’ Trousers, the author Margaret Wertheim set out to write the wonderful history of all the women who contributed to physics over the centuries. However, she discovered that the history of women in physics was not wonderful at all. The information she found was more like the history of women being excluded from physics. She attributes this to the culture of physics, which has existed in an elitist, priest-like way since the days of Pythagoras and his secret society.

 In the past, the secrets of physics were written in Latin, a language only priests were likely to learn at the time. Latin was mostly a written language, not commonly spoken, and the layperson, both men and women, did not have access to such elite knowledge. Galileo started to write about science in Italian for the public to read, and this behavior definitely got him into trouble with the Church. 

 Marie Curie 

Who are the women who succeeded in physics? The book discusses several women, including Marie Curie and Hypatia, to name a few. 

 Hypatia

These women succeeded when an enlightened individual decided there was no reason a woman couldn’t learn the science that he knew. When there is such a strong current in the culture discouraging women to learn physics, to counter that current it takes a lot of encouragement for women to succeed, and that is still true today.

According to this book, there is a long history of women in physics being oppressed. This is a direct result of men preventing women from learning, which could be related to the patriarchal power structure of the Church.

Today, as we discuss the progress of women in STEM fields, many wonder why women are still underrepresented in the field of physics. After all, women are well-represented and respected in almost all fields of science, while physics alone lingers with an underrepresentation of women.  The author posits that “physics as a religion” may turn women away from the field. I won’t tell you all of her opinions; however, she discusses the search for the god particle and the almost religious hero worship of physicists like Einstein.

Why should you read this book? As a physicist or physics teacher, you will learn more about what women must overcome to become eminent in the field of physics. What does it take to mentor women into becoming successful physics? After reading, you might be more likely to take that extra step in encouraging your female physics students to stick with it. You could be that enlightened individual who encourages young women to persevere in the field, just like the mentors of Hypatia and Marie Curie.

After reading this book, I hope you will be inspired to rewrite the story of physics from an exclusive club to a more inclusive and inviting culture of physics.

The First Book Review: Physics for Future Presidents

Once in a while, I will post book reviews. I am an avid reader of physics texts as well as history of science books:

Physics for Future Presidents will make you a more informed citizen with a deeper understanding of the intersections between science and politics. With an accessible style and accurate information, Physics for Future Presidents explores the vital information our future citizens and leaders need to be scientifically literate and make informed political decisions. The text also includes historic anecdotes illustrating when science was applied in the political arena. For example, the development of Chinese nuclear power plants and weapons is discussed, with an emphasis on understanding the trajectory of nuclear energy development.

Physics for Future Presidents addresses all areas of physics, with a particular focus on energy. The book could be especially useful and appropriate for college physics courses for non-majors. I have used the book as part of my AP Environmental Science course. Indeed, the book grew out of a physics class taught at UC Berkeley by the author, who in the past consulted with presidents as a science expert. You can watch his lectures here. 

Whether you are a physics teacher, student, politician or simply a globally aware citizen, you will probably find this book interesting and useful.

Author Richard Muller’s website

More about his latest book: Energy for Future Presidents 

Where do videos come from?

The Genesis of My Physics Videos

Where do videos come from? Many of my videos arise from a question. Often great scientists started out as tinkerers, taking apart old radios or even fixing a toaster. Physics used to be called natural philosophy, and like any philosopher, physicists ponder, they ask questions of the world around them. Questions like: Can dogs see color? How do waves work, exactly?

Do you remember playing with magnets when you were younger? Or maybe this morning! 

Check out my video “How Do Magnets Work?” which was recently the number one hit on Google. 

I made this video while working for UCLA to create videos which answer physics questions.

The First Entry: An Introduction to My Blog

Welcome to my blog, Lincoln Physics. Thanks for stopping by!

What is the purpose of this blog?

To share resources, fun facts, excellent videos, teaching tips, lab and demo examples, and general advice for physics instructional design. The blog will also include book reviews, cool photos, and any physics musings on my mind.

Sometimes I will answer questions from my readers. I will share insights into common questions, issues or problems mentioned by teachers I meet at my SC-AAPT New PhysicsTeacher Workshop or conferences.

Why should you become a regular reader or follower of this blog?

Lincoln Physics is Engaging. Entertaining. Interactive.

This blog is for the physics teacher, professor, or physics enthusiast—even you, yeah you over there, who has just a passing curiosity in physics, but wants to learn more.

Who is your host on this journey into the blogosphere?

James Lincoln, an educator with a Master’s in Physics from Cal State Long Beach, a Master's of Education from UCLA and a B.S. in Physics from UCLA.

Here I am on "Mars," making a video on the Big Island of Hawaii
Can you guess where I am?

The two accomplishments I am most proud of right now are teaching for ten years—a whole decade! And leading the SC-AAPT New Physics Teacher Workshop.

Enough of that, this is a blog, not a resume—you will get to know me more as the blog entries pile up in a pyramid of brilliance.