Physics 420 – Physics Demonstration

The Physics 420 class is a one term physics demonstrations course. Each student is expected to design and build a demonstration dealing with physics or astronomy, and present it in class and afterwords at least twice in school. The projects are aimed at elementary and secondary students. The students are expected to work independently in the Outreach lab (Hennings 208) . There is a weekly two hours meeting on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 PM with all the participating students. (3 credits). Physics 420 Course Description

2017/18 Class

• Harry Potter, Physics and Invisibility
• The Physics of Drifting
• Hot Wheels, Conservation of Energy and Friction
• Kinetics, Thermodynamics, and the Stirling Engine
• Exploring Electromagnetism through Eddy Current Braking
• Concussions and the Physics of Helmets
• Heron’s Fountain
• Refraction of Laser Light
• The Physics of Blood Flow
• Conservation of Energy
• Acoustic Propulsion

2016/17 Class

• Making a splash with geysers
• Trebuchet Physics
• Changing Pressure, A Fourth Grade Presention
• Exploring the Properties of Fluid Pressure
• Sound and Acoustics
• Cloud in a Box Demo
• Making Electricity
• Physics in Roller Coaster
• Hydraulics lesson
• Wind power to Electricity
• Using Gravity to Generate Electricity
• Angular Momentum and Torque

2014 Winter Class

• The Rubens’ Tube by Alison Sturrock
• The Chladni Plate Experiment by Carly Christy
• Electromagnetism: Magnets and Conductors by Peter Doudkine
• Circuit Construction with Makey Makey by Jovy Eramela
• Standing Waves on a String by Andrew Hajda
• Gravity and Resistance by Ada Ip
• The Power of Light by Ben Leung
• Build Your Own Video Game Console- One Dimensional Pong by Jakob Manning
• Debunking Perpetual Motion by Courtney Markin
• Miniature Laser Tag by Jon Parnell
• Centripetal Motion by Eve Tsou
• Wind Generator by Stephen Wellsby
• Water and Energy by Julie Park
• Air Pressure and Vacuum by Tanner Braithwaite
• Brachistochrone Exploration by Teresa Fabbricino
• Pressure and Force: Bed of Nails by Connor Greig
• Magnetic Levitation by Felipe Iriondo
• Tesla Coil by Andreea Pirvu
• Refraction by Kacper Wardynski

2012 Winter Class

• The Physics of Earthquakes by Amy O’Brien
• The Binary System and Electromagnetism by Billy Leung
• Build Your Own Microwave Telescope by Daniel Clouston
• RGB LED Thermometer by Jordan Heath
• The Next Step in Projectile Motion by CJ Brassington
• Paper Plate Speakers by Kevin McLeod
• Understanding the Coriolis Force by Tony Battistel
• Bike Generator by Sarah Lee-Johnston

2011-2012 Class

• Solar Cells by Carmen Huang
• Wave Demonstration by Thomas Brennan
• Hot Air Balloon by Chris Sutton
• Drag Force by Alesa Rabson

2010-2011 Class

• Electric Motors and Generators by Andrew Holliday
• Fluid Flow by Paul Drosinis

2009-2010 Class

• The Temperature Dependence of the Speed of Sound by Lanqiao George Yuan
• Resistive Heating by Mark Johnson
• The Physics of Tsunamis by Leo Pan
• Investigating CRT Technology: Using a Magnetic Field to Measure Pixel Pitch by Anthony Mollica
• Rubber Band Powered Airplanes by Angela Coburn

2008-2009 Class

Schools visited this year

• Optical Communications by Anna Jain
• Angular Momentum and the Rolling Chain by Anthony Toljanich
• The Human Lens by Cian-Locklainne Rebekah Zybutz
• Projectile Motion: The Pneumatic Canon by Elie El-Zammar
• Displacer-type Stirling Engine by Hiroko Nakahara
• The Physics of Hot Air Balloons by Karen Schmelcher
• The Galilean Thermometer by Omar Elwan
• Rotational Kinetic Energy: The Forgotten Kinetic Energy by Reuben Heredia

2007-2008 Class

• Introduction to Biomechanics by Jessica Olfert
• The Physics of Animal Flight by Lisa Acorn
• Hydroelectricity by Nicole Strumpfer

2006-2007 Class

• Electromagnetism by Jason Cheung
• The Application of Physics in Landmine Detection by Ivan Gourlay
• The Greenhouse Effect by Benjamin Jang
• Protection in Sports by Kevin Kim
• The Physics of Nuclear Reactors by Heather Leanne King
• Thermodynamics by Patrick Lawrence
• The Physics of Sound and Dynamic Speakers by Newton Lo
• The Nature of Light by Andrew Lui
• Infrared Radiation by Eric Major
• The Glowing Pickle by Jennifer Dawn
• Mechanisms of Heat Transfer by Aminollah Sabzevari
• The Van De Graff Generator by Gary Zhong
• How Airplane Wings Really Work by Tony Yang

2005-2006 Class

Schools visited this year

• The Earth’s Moon by Martha Milkeraitis
• Magnetism by Dean Moncado
• Supersaturation, Superheating and Supercooling by George Kamps
• Circular Motion by Kathy Buckland
• States of Matter by Greg Henderson
• Oscillatory Motion by Peter Legun
• Relative Motion by David Teichrob
• Gyroscopic Stabilization by Dylan Falk
• The Physics of Tsunamis by Anthony Uy
• The Physics of Rubber Bands by Zach Hulbert

2004-2005 Class

Schools visited this year

• Vacuum Pressure and The Ping-Pong Cannon by Don Colangelo
• Blue Skies and Red Sunsets by Jehan Casey
• Heat Transfers: The Physics of Computer Cooling by Kenneth Yu
• DC Electric Motor and Generator by Eric Yeh
• Hydraulics and Pressure by Samantha Lindenbach
• Ohm’s Law & First Year Physics by Mitsuko Osugi
• Plasma Physics by Matthew Wan
• Resonance by Graham Langridge
• “Wormbot” in the Wonderful World of Friction by Geoff Bosdet*
• The Physics of Bridges by Norman Kwong
• The Physics of Tornadoes and Hurricanes by Sean Lay

2003-2004 Class

Schools visited this year

• The Conservation of Energy by Jason Chow
• The Coefficient of Friction by Joe Massie
• Fastball Physics by Dave Gautier
• Force Effects on a Wing by Sam Bain
• The Physics of Storms by Marisa Demers
• Air Pressure and Hovercrafts by John Dobbin
• The PEM Fuel Cell by Shane Luke
• Static and Kinetic Friction by Dave Patterson
• Model Helicopter-Thrust and Angular Momentum by Ramandeep Singh Dadyal
• The Doppler Effect by Marissa Carrasco
• The Physics of Catapults and Projectile Motion by Aaron Dhillon
• Mechanics on a Frictionless Inclineby Junyoung Lee

2002-2003 Class

• Newton’s Third Law by Marco Fernandez-Concha
• Projectile Motion in  Two Dimensions by Jim Grant
• Physics and Driving by Julie Haycock
• The Theory of Color by Helge Seetzen

2001-2002 Class:

Schools visited this year

• The Physics of Aviation by Jo McFetridge
• Strings and Sound by Eric Reynar
• Optics and Magic by Caroline Chiang
• The Physics of Sustainable Electricity Generation by James Rowe
• The Model Rail Gun by Shaun Dychko
• Motors and Generators by Kevin Nottle

2000-2001 Class:

Schools visited this year

• Vector Kinematics in Two Dimensions (The Physics of Projectile Motion) by Darren Gock
• Pressure and Heat by Zachary Fong

1999-2000 Class:

• The Principles of Cloud Formation by Dory Sheldan
• Sound and Frequency Spectrum by Daniel Bernard Necker
• ALTA Project by Flora Graham
• Theory of Flight by Sarah Bendall

1997-98 Class:

Schools visited this year

• Electromagnetic Induction by James Arndt
• The Physics of Rainbows by Cecilia Lei
• Cloud Chambers an interactive look at Radiation by Chris Goble

1996-97 Class:

Schools visited this year

• Physics of Car Accidents by Danny Borges
• Superconductivity by Bruce Gowe
• Model Rocketry by Glenn Grant
• Magnetohydrodynamic Boats by Reg Milley

1995-96 Class:

• Demystifying Lasers by Mark Hamilton
• Discovering Electricity and Magnetism by Hester Hageman and Douglas Monroe
• Gravity by Tracy Fraser
• The Fundamentals of Fluids by Amber Parranto and Anthony Ceh
• Bernoulli’s Principle and the Physics of Flight by David Livingstone