Bodo Eckert

Experimenting from a distance—remotely controlled laboratory (RCL)

The use of computers and multimedia, as well as the World Wide Web and new communication technologies, allows new forms of teaching and learning such as distance learning, blended learning, use of virtual libraries and many more. The herewith discussed remotely controlled laboratory (RCL) project shall offer an additional contribution. The basic idea is for a user to connect via the Internet with a computer from place A to a real experiment carried out in place B. An overview of our technical and didactical developments as well as an outlook on future plans is presented. Currently, about ten RCLs have been implemented. The essential characteristics of an RCL are the intuitive use and interactivity (operating the technical parameters), the possibility of different points of view of the ongoing experiment thanks to web cams and the quickest possible transfer of the data measured by the user. A reasonable use of sensibly chosen real experiments as remote labs allows a new form of homework and exercises, as well as project work and the execution of experiments, which usually would be a teachers prerogative only.

Multimedia material for teaching physics (search, evaluation and examples)

Finding multimedia material for teaching physics worldwide would seem to be easy at first glance, since there is now a lot of material available. But on closer inspection it becomes obvious that (apart from standard topics) it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find excellent teaching materials. Several representative databases are collected and described here. Only a few of them use an evaluation scheme to judge their content. If the material is evaluated, every organization uses its own list of criteria with its own weaknesses and strengths. Therefore we want to initiate a discussion to finalize a standardized evaluation scheme and to make this available to physicists and physics teachers.This paper finishes with two multimedia examples we have produced ourselves: about diffraction and about Michelson interferometry.

Remotely controlled laboratories: Aims, examples, and experience

Remotely controlled laboratories are real experiments that can be controlled by users from their computers via the Internet. We present an overview of technical and pedagogical developments, describe the diversity and potential of our experiments, and comment on their acceptance by physics instructors.

Multimedia in physics education: a?video for the quantitative analysis of the Reynolds number

A video of the Reynolds transition experiment, developed for physics teaching, shows the continuous transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Additionally, the critical Reynolds number of the experimental set-up is determined approximately. By looking at it, the user of the video can measure all necessary data and then calculate a result.

Multimedia in physics education: a video for the quantitative analysis of the centrifugal force and the Coriolis force

A digital video on forces occurring in rotating frames of reference is presented. It allows students to observe and to analyse the trajectory of one and the same moving ball in both systems, the laboratory system at rest and the rotating system. An application of the video for physics exercises in the first year of physics study is outlined.

Pressure and photo-induced phase transitions in sulphur investigated by Raman spectroscopy

Abstract The phase transition of orthorhombic sulphur α-S8 to a high pressure amorphous sulphur allotrope (a-S) has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The conversion is found to be induced by the absorption of laser light and can be discussed in terms of ring opening followed by cis-trans conversion of the dihedral angle of S8 molecules. Laser energy and transition pressure are correlated due to the pressure tuned red shift of the absorption edge of α-S8. The amorphous (a-S) phase is observed up to 15 GPa at laser intensities below 30μW/μm2 at 514.5 and 488.0 nm. Above this threshold power a-S transforms into a second photo-induced phase (p-S), whose discrete Raman spectrum implies an ordered molecular and crystalline structure. By further increasing pressure crystalline S6 can be created which is found to be the dominant molecular species at pressures above 10 GPa and low temperatures. A phase diagram in the range T < 300 K and p < 15 GPa is also presented.

Distance Education in Physics via the Internet

Abstract This article describes three connected projects in physics: (1) a very successful course at the university level; (2) a collection of several thousand multimedia materials, its status and evaluation, and its dissemination; and (3) Web experiments—experiments that can be operated remotely from a distance via the Internet.

Temperature dependence of the vibrational relaxation processes in natural and isotopically pure 32S8: Effect of the isotopic impurities on infrared phonon lifetimes

We have measured the temperature dependence of the infrared bandwidth of several lattice phonons and internal vibrons in natural and 32S isotopically pure orthorhombic sulfur crystals, using a high resolution FTIR interferometer. The experimental data were analyzed in terms of anharmonic phonon–phonon coupling processes and of contributions to the bandwidth due to the presence of randomly distributed isotopic impurities. The same three-phonon processes that contribute to the lifetime of the Raman bands were found to be active also for the infrared ones in the isotopically pure crystal. In parallel to the increase of the two-phonon density of states, the third-order anharmonic coupling coefficients for phonon decay processes were found to increase from the lowest to the highest lattice mode. The effect of the isotopic impurities was explained in terms of two contributions, the first, which is temperature independent, due to pure harmonic scattering processes and the second due to the combined effect of anh...

Low-Cost, High-Tech Experiments for Educational Physics.

The advantage of low-cost experiments is obvious and the real-life aspects of high-tech experiments appeal to pupils. The benefits of hands-on experiments that are both low-cost and high-tech are described here. Four detailed examples are given, which include the use of contact lenses and CDs, and other ideas are provided.

Multimedia in physics education: teaching videos about aero and fluid dynamics

In a series of letters, we present teaching videos on topics which are difficult to understand for students, or which are difficult to realize experimentally in school, if at all. These videos can be used for quantitative analysis or visualization of phenomena. Here we present videos on aero and fluid dynamics which deal with the Navier–Stokes equation, the continuity equation and Karmans vortex street.