Cibelle Celestino Silva

A teoria das cores de newton: um exemplo do uso da história da ciência em sala de aula

Neste artigo, discutiremos o trabalho sobre luz e cores de Newton publicado em 1672 para vermos exemplos de questoes que podem ser abordadas em sala de aula atraves da Historia da Ciencia. No entanto, alguns cuidados devem ser tomados para nao apresentarmos uma visao distorcida do metodo cientifico e uma ideia mitica sobre a Ciencia. Este estudo analisa o experimento principal de Newton cuja intencao era mostrar que a luz branca e uma mistura de raios com diferentes refrangibilidades. Embora atualmente essa teoria seja aceita e ensinada sem discussao, um estudo historico critico sobre ela levanta muitas questoes que serao discutidas neste artigo.

Polar and axial vectors versus quaternions

Vectors and quaternions are quite different mathematical quantities because they have different symmetry properties. Gibbs and Heaviside created their vector system starting from the quaternion system invented by Hamilton. They identified a pure quaternion as a vector and introduced some changes in the product of two vectors defined by Hamilton without realizing that the scalar product and vector product cannot be interpreted as the scalar part and vector part of the quaternion product. Toward the end of the 19th century some authors realized that there was an incompatibility between the vector and quaternion formalisms, but the central problem was not altogether clear. This paper will show that the main difficulty arose from Hamilton’s contradictory use of i, j, and k both as versors and as vectors.

A natureza da ciência por meio do estudo de episódios históricos: o caso da popularização da óptica newtoniana

Despite the difficulty of precisely describing the nature of science, there is a widespread agreement concerning the necessity of incorporating into curricula some notions about how the scientific activity works. Studying the history of conceptual development and the process of acceptance of scientific ideas by the scientific community may help teachers to incorporate notions of nature of science in their classes. The present paper analyses the development and acceptance process of Newtonian optics during the eighteenth century in Europe, and emphasizes some aspects of nature of science that can be learned by the study of this historical episode.

Daytime School Guided Visits to an Astronomical Observatory in Brazil.

This article analyzes the activity Daytime School Guided Visits at an astronomical observatory in Brazil with pupils from primary school. The adopted research methodology relied on questionnaire applications and semistructured interviews. The objectives were to identify the influences of the visits on learning of astronomical concepts and on pupils’ motivation toward science. This study showed that it is difficult for children to understand scale distances in the Solar System and beyond. In order to cope with this problem, this article highlights the relevance of science centers’ partnership with schools to achieve the goal of improving scientific education by relying on two main participants for a successful visit to a science museum: Guides and teachers. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 as declared by the United Nations UN and sponsored by United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization and the International Astronomical Union was a landmark for teaching astronomy in many countries, and many outreach educational activities were promoted around the world aimed at stimulating interest in astronomy and other sciences. The International Year of Astronomy goals included increasing public scientific awareness, supporting and improving formal and informal science education, and promoting widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences. With these objectives in mind, the Brazilian government financed several astronomy outreach projects. This was a very important step in a developing country such as Brazil, where few people have access to quality science education. Also, as part of the International Astronomy Year, the XXVII Assembly of the International Astronomical Union took place in Brazilian territory in 2009, thanks to strong efforts of the country’s community of professional and amateur astronomers. Astronomy is a fascinating science subject partly because it enables interdisciplinary approaches and attracts students toward contemporary science. In Brazil, astronomy is part of the school curriculum, but the subject is seldom taught because most teachers do not have the opportunity to study it in their preservice courses. The few teachers who address astronomy topics rarely have enough knowledge and access to scientific tools and practices, such as astronomical observations and other practical activities. In addition, research in science education points out that teaching science only in school settings is not enough to motivate students Falk 2001; Braund and Reiss 2006. Teaching science in informal spaces like science museums can be an alternative to cope with these problems. Science museums can offer an attractive environment allowing students direct contact with instruments and scientific practices. In an astronomical observatory, it is possible to observe constellations, planets, the Sun, and other celestial objects using simple instruments. A LIVELY ELECTRONIC COMPENDIUM OF RESEARCH, NEWS, RESOURCES, AND OPINION

Fun and interdisciplinary daytime astrophysical activities

The present article describes some activities performed with high-school students in the Solar Physics course developed in a Brazilian science centre. The topics of chemical composition, temperature and stellar evolution were taught in a room totally dedicated to study of the Sun, a solar room, designed with simple and inexpensive equipment. The course strongly emphasized practical, observational and enquiry-based activities, such as estimating the solar surface temperature, observation of the visible solar spectrum, identification of solar absorption lines, and understanding how they are produced and what kind of information can be extracted from the observed spectral lines. Some of the course goals were to foster the comprehension of the key role played by spectroscopy in astrophysics, to contextualize contents with practical activities, and to allow interdisciplinary approaches including modern physics and chemistry in physics teaching.

Jean Antoine Nollet's Contributions to the Institutionalization of Physics During the 18th Century

It is a commonplace to regard eighteenth century as the triumph of the Newtonian scientific program. However, in the past few years, historians of science have increasingly acknowledged that eighteenth-century science cannot be resumed as the age of Newtonianism. In the case of experimental physics, assuming that Newton’s world views prevailed throughout the eighteenth century is a naive historiographic interpretation. At this period, different areas of science were not clearly defined and well developed in the same extension. One cannot deny the influence of Newtonian studies on optics and word view on celestial mechanics studies all over the Europe, however, in order to develop a broader apprehension of modern science development it is necessary to look upon other realms and avoid focusing too intently upon Newtonian celestial mechanics.

Critical and Transformative Teachers: A Rationale for History and Philosophy of Science in Teacher Education

The chapter discusses the concept of the critical and transformative education of teachers and the role of the history and philosophy of science in enhancing it. Based on the ideas of three educators close to critical pedagogy – Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, and Joao Zanetic – the authors claim that a critical and transformative teacher is someone who establishes a critical dialogue with the world surrounding him or her, problematizes and transforms it with his or her actions and beliefs. History and philosophy of science are essential to promoting critical and transformative education because they illuminate scientific concepts and meta-scientific aspects involved in scientific enterprise and reveal broader issues and aims of education in general, approximating teachers and students to the development of science and enhance its human, complex and temporary nature. With this discussion, the authors intend to present a rationale for the introduction of historical and philosophical content in teacher education, favoring the dialogue between educators, historians and researchers.

Re-examining the early history of the Leiden jar: Stabilization and variation in transforming a phenomenon into a fact:

In this paper, we examine the period that immediately followed the invention of the Leiden jar. Historians of science have developed narrations that emphasize the role of grounding during the process of charging the jar. In this respect, this episode shows significant aspects that can be used to characterize science, scientific knowledge production, and the nature of science. From our own experimentation, we learned that grounding was not necessary in order to produce the effect. These experiences inspired us to go back to primary sources. In doing so, we came to a new understanding of the early period after Kleist’s and Musschenbroek’s initial creation of the effect. From our analysis, we conclude that it is not the grounding which was perceived as a major innovation (as well as a challenge) during this early period of the discussion but the concept of an electrical circuit. This understanding was fundamental in characterizing the Leiden jar as a new device challenging the then current knowledge of experimental practices in the field of electricity.

Teaching Solar Physics in a Partnership between Formal and Non-Formal Education

This chapter presents an innovative approach to teaching modern physics in high schools based on a partnership between physics teachers and a science center team in the teaching of solar physics contents. The science center concerned is the Dietrich Schiel Observatory of the University of Sao Paulo. This center’s Solar Room, a space equipped for and devoted to the dissemination of solar physics topics, was also utilized.

Voltaire e Algarotti: divulgadores da óptica de Newton na Europa do século XVIII

ResumoNo inicio do seculo xviii, Isaac Newton publicou seu principal trabalho sobre optica, o Opticks (Optica). Impregnado por uma perspectiva indutiva, o livro logo se tornou a principal referencia para os estudos sobre a luz e as cores, sendo amplamente popularizado pelos seguidores de Newton. Neste artigo, analisamos como dois importantes livros contribuiram para essa popularizacao e tambem qual era a imagem de ciencia que tencionavam propagar, o Elements de la philosophie de Newton (Elementos da filosofia de Newton) de Voltaire e o Newtonianismo per le dame (Newtonianismo para as damas) de Algarotti. Sera possivel perceber que ambos os autores distorceram o conteudo do livro de Newton, no intuito de propagar uma imagem idealizada das ideias newtonianas e da propria filosofia natural.