Daniel Laumann

Smartphone Magnification Attachment: Microscope or Magnifying Glass

Today smartphones and tablets do not merely pervade our daily life, but also play a major role in STEM education in general, and in experimental investigations in particular. Enabling teachers and students to make use of these new techniques in physics lessons requires supplying capable and affordable applications. Our article presents the improvement of a low-cost technique turning smartphones into powerful magnifying glasses or microscopes. Adding only a 3D-printed clip attached to the smartphone’s camera and inserting a small glass bead in this clip enables smartphones to take pictures with up to 780x magnification (see Fig. 1). In addition, the construction of the smartphone attachments helps to explain and examine the differences between magnifying glasses and microscopes, and shows that the widespread term “smartphone microscope” for this technique is inaccurate from a physics educational perspective.

Even Liquids Are Magnetic: Observation of the Moses Effect and the Inverse Moses Effect

In our everyday life, it seems that magnetic phenomena are restricted to ferromagnetic materials or electromagnetism caused by electric currents. From a physics point of view, we know that this everyday experience is contrary to the nature of magnetic phenomena. If one regards the magnetic properties of the elements of the periodic table in their natural appearance, there are just a few ferromagnetic (3) but a variety of diamagnetic (34) and paramagnetic (51) substances under standard conditions. Using strong neodymium magnets, it is possible to demonstrate the specific properties of diamagnetism and paramagnetism in the classroom for solids and, unexpectedly, as well for liquids because every piece of matter possesses magnetic properties.

Is an Apple Magnetic: Magnetic Response of Everyday Materials Supporting Views About the Nature of Science

Magnetism and its various applications are essential for our daily life and for many technological developments. The term magnetism is almost always used as a synonym for ferromagnetism. However, the magnetic properties of the elements of the periodic table indicate that the vast majority of elements are not ferromagnetic, but rather, diamagnetic or paramagnetic. Typically, only ferromagnetism is discussed in classrooms, which can create a distorted picture. This article supplies the further development of an experiment demonstrating the dia- and paramagnetic properties with an electronic balance and a neodymium magnet. It focuses on an investigation of ordinary materials that occur in pupils’ everyday environment. The experiment is applicable both for a quantitative measurement of the magnetic (volume) susceptibility χV and can serve as a phenomenological approach to dia- and paramagnetism. Moreover, it encourages a discussion about typical beliefs regarding the nature of science, comparing the behavior ...

An acoustic teaching model illustrating the principles of dynamic mode magnetic force microscopy

Abstract Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) represents a versatile technique within the manifold methods of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), focusing on the investigation of magnetic phenomena at the nanoscale. Although magnetism is a fundamental element of physics education, educational content at the cutting edge of actual scientific topics and techniques in magnetism, like MFM, is lacking. Therefore, we present a scaled teaching model imparting the core principles of MFM, implementing a macroscopic model operating in dynamic mode. The experimental configuration of the model is based on popular bricks by LEGO and drivers based on LEGO Mindstorms (Lego, Billund, Denmark), as well as on further off the shelf components being easily accessible for schools and universities. Investigations of macroscopic magnetic structures reveal numerical, visual and auditory information based on magnetic forces between an oscillating cantilever and ferromagnetic samples allowing a sensual experience of force microscopy for students. Along these lines, students obtain multiple representations to study the precision measurement process of SPM in general and MFM in particular at a scale that allows experiencing micro- and nanoscopic effects. The magnetic force gradients and spatial resolution of the macroscopic model are in agreement with those of an authentic microscopic magnetic force microscope.

Determining magnetic susceptibilities of everyday materials using an electronic balance

The magnetic properties of an object and its interaction with an external magnetic field can be described through the magnetic (volume) susceptibility χV, which divides nearly all kinds of matter into diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic substances. Quantitative measurements of χV are usually technically sophisticated or require the investigation of substances with high values of χV to reveal meaningful results. Here, we show that both diamagnetic and paramagnetic effects in everyday materials can be measured using only an electronic balance and a neodymium magnet, both of which are within the reach of typical introductory college and high school physics classrooms. The experimental results match related literature values remarkably well.