Proteins are "magical" workers inside our body, as they accomplish most of the cellular functions. Here we report on a novel approach to teach protein folding and unfolding, using magnets and flexible 3D-printed protein structures. To illustrate this physical process, we used colored circular magnets designed for whiteboards, connected…

In a 1993 book review, E. Pearlstein asks, "Why don't textbook authors begin their discussion of magnetism by talking about magnets? That's what students have experience with." A similar question can be asked, "Why don't professors have students measure the force between permanent magnets in introductory physics labs?" The…

In this article, we propose a simple and accessible model of a magnetic levitator fitted with a Hall sensor. This model also allows to determine the magnitude of the magnetic field within the levitator working volume. Students can also compare the experimental magnetic field values to reference values in magnetism textbooks. This Arduino-based…

The Gaussian gun is an arrangement of magnets and ball bearings (pictured in Fig. 1) such that--when the leftmost ball is released--the rightmost ball is ejected at high speeds. The device has been described in several articles on energy education. The sudden appearance of kinetic energy offers a productive context for considering a range of…

Three-dimensional printing was used to prepare a p-bonding model with embedded magnets. The model enables students to have a kinesthetic experience that simulates the energetics of bonding, antibonding, and nonbonding p-orbital interactions.

We commonly ask students to compare the results of their experimental measurements with the predictions of a simple physical model that is well understood. However, in practice, physicists must compare their experimental measurements with the predictions of several models, none of which may work well over the entire range of measurements. The…

Introducing abstract concepts to students from applied fields can be challenging. Electromagnetics is one of those courses where abstract concepts are introduced. This work presents a conceptual model which defines learning objectives in three levels for Engineering Electromagnetics. Each level is aligned with its own assessment and evaluation…

Neo magnets are neodymium magnet beads that have been marketed as a desktop toy. We proposed using neo magnets as an alternative building block to traditional ball-and-stick models to construct carbon allotropes, such as fullerene and various nanocone structures. Due to the lack of predetermined physical connections, the versatility of carbon…

Creative learning is discussed with respect to a specific physics topic. A teaching example, based on an apparatus that demonstrates the standard dynamo model of geomagnetism, is presented. It features many of the basic physics concepts within the syllabus of electromagnetism at high-school and university. To stimulate conceptual learning and to…

Understanding what happens at the particulate level when ionic compounds dissolve in water is difficult for many students, yet this understanding is critical in explaining many macroscopic observations. This article describes a student-centered activity designed to help strengthen students' conceptual understanding of this process at the…

We present a sequence of activities aimed at promoting both learning about magnetic forces and students' reflection about the conceptual bridge between magnetic forces on a moving charge and on a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field. The activity sequence, designed for students in high school or on introductory physics courses, has been…

Thought experiments involving a light clock are common in introductory treatments of special relativity, because they provide a simple way of demonstrating the non-intuitive phenomenon of time dilation. The properties of the ray or pulse of light that is continuously reflected between the parallel mirrors of the clock are often stated vaguely and…

Scientists use models to describe and explain observed physical phenomena and to predict the outcomes of new phenomena. Choosing a productive model for describing or explaining a phenomenon is a routine part of the work of scientists but a rare exercise for our students. Students have difficulties understanding the meaning of the word "model" and…

In this paper, we describe how simple experiments realizable by using easily found and low-cost materials allow students to explore quantitatively the magnetic interaction thanks to the help of an Open Source Physics tool, the Tracker Video Analysis software. The static equilibrium of a "column" of permanents magnets is carefully investigated by…

We examine a generalization of the one-dimensional Ising model involving interactions among neighbourhoods of "k" adjacent spins. The model is solved by exploiting a connection to an interesting computational problem that we call ""k"-SAT on a ring", and is shown to be equivalent to the nearest-neighbour Ising model in the absence of an external…