Two methods for measuring the Earth's magnetic field are described. In the former, according to Gauss, the Earth's magnetic field is compared with that of a permanent magnet; in the latter, a well-known method, the comparison is made with the magnetic field generated by a current. As all the used instruments are available off the shelf, both…

Drops of oil in Mn(SO[subscript 4])(aq) and drops of the solution in oil show opposite effects when brought near a rare earth magnet. Oxygen, nitrogen, and air bubbles atop water show expected attraction, repulsion, and null behavior, respectively. Air bubbles atop aqueous Mn(SO[subscript 4]) show paradoxical behavior because the magnet's…

The singularity of the exact electromagnetic fields is derived to include the "source terms" for harmonically oscillating electric (and magnetic) dipoles, so that the fields will be consistent with the full Maxwell equations with a source. It is shown explicitly, as somewhat expected, that the same [delta]-function terms for the case of static…

The study investigated the impact on student motivation and understanding of magnetism of teaching sequences based on an inductive approach. The study was conducted in large lecture classes. A pre- and post-Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism was conducted with just fewer than 700 Thai undergraduate science students, before and after…

Connecticut's interdistrict magnet schools offer a model of choice-based desegregation that appears to satisfy current legal constraints. This study presents evidence that interdistrict magnet schools have provided students from Connecticut's central cities access to less racially and economically isolated educational environments and estimates…

In this paper we analyse the behaviour of a small-scale model of a magnetic levitation system based on the Inductrack concept. Drag and lift forces acting on our prototype, moving above a continuous copper track, are studied analytically following a simple low-speed approach. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical…

This is an ethnographic study of a newly created math, science, and technology elementary magnet school in a rural community fiercely committed to cultural preservation while facing unprecedented economic instability brought on by massive loss of manufacturing jobs. Our goal was to understand global- and community-level contexts that influenced…

Magnetism is a topic frequently studied in elementary schools. Since magnetism is a popular topic and is included in national science education standards, it might be assumed that elementary teachers have a good understanding of this topic and that elementary students develop a good understanding of fundamental magnetism concepts. Unfortunately,…

A well-known experiment for the measurement of the acceleration of gravity is carried out on a personal computer using standard software for a sound card in a non-canonical way, which provides an improved, more accurate, result and is a useful teaching method for a traditional classroom experiment. (Contains 3 figures and 1 footnote.)

This essay is an open letter to despairing magnet school students. In this essay, the author describes how she attended the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center (KAMSC) and realized that she was just not into math and science. For her, KAMSC was not part of a continuation along a straight line, but instead marked a sharp right turn away…

The titration of HCl with NaOH has traditionally been used to introduce beginning chemistry students to the concepts of acid-base chemistry and stoichiometry. The demonstration described in this article utilizes this reaction as a means of providing students an opportunity to observe the dynamic motion associated with a swirling vortex and its…

The Stoner-Wohlfarth (SW) model is the simplest model that describes adequately the physics of fine magnetic grains, the magnetization of which can be used in digital magnetic storage (floppies, hard disks and tapes). Magnetic storage density is presently increasing steadily in almost the same way as electronic device size and circuitry are…

The force between two parallel current-carrying wires is investigated in the rest frames of the ions and the electrons. A straightforward Lorentz transformation shows that what appears as a purely magnetostatic force in the ion frame appears as a combined magnetostatic and electrostatic force in the electron frame. The derivation makes use of a…

Youngsters nowadays have grown up learning "protect tomorrow!" lessons from "Barney" and "Bill Nye the Science Guy." They have been tutored by unforgettable futuristic movies like "A.I." and "E.T," by science fiction serials and "Star Trek" reruns and by future-oriented series on cable TV (including material on The History Channel). Of course,…

This report presents findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States and the territories in the 2009-10 school year, using data from the Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. The CCD is an annual collection of data that are reported by…