Demonstrations | Department of Physics

Title	Description
Shoot the Monkey	A projectile is fired towards a target, and the target is dropped at the same instant.
Inertia of Rest	A short heavy cylinder is inside a plastic tube. As the tube is struck by a hammer, the cylinder remains in place because of inertia.
Newton's 2nd and 3rd Laws	Demonstrating Newton's second and third laws using a fan cart.
Ball dropped vs launched	A ball is dropped vertically and another ball is launched horizontally from the same height. Both reach the ground at the same time.
Ball launched and caught	A ball is projected vertically from a moving cart and caught by the same cart.
Leaky Water Bottle	A leaky water bottle in free-fall stops leaking.
Hammer and Feather	Heavy and light objects fall together through a vacuum tube.
Spring Balance	If two opposite forces of magnitude F are applied to the two ends of a spring balance, the balance reads F and not 2F
Loop The Loop	Principles of Energy conservation illustrated with a ball traversing a loop-the-loop.
Water Bucket Swing	A bucket of water is swung in a vertical circle. As long as its speed is greater than a certain minimum speed the water does not spill.
Pendulum swing	A large pendulum swung to one side and released. As a result of conservation of energy it has to return to the same height it was launched from.
Ball Race	Three balls are released from the same height and follow three different tracks, ending up at finish points at the same height. They have the same velocity at the end, but take different amounts of time to get there.
Dominoes	Principles of Energy conservation illustrated with a set of dominoes.
Newton's Cradle	Experiments with the classic Newton's cradle.
Wrecking Ball	When a brick is struck by a wrecking ball, the impact is greater when the ball rebounds vs when it doesn't rebound.
Colliding pendula	Two balls with a 3:1 mass ratio are suspended by threads and made to collide repeatedly. The larger ball comes to a complete stop every even numbered collision.
Radiometer	A radiometer spins as a result of different impacts of collisions of air molecules with its white vs black vanes.
Softball and Basketball	A softball is placed on top of a basketball and both of them are dropped. The softball rebounds to a suprisingly large height.
Deadball and Superball	A dead ball and a superball are dropped.
Rocket Cart	A cart driven by a fire extinguisher with its nozzle pointed backwards.
Balancing a top-heavy object	A top heavy object is easier to balance on one's finger than a bottom-heavy object as a result of differences in moment of inertia.
Leaning Tower of Pisa	An object topples over when its center of gravity is not directly above its base of support.
Clown on a Unicycle	A toy clown rides a unicycle on a wire illustrating that a lower center of mass leads to stability.
Rolling without Slipping	When an object rolls without slipping, a point at the top has a velocity equal to twice the velocity of the center of mass.
Balancing a mop and a rod	When two objects are balanced, their weights are not necessarily equal.
Spinning in a chair	Demonstrating angular momentum conservation from the fact that the angular velocity of a rotating object changes if the moment of inertia of the object changes
Flipping a Flywheel	If one flips a rotating flywheel while sitting in a swivel chair then the chair starts rotating as a result of angular momentum conservation.
Yoyo	A Yoyo moves one way when the cord around its axle is pulled horizontally and in the opposite direction when the code is pulled at an angle.
Ring vs Disk	A ring and a disk of the same mass race down an inclined plane.
Tangential Velocity	An object in circular motion proceeds in a direction tangent to the circle if the centripetal force suddenly disappears.
Lever	A simple lever can be employed to lift a heavy object using a force much smaller than its weight.
Mystery batons	Two batons with identical masses have different mass distributions. The one with a greater moment of inertia about its axis of rotation is harder to rotate.
Standing on Scales	If a weight is positioned on a beam with a scale under each end, the readings on the scale differ depending on the position of the object.
Tangential acceleration	If an inclined beam is allowed to fall under gravity, the tangential acceleration of its falling end is greater than g.

Title	Description
Soda Can Crush	A soda can filled with steam is dipped in water
Archimides Principle	An object weighs less under water as a result of the buoyant force of water. The difference in weights can be used to determine the density of the object
Stay-open Balloon	A ballon will remain inflated with its mouth open if the pressure outside it is less than the pressure inside.
Atmospheric Pressure	Atmospheric pressure is strong enough to lift heavy objects.
Bernoulli's Principle	Bernoulli's principle demonstrated with a ball in a jet of air.

Title	Description
Electroscope	Various experiments with electroscopes illustrating properties of positive and negative charges.
Polarization of an insulator	A large wooden board can be moved around by the electrostatic influence of a charged rod.
EMF vs Terminal Voltage	The difference between EMF and terminal voltage is illustrated.
Series Connections	Resistors connected in series.
Parallel Connections	Resistors connected in parallel.
Magnetic Boat	A piece of magnetic rock in small floating container makes the container move in the presence of a magnetic field.
Magnetic force on a charged particle	An electron beam deflected by a magnetic field.
Magnetic lines of a bar magnet	Magnetic field lines of a bar magnet illustrated by iron filings suspended in a fluid.
DC Motor	A simple DC motor.
Jumping Wire	Force on a current carrying conductor in a magnetic field.
Solenoid	Visualizing the magnetic field of a solenoid using compass needles.
Electromagnet	Using an electromagnet to lift objects.
Eddy Current Braking	Pendulums made of various materials are rapidly stopped by magnets as a result of eddy currents.
Magnet falling through Al tube	A magnet takes a very long time to fall through an Aluminium tube.
Jumping Rings	A conducting ring jumps upon being subjected to a fluctuating magnetic fiel.
Transformer	A transformer is used to step up and step down voltages.
LCR Circuits and Electromagnetic Waves	Electromagnetic waves are generated by a LCR circuit and picked up by another tuned LCR circuit. RF interference from sparks is also demonstrated.
Radioactive FiestaWare	A radioactive FiestaWare bowl is investigated with a Geiger counter.
Photoelectricity	The Photoelectric effect is demonstrated
Jumping Rings with Liquid Nitrogen	In the basic ring jump experiment, the rings jump much higher when cooled in liquid nitrogen

Title	Description
Slinky Waves	Transverse and Longitudinal waves on a slinky.
Transverse Waves on Torsion Rod Apparatus	Using a torsional rod apparatus to show the movement of individual points in a transverse wave.
Longitudinal Waves on Torsion Rod Apparatus	Using a torsional rod apparatus to show the movement of individual points in a longitudinal wave.
Standing Waves on a Stretched String	One end of a stretched string is vibrated at various frequencies to excite different vibrational modes.
Shattered Wine Glass	A wine glass is shattered by sound waves of the right frequency.
Dancing Flames	Standing sound waves are set up in propane-filled tube with holes. Flames above the holes have varying heights depending on the pressure of the gas underneath them.
Tuning Forks, Resonance and Beats	Various Experiments with Tuning Forks
Speaker Improvement	The sound quality of a simple speaker is improved substantially using a piece of cardboard with a hole cut in it

Title	Description
Frozen RacquetBall	A racquetball is placed in liquid nitrogen, cooling it to a point where it shatters upon bring dropped to the floor
Balloon Shrink	A balloon placed in liquid nitrogen shrivels up
Stirling Engine	A basic Stirling-cycle engine is demonstrated

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
008	2x4 Beam moved by Electrostatic Forces	Move a large beam using electrostatic forces.	Electrostatic force shown to be larger than gravitational attraction force between 2x4 and lead brick.	10 min
012	Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity	Measure the resistance of an incandescent light bulb filament as a function of temperature	Resistance of a material changes with temperature.	8 min
014	Crooke's Tube	Deflection of an electron beam.	Electromagnetic Forces	5 min
016	Gauss's Law Props	Use shell-type pillboxes and a cylinder to illustrate concepts of flux and application to Gauss's Law.	Gauss's Law For Field Calculations	5 min
029	Parallel Plate Capacitor	A charged rod charges a parallel plate capacitor.	Charge, Mechanical work, and Potential Difference	5 min
035	Forces between Current-Carrying Parallel Wires	Use a battery to send current through 2 parallel wires.	Magnetic Force, Biot-Savart Law	5 min
040	Super Conductor	A super-cooled disk levitates a magnet.	Superconductivity	5 min
042	Basic Electrostatics	Use rods, furs, silk, and electroscopes to discuss electrostatic concepts.	Electric Charges and Forces	5 min
043	Electrostatics using Vandegraaff Generators	Use the Vandegraaff generator with the aid of pie tins, rice crispies, whirligigs, and rods to display shocking outcomes.	Electric Potential and Fields	5 min
044	Elihu Thomas Popper or eye-grabbing Lenz's Law	Rings are ejected due to induced currents in the rings interacting with driving currents in a coil.	Lenz's Law	5 min
045	Eddy Current Pendulum (Electromagnetic Brake)	Stop swinging metal plates by letting them pass through a magnetic field.	Motional EMF	5 min
046	Tesla Coil and Lights (Star Wars type light sabers)	In one hand, hold a tesla coil. In the other hand hold a neon tube to light it up.	High frequency current can safely flow over the surface of one's body.	5 min
047	Electromagnetic Force on a current-carrying wire in the field of a permanent magnetic	A current-carrying wire is forced out from between magnetic poles	Electromagnetic Forces	5 min
050	LR Decay with Strong Spark as Stored Energy in an Inductor Dissipates	A strong spark jumps from two ice picks	LR decay of current	5 min
051	RLC Oscillations	A capacitor is attached to a battery, then an inductor.	Electromagnetic Oscillations	5 min
052	Dissectible Transformer	Separate the primary coil from the secondary and the flux guide.	Electromagnetic Induction	5 min
059	Simple DC-Light-Bulb-Battery Circuit	Connect a bulb in series to a battery to light the bulb up.	Circuits Fundamentals, Direct Current	5 min
060	Magnetism with a Lodestone in water	A lodestone floating in water is moved around by an external magnet.	Magnetism	5 min
070	Three Light Bulbs in either Series and Parallel Connections	Three Light Bulbs in Dedicated Socket Apparatus with moveable wires	Series and Parallel Circuits	5 min
071	RC Time Constant	Use a capacitor,to show both an RC rise in voltage and an RC decay.	RC Rise and Decay	5 min
104	Garland Era Vintage Bar Magnets	Use Long Garland Magnets to Spice Up Discussion of Permanent Magnets	Properties of Permanent Magnets	5 min
105	Electromagnet	Small Coil of Wire Driven by A 9V Transistor Circuit Battery	Properties of Electromagnets	5 min
129	Simple DC Circuits With Small Bulbs and Two Demonstration Meters	Use A Battery and Set Up A Couple Of Simple DC Circuits To Quantify/Verify Some Basic Circuit Theory	Ohm's Law	10 min
131	Overhead Projector Devices For Showing Magnetic Fields Of Current Carrying Wires	Put Device On Overhead And Watch Small Compass Needle Respond To Currents In Wire	Rules Of Magnetic Field Lines For Current Carrying Wires	5 min
133	Faraday Emf By Magnets Thrust Through Coils On Overhead Projector Device	Thrust Bar Magnet In and Pull Out at Slow And Small Speeds and Vary Number Of Coil Turns	Induced Emf's	5 min
134	Hand Operated AC Generators With Light Bulb Loads	Crank Slowly or Fast, Show Easier to Turn When Load removed	Generator Action	5 min
139	Leybold Parallel Plate Capacitor With Dielectric Removable Inserts	Use Capacitor and Electroscope To See Effect of Dielectric Insertion Between The Plates	Parallel Plate Capacitors	10 min
140	Electrostatics concepts.	Use fur and silk patches to charge rods and explore their properties with the aid of pith balls, insulated spheres, electroscopes, and electrometers.	Basic Concepts of Modeling Materials and their Constituent Charges	15 min
144	Eddy Currents with Long Al Tube and Cylindrical Magnet	Show Huge Disparity Between Vertical Transit Times of Two Seemingly Identical Bodies Down The Inside Of A Long Aluminum Tube	Eddy Current Damping Effects	2 min
153	Overhead Projector Device For Showing Magnetic Field Lines of a Bar Magnet	Put A Permanent Bar Magnet on The Overhead Projector and See The Field Lines With Iron Filings	Nature Of Magnetic Field Pattern For A Bar Magnet	2 min
154	Box Of Various Transistors and Other Solid State Devices	Show What Some of The Solid State Family of Electrical Devices Look Like	Show and Tell For Identifying A Few Solid State Physics Devices	3 min
155	Hertz Experiment	Use Two Shop Improved RLC Breadboarded Type Units to Generate and Detect Radio Waves	Sparking Generated in one Tuned Circuit Can Generate a Signal in another Tuned Circuit Which is Manifested as A Neon Bulb Flashing	5 min
159	Pasco Version Of Elihu Thomas Ring Popper (044)	Lenz's Law Popper In Another Version	Induced Currents Interacting With Changes That Set Them Up	5 min
160	Genecon Generator, Motor, 20,000mF Capacitor	Use A Hand -Operated Generator to Power A Small Motor and Store Energy in A Capacitor	Electrical Energy Stored And Converted To Other Forms	5 min
161	Electric Fields On Overhead with Spark Gun	Base Tray Contains Tiny Dipole Elements in Solution That Can Line Up Along Electric Field Lines of Charged Metallic Overlay Electrodes	Show Experimental Indications Of Electric Field Lines	10 min
162	St. Louis Motor Shows Torque On A Current Loop In A Magnetic Field	6 Volt Battery Spins The Rotor Quite Briskly	Current Loops In Magnetic Fields Experience Torques, Allowing Conversion Of Electric Energy To Mechanical Energy by Motors	3 min
163	Small Powerful Magnets On Overhead Projector	Show Complex Spinning Interactions Between Powerful Small Magnets, Including Magnetic Levitation On A Pole	Permanent Magnets Can Exert Large Forces On Each Other	5 min
164	1200 Turn Old Coil Attached To Small Bulb Which Can Be Lit By Skillful Thrusting Into and Out Of Big (2.3T) Magnet	Show Effects Of Induced EMF's By Flux Change In Circuits	Rudiments Of Generator Action	5min
175	Transient Induced Current In A Coil Associated With A Change Of DC Current In An Inner Coil	Transformer Action At A Fundamental Level	Faraday's Law At Work	15 min
176	Three Dimensional Magnetic Field Line Viewer	Look At The Pattern Of Bar Magnets In Three Dimensions	May Hold Some Clues For Medical Imaging	5 min
177	Magnetic Domains Overhead Projector Device	Illustrate Concept Of Magnetic Domains With This Array Of Tiny Compass Needles	Groups Of Needles Move In Sync With Each Other	5min
187	Pasco Variable Gap Magnet and Accessories	Show Eddy Current braking in small pendula. Show induced voltages.	Electromagnetic braking and induced voltages can result from conductors in a changing magnetic field.	5 to 10 min
195	Electrophorus	Charge a white sheet of teflon with a fur by rubbing. Then charge a metal plate by induction using the charged plate.	Arbitrarily large charges may be accumulated by charging by induction with an Electrophorus.	5 min
201	Show Magnet Similarities for A Current carrying Solenoid	By using the dedicated coil with friction free mounting and convenient power source , one can show the interaction of the coil with a permanent magnet.	Solenoids can act as permanent bar magnet replacements.	5 min
202	Cook A Hot Dog	Use PVC and Steel Bar Apparatus to Pass Wall Outlet Current Through A Hot Dog	There is enough moisture in a hot dog to allow it to pass current from a wall outlet through it for cooking.	5 min
204	Transformer Coupling to Sound Waves	Send Music from Computer to Lecture Hall Interface Wirelessly	Send Signals by transformer Coupling	10 min
205	Diamagnetism of Grapes	Two Grapes Skewered on a Light Rod are Hung With One Grape the Poles of A Strong magnet	Diamagnetism	10 min
206	Series and Parallel Hook Ups of A 3X3 Matrix of Light Bulbs	Demonstrate series and parallel combinations by hooking up 9 Light Bulbs	Series and Parallel Circuits	10 min
207	World's Simplest Motor	Use a battery, magnet and wire coil to make a homopolar motor	Torque on a current carrying loop; Principle of a motor	5 min
211	Magnetic Force on a wire carrying AC and DC currents	Send AC and DC current through the filament of a lightbulb (shaped like a loop) and watch how it behaves in the vicinity of a magnet.	Magnetic Force on a current carrying wire	5 min
212	Magnaprobe	Small bar magnet gymballed so it can rotate in 3D used to probe the magnetic field of various configurations of magnets	Magnetic Fields; magnetic lines of force	5 min
213	Faraday Cage blocking radio signals	Positioning a Faraday cage over a radio, one can block the incoming radio waves.	Electromagnetic Shielding	5 mins

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
095	Differential Pressure Bottle With Stay-Open Balloon	Inflate a balloon inside a flask which has a resealable hole in its bottom.	Differential Pressure	5 min
096	Boyle's Law	An overhead-projector apparatus allows an easy way to see pressure volume data for air.	Boyle's Law	5 min
098	Soda Can Crush by Steam Condensation	A soda can has a small volume of water placed in its bottom and boiled.	Consequences of Atmospheric Pressure	5 min
099	Bernoulli Effect Levitation of Spinning Golf Ball	The Bernoulli Effect lowering of pressure on one side of a golf ball spinning in a stream of air allows for stable levitation of the ball	Bernoulli Effect Momentum can be transfered by air molecules in a forced stream bouncing off a target ball.	5 min
100	Liquid Nitrogen Powered Pipe Bomb	Liquid Nitrogen Powered Pipe Bomb	Pipe Bomb	5 min
102	Archimedes, Flotation, Water Levels and Boats	Various documentations of water levels caused by changing states of floating objects can be generated.	Displaced Water Buoys Things Up	10 min
124	Two Principles and Two Laws Illustrated By Cartesian Diver	Use The Small Diver in 2L soda Bottle of Water and Apply Pressure	Boyle,Charles, Pascal, Archimedes Take Note	5 min
146	Magdeburg Hemispheres and Pressure	Pump the Air Out of A Sphere Composed of Two O-Ring Coupled Hemispheres	Atmospheric Pressure Can Be Very Difficult to Overpower	5 min

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
055	Stirling-Cycle Engine	Propane heat is applied to a Stirling-cycle engine to power a fan.	The Stirling Cycle	5 min
093	Long Thermometers	A variety of thermometers are available for show and tell props.	Temperature Scale	5 min
097	Palm Glass Apparatus	One achieves boiling of a liquid with heat input from his/her hands.	Heat Transfer	5 min
125	Linear Expansion Of Metal Ball and Ring Upon Heating	Heat A Ball and A Ring With A Torch and See Evidence Of Dimension Changes	Linear Expansion Upon Heating	5 min
149	Linear Expansion and Heat Conduction	Use A Torch ,Two Metal Tubes ,and A Bi-Metallic Strip To Show Some Of the Properties Of Heat Conduction and Expansion of Size With Temperature Rise	Thermal Conductivity and Coefficient of Linear Expansion	5 min
178	Stirling Cycle Heat Engine Flywheel Motor	A Flywheel Type Stirling Cycle Heat Engine can be powered by a Propane Torch	Working Model of a Heat Engine Using the Stirling Cycle	5 min
180	Stirling Cycle Heat Engine Big Fan	Fan 90x66x30 cm is Powered By a Stirling Cycle Heat Engine	A Working Model Heat Engine With Useful Real World Applications	5 min
193	Reversible Thermoelectric Demonstrator	* One may run the demonstrator as a heat engine converting energy to electrical potential and current.*	* Subsequent mixing of the temperature baths to reach thermal equilibrium destroys ability to extract work*	10 min

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
001	3:1 Mass Ratio Energy and Momentum; and Angular Spin	Dropping football can allow one to talk about spin adding to stability of passes. The basketball and softball may be dropped with the softball on top for memorable final motion.	Conservation of Momentum and of Energy; Conservation of Angular Momentum	5 min
002	Elastic Collision	Collision of unequal mass steel balls shows effect of first demo 3:1 mass ratio.	Conservation of Momentum and Energy	5 min
003	Elastic and Inelastic Collisions	A ball hits a brick, and then hits the brick with a lump of clay added to the brick to make the collision inelastic.	Conservation of Momentum	5 min
004	Put your head where Conservation of Energy says is safe	A cannonball is hung on a cord attached to the ceiling and then pulled back to one's nose and released.	Conservation of Mechanical Energy	5 min
005	High-Low-Straight Road Race with Energy Conservation as key to explaining.	Ball bearings race along three tracks joining two sets of end points ,which are at the same height and equal horizontal distances apart.	Conservation of Mechanical Energy and Utility of Viewing motion in two perpendicular directions.	10 min
006	Swiveling Chair /Hand Weights/Bike Wheel	Use a chair free to rotate about a vertical axis, a weighted bicycle wheel , and some hand weights to illustrate angular momentum effects.	Conservation of Angular Momentum	10 min
009	Free Fall at Constant Acceleration	Drop cords are set up to have weights attached in specific spacing intervals to illustrate free fall. Use the disappearance of water streaming from a bottle under free fall conditions to make a point.	Kinematics of Constant Linear Acceleration	15 min
010	Inertia and Pressure	Use a bed of nails and a sledgehammer to make points about inertia and pressure.	Inertia and Distribution of Force over a Large Number of Contact Points Shown as Concepts Allowing Non Fatal Use of Nail Beds	10 min
011	Visualization of Buoyant Force as Proportional to Displaced Volume of Water	Float a red plastic bowl in a container of water under differing amounts of load in the bowl. See amount of water displaced change accordingly.	Buoyant force is equal to the weight of the water displaced by the submerged part of the boat hull.	5 min
013	Guinea and Feather Tube ALTERNATIVES	Make use of a paper falling freely; then let the paper drop simultaneously with a book while it is on top of the book. Drop a soda bottle full of steel bearings at the same time as an empty identical bottle.	Show that light objects fall at same rate as heavy ones if the effects of air resistance can be adjusted.	5 min
015	Fire Extinguisher Rocket Cart	Use a fire extinguisher to propel yourself across the lecture room floor.	Newton's 3rd LawConservation of Momentum	5 min
017	Inertia, Torque, Wheelies and the 3rd Law	Use the rocket cart (minus its motor )to illustrate concepts of friction and inertia.	Friction and Inertial Effects in Vehicle Motion	5 min
024	Rolling Without Slipping	Roll a basketball along two 2-meter sticks.	Rolling Motion of Rigid Bodies	5 min
025	Claw hammer and hinged board	Counter intuitive behavior of a claw hammer hanging from a hinged board is shown.	Newton's 3rd Law	5 min
026	Newton's Cradle and Pool Table Option	A giant economy size Cradle is set up with bowling balls.	Conservation of Momentum and Energy	5 min
028	Uniform Circular Motion	Corks floating inside water filled jars can be used to show experimental facts of uniform circular motion.	Centripetal Acceleration	5 min
030	Tug-of-War contest on a cart	A tug-of-war with one contestant on wheels can illustrate the strategy for winning such a contest.	Friction and the 3rd Law of Motion	5 min
032	Inertia and Breaking Threads	Controlling the breaking of threads attached above and below a hanging mass can be achieved by judicious gradual increase of tension or impulsive jerk increase of tension in the threads.	Inertia - Newton's 1st Law	5 min
033	Inertia and Snatching Tablecloth Out from Under Tableware	Place a Plate and glass of water on a slick piece of cloth on the lecture table and jerk the cloth out without disturbing the place setting.	Inertia - Newton's 1st Law	5 min
048	Super Ball-Dead Ball	Drop 2 balls, to observe that one bounces back, one does not bounce back.	Conservation of Mechanical Energy	5 min
061	Steel Plate and Arm Push On Each Other	A steel plate pushes an arm while the plate "feels" the arm push back.	3rd Law of Motion	5 min
062	Center of Mass of an Irregularly-Shaped Board	Hang an irregularly-shaped body by a single point to locate its center of mass.	Center of Mass	5 min
063	Leaning Tower of Pisa Model	Change theheight of a model Leaning Tower of Pisa to find that the center of mass no longer resides over the base of the model.	Center of Mass	5 min
064	A Mop's Center of Mass	Using a cut mop and inequality of the weight on each side to show center of mass	Center of Mass	5 min
066	Small Air Track for Newton's Laws	Use the track and carts as needed.	Newton's Laws of Motion	5 min
067	The behavior of a water-filled plastic bottle in free fall.	Two holes in bottle will not spill water when tossed in the air.	Gravitational acceleration is constant at all times during free fall of the bottle.	5 min
068	Newton's 3rd Law on a Wheel Chair	Move a wheel chair using a rope	Newton's 3rd Law	5 min
069	Newton's 3rd Law on a Chair with wheels	Move a chair with wheels using a rope	Newton's 3rd Law	5 min
072	Simple Form Projectile Motion	Project and drop two objects simultaneously	Projectile Motion	5 min
073	Moment of Inertia with Mystery Batons	Rotate batons in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis	Moment of Inertia	5 min
076	Oscillations with a Wilberforce Pendulum and Small Newton's Cradle	Coupled oscillations (rotational and longitudinal) in a Wilberforce Pendulum	Coupled Oscillations	5 min
077	Simple Pendulum on Stand	Use short, rapid pecking forces in contrast to small, timed forces to create an oscillating motion of big amplitude.	Resonance build up may be achieved by properly timed small driving forces.	5 min
078	Transverse Wave and Pulse Demonstrator	A torsional rod apparatus shows particle movement in a transverse wave.	Transverse Waves	5 min
081	Races On Inclined Plane with Rotational Inertia As Judge of Outcome	Race different aluminum disks down inclined planes.	Rotational Inertia	5 min
082	Tension in String Visualized in Concept	Measure the tension in a string using mass, pulley, and a tubular-spring-balance scale.	Newton's Laws, String Tension	5 min
083	Happy versus Unhappy Ball Collisions With The Same Plastic Domino	Collide two different balls with a plastic domino under controlled conditions.	Conservation of Momentum Conservation of Energy or Not	5 min
089	Large Air Track For Bigger Lecture Halls	A variety of motion in one dimension examples can be shown easily.	Kinematics and Dynamics in One Dimension	5 min
101	Bathroom Scales for Force, Torque	One may stand on a board which spans two sets of scales.	Quantify Equilibrium Calculations	5 min
109	Uniform Circular Motion(Simple Form)	Use A Ball Bearing and Two 6.5 Inch Diameter PVC Rings on Overhead	Uniform Circular Motion Ceases If Central Force Disappears	5 min
110	Simple Inclined Plane and Simple Friction Demonstrating Elements	Demonstrate Coefficient of Friction Calculations From Measurements	Friction Force = [Mu]Times {Normal Force]	5 min
111	Yet Another Uniform Circular Motion Option	Tennis Ball Tethered To A Cork Cylinder For Convenient Safe Rotation	Tension Lets Cork Describe Horizontal Circles At Constant Speed	3 min
112	Loop-The -Loop	Dedicated Track for Allowing Ball to Navigate Vertical Circle Without Free Falling	Conservation of Energy and Centripetal Force	5 min
114	Roller Coaster Track and Ball	Set Up Physics Stand Roller Coaster Board	Exchange of Potential and Kinetic Energy for Rolling Ball	5 min
115	Detailed Instructions for Pasco Ballistic ball catcher	Shoot Ball upwards From Moving Cart and Watch It Return To Launching Cup	Independence of Horizontal and Vertical Motion For Projectiles	5 min
116	Newton's Second Law By Means of Fan Cart	Run Fan Cart On Low friction Track	Constant Force, Varying Mass, Varying Direction Of Force Studied	10 min
117	Dominos for Chain Reaction	Stack Scaled Set of Dominos and Knock Huge One Over With Tiny Input Energy	Exponentially Increasing Release of Gravitational Potential Energy	5 min
118	Arm-Waving Angular Momentum Conservation	Matchbook-String-Cup. Keep Cup From Falling to Floor By Matchbook Wrapping Several Times Around Finger	Shortening Lever Arm of Particle Moving in Circle on String , Speeds it Up	5 min
122	Linear Momentum of Medicine Ball Shown to Be an Angular Momentum Also	Sit In Barber Chair and Throw Medicine Ball Along Two Carefully Chosen Horizontal Lines	Linear Momentum Can Also Be Angular Momentum	5 min
135	Fan Cart Run on 2M Track With Position Time Displays On Computer	Hook Up Sensors As Outlined In This Write Up and The Next and Take High Tech Data	Position Time Curves For Constant Applied Forces	15 min
136	More High Tech Position Time Measurements With Pasco Carts	Continuation Of Methods Of Previous Experiment	Checks on Kinematic Relations	10 min
141	Coupled Linear and Angular Acceleration Lasting for Several Minutes	Use The Small Angular Momentum Bike Wheel to Wind a String With Attached Mass Around	Show That A Linear Acceleration of A String Unwinding from Around the Axle of A Wheel is Directly Associated With The Angular Acceleration of The Wheel	5 min
142	Small Torque Angular Motion	Spinning The Heavy Bike Wheel Up To A Large Angular Speed by Hand ,Gives it Enough Energy To Run For Several Minutes	Use The Heavier Angular Momentum Bike Wheel To Show Constant Angular Velocity in The Absence Of Frictional Torque	5 min
143	Board Leaned Against Wall For Ladder Statics	Simulate The Static Condition Of a Ladder Leaning Against A Wall	Sum of Torques and of Forces Must Be Zero For Static Equilibrium	5 min
152	Torsional Pendulum	Use an old Mechanical Apparatus For Producing a Torsional Mode of Vibration	Torsional Simple Harmonic Motion	5 min
166	New Shoot The Monkey Setup	Use the Pasco Mini-Launcher With Its High -Tech Accessories To Show Independence Of Horizontal And Vertical Components Of Motion In The Gravitational Field In The Lab	Projectile Motion Of Particles	10 min
167	Flattening Of Earth At Poles Shown By Spinning Of Flexible Hoops	Stick the Hoop Apparatus On A Mechanical Rotator And See It Squashed Down At The Top	Rotation Effects On Rigid Bodies	5 min
169	Round Spring Balance, Calibrated In Newtons, Can Weigh An Apple	Hook Various Bodies Which Weigh A Few Newtons To the Balance To Give A feel for the Magnitude Of One Newton	Perhaps An Apple Did Inspire Sir Isaac Newton	5 min
170	Newton's Third Law Illustrated With An Inclined Plane	A Block Of Wood, An Old Toy Car, and A Smooth Inclined Plane Helps Conceptualize Newton's Third Law	You Cannot Touch Without Being Touched	10 min
172	Shepard's Crook Pink Ball Release And Catch By Ballistic Cart	A Ball Riding Above A Pocket In A Cart Is Released While The Cart Is Coasting At Constant Speed	Parabolic Trajectories In Lab Frame May Be Straight Line Trajectories In Moving Systems	15 min
173	Hooke's Law With A Conical Spring And Added Loads	Verify Hooke's Law By Measurement Of Spring Extensions For Given Loads	Show Stretching Results For Given Loads In A Graphic Manner	5 min
174	Horizontal Version Of Basketball Softball Collision With Earth	Use Lemmon Impact Apparatus Steel Balls (3:1) Mass Ratio To Make Point	For Two Objects Colliding, Can Get Interesting Outcomes	10 min
182	Newton's Third Law With Pasco Force Platforms	Dueling students: Holding Platforms and pushing against each other(Push-of-War)	Newton's Third Law	10 min
183	Springs, Oscillations, Deflections, Normal Forces and Third Law	One may show oscillations of springs and deflection of structures by normal forces using the items in this Kit.	Harmonic motion of loaded springs, and flexure of structures under applied loads	10 min
185	Vertical Bucket Swing in a Circle	Swing a bucket in vertical circles to show stability of contents for sufficiently large rotational velocity.	Central forces can hold objects in place relative to their rotating lab frame for motion in a circle.	3 min
189	Fixtures for Demonstrating States of Static Equilibrium	Use two specially constructed fixtures to show concepts of stable, unstable and neutral static equilibrium of bodies.	Small perturbations of the center of mass can lead to widely different final states .	5 min
190	Newton's First Law	Arrive at an Illustration of Inertia with the Aid of a Brass Plug, a Rubber Hammer, and a Plastic Pipe	* Hammer the brass plug upwards with only downwards blows on the pipe surrounding the plug.*	5 min
192	Old Projectile Launcher Carts	A ball shot upwards from the vertical barrel of a cannon on a moving cart will return into the barrel	Independence of vertical and horizontal components of motion is verified yet another way.	5 min
203	New Angular Momentum Hardware	Improved Rotating Chair, Bike Wheel and Wheel Spinner	Conservation of Angular Momentum Using Spinning Bike Wheel	10 min
208	Finding the CM of a weighted meter stick	Support a meter stick (which might have a weight on it) on two fingers and bring the fingers close together. The fingers will alternately slip and stick (which has an interesting explanation) and eventually converge below the CM of the weighted stick	Center of mass, Equilibrium, torque, friction	5 min
014a	Clown on Unicycle	A Toy Clown Rides The High Wire on A Unicycle	Stability of Bodies Hanging Under a Support	5 min

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
036	States of Matter	Liquid N2 and a Banana are used to make a novel edible hammer.	Matter, Phase Changes	5 min
037	States of Matter	Liquid N2, a racquetball, tongs, and a balloon help show aspects of Low Temperature Physics.	Matter, Phase Changes	5 min
038	Plasma State of Matter	Explode a wire with the help of capacitor stored energy.	Plasma State of Matter	5 min
092	Diffusion of Dye in Tank of Water	Put a drop of dye into a container of water and observe the spreading of the dye material.	Molecular diffusion	5 min
196	Principle of Equivalence	Use a dedicated plastic tube with an internal spring and captive spherical mass to see the results of the ball's weight disappearing under free fall conditions.	A uniformly accelerated reference frame is equivalent to a gravitational field.	5 min
197	Candle flames in a closed free fall container go out.	Use a dedicated plastic and rubber candle holder to drop, while standing on top of the lecture table , to observe the flame extinguishing under free fall conditions.	Vertical hydrostatic pressure variation in the air surrounding a candle is necessary for continuous burning. This pressure variation disappears under (windless) free fall conditions in the container	10 min
198	Coin and Feather Tube New Pump and Comments	A cylindrical tube houses a patch of silk and a quarter dollar coin. When the tube is evacuated , the two bodies fall at the same rate. When air is let back into the tube, the coin falls much faster than the patch of silk.	Air resistance can play a large role in free fall properties of different bodies.	15 min

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
007	Radiometer , Propane Torch, and Cherry- Red Heated Expansion Ball for Blackbody Radiation	Use a radiometer , flashlight , and heated iron ball to see the radiometer spin thanks to the invisible infrared radiation coming from the flashlight and from the ball.	Heated surfaces kick residual air molecules away from them and rebound appropriately.	5 min
027	Photoelectric Effect	Illuminate a negatively-charged mass to discharge electrons (using an electroscope).	Photoelectric Effect and Photoelectrons	5 min
031	Atomic Nature of Matter	Use electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen.	Electrolysis, Atomic Nature of Matter	5 min
039	Atomic Spectrum System	A mercury lamp and a diffraction-grating lens and slit attachment can produce spectral lines on a screen visible to the whole room.	Quantization, Characteristic Atomic Spectra	5 min
074	Radioactive Bowl and Geiger Counter	Measure the radioactivity of a bowl	Radioactivity	5 min
094	Molecular Motion Simulation	A mechanical overhead-projector shaker of little spheres gives simulation of the molecular motion of a gas.	Molecular Motion	5 min
106	Demonstration Cloud Chamber	Elaborate Chamber Cooled By LN2	See Particle Tracks and Cosmic Ray Showers	30 to 50 min
107	Ping Pong Ball Nuclear Fission Simulation	Elaborate (20+ Cubic Feet) Structure for Putting Up To 200 Ping Pong Balls Into Chaotic Motion at One Time	Model of Chain Reaction In Nuclear Decay	15 min
113	Brownian Motion	Cell For Viewing Motion of Smoke Particles Under A Microscope	Air is Made Up of Many Tiny Unseen Particles	10 min

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
018	Small Version of the Smoke Box For Plane Mirror and Refraction	Smoke box , mirror, and water tank used to show plane mirror reflection and refraction of laser beam.	Snell's Law and Angles of Incidence, Refraction, and Reflection	5 min
019	Single and Double Slit Diffraction	Use dedicated slit sets and a 5 mW HeNe laser to produce diffraction patterns on a screen.	Single and Double Slit Diffraction	10 min
020	Soap Film Interference AKA 132	Look at interference from reflections of strong light from a soap film.	Thin Film Interference	5 min
021	Plane Mirror Incident and Reflected Rays	Show a beam of laser light reflecting from a plane mirror with the aid of chalk dust.	Incident and reflected rays form equal angles with the normal to the mirror at the point of impingement and are contained in a plane along with that normal to the surface.	5 min
022	Real Image Formation	Create an image of a coin using a positive lens.	Image Formation	5 min
023	Poisson's Spot	Use a laser with a spatial filter, shining upon a small ball bearing.	Bright Spot at Center of Shadow	15 min
041	Fluorescence, Detergents, whiter than white	Observe the action of an ultraviolet light on detergent.	Fluorescence	5 min
053	Total Internal Reflection - Using a Water Stream as a Light Guide	Laser light is carried out in a stream of water from a hole in a bucket.	Total Internal Reflection	5 min
054	Total Internal Reflection - Coiled Plastic Tube	Guide a laser beam light inside a Coiled Plastic Tube	Total Internal Reflection	5 min
057	Prism Spectrum of White Light and Recombination of Colors to White Light	Use prisms to disperse white light into a spectrum then recombine the light.	Prism Dispersion	5 min
058	The effect (or lack of an effect) of a Prism on Laser Light	Show that laser ight is not broken up into a spectrum with a prism.	Laser Light	5 min
084	Phosphorescent Mask	Black light on a phosphorescent mask gives a highly visible effect.	Quantum mechanical effects	5 min
085	Floating Professor	Apparent levitation of professor is achieved with the aid of a plane mirror hidden in a cubical framework.	Reflection	5 min
086	3 Dimensional Image of Pink Pig	A Pink Pig inside two concave mirrors has herself duplicated in three dimensions.	Concave Mirrors	5 min
087	Real Image on Wall With Concave Mirror	Real images from curved mirrors and diffuse and specular reflections of laser light can be realized with this apparatus.	Image Formation from Curved Mirrors	5 min
088	Bending a Stick with Refractive Index	A stick is placed in a container of water and appears to be bent.	Index of Refraction	5 min
090	Smoke Box Elements To Show Live Ray Diagrams For Lenses and/or Mirrors	Place smoke box sections together, with lenses and mirrors inside, and activate the smoke source.	Live ray diagrams are created for lenses and mirrors.	5 min
091	Bouncing Laser Beam Trough	A laser beam sent through a water/syrup refractive index gradient follows a curved path.	Index of Refraction	5 min
108	Polarization of Light	Use Various Optical Elements To Produce and View Polarized Light	Polarized Light Properties and Uses	10 min
127	Measure The Wavelength Of Light Accurately in Class With a Steel Machinist's Ruler	Shine The Big Laser Off The Dedicated Rule and Fixture	Diffraction Can Yield Wavelength	15 min
130	Snell's Law With Aid of Smoke Box	Set Up Smoke Box With a Tray of Soapy Water inside And Watch The Refraction	Snell's Law and Scattering Of Laser Beam	5 min
132	Thin Film Interference With A Dedicated Reflected Light Apparatus	New Setup Allows Rapid Attainment of Interference Pattern on Wall	Light Follows Different Paths From Front and Back Surfaces and Interferes With Itself	10 min
137	Microwave Optics and Evanescent Wave Tunneling Through Split Prism	Use Microwave Generator and Receivers To Study Waves Through A Set Of Prisms	Evanescent Wave Tunneling	10 min
138	Newton's Third Law With Data Studio-Science Workshop, Computer, Force Sensors	Set Up Two Carts, Two Force Sensors, and Fiddle With The Electronics	Graphic Newton's Third Law	10 min
145	Laser Beam In Air Seen By Scattering From Dust Particles	Shine A Laser Across The Front of Room and Make it Visible By Introducing Chalk Dust In Its Path	Light Needs Scattering From Obstacles To Be Seen in Many Situations	2 min
157	Quartz Light For Infrared	Use A Variac and Two Quartz Tubes To Demonstrate "White Hot" and Infrared Heat	Heating Effect Of The Infrared	5 min
158	Brewster's Angle By Laser Reflection off Plastic Block	Use A Large Plastic Block and The 5 mw Demonstration Laser To Show Brewster's Angle	Linear Polarization Of Reflected Light	5 min
168	Two Dimensional Diffraction Pattern Formed By A Laser Beam Sent Through A Sieve	Use Fine-Meshed Sieve To Diffract Laser Light Into An Interference Pattern	Light Squeezing Through Small Spaces Can Be Made To Interfere With Itself	2 min
171	Spectral Tubes For Lecture Hall	Power Supplies And Tubes Give Out Light Which Students Can View In Handout Gratings	Different Materials Have Characteristic Emission Lines	20 min
181	Partially Open-Cavity, Single Brewster-Window Laser	Hands-On ,Conceptually-Transparent View of the Lasing Process	Laser Action	10 min
186	Nicol Prisms for Double Refraction	Show double refraction of a beam of light passing through a pinhole on an overhead- projector- baffled- stage by means of a Nicol prism.	Some materials transport light at two different speeds.	3 min
188	Laser Hologram of Telephone Handset	Shine a laser beam through a 35mm slide to see a holographic image of a telephone hand set on a screen.	A suitably exposed piece of photographic film can reconstruct an image of an object with the aid of laser interference.
191	Inverse Square Law Model	Three plastic square discs are spaced at 17, 34, and 51 cm from a 'point source' on a framework.	Rays passing through one unit of area at unit distance, pass through 4 units of area at double that distance, etc.	5 min
199	Alternate Smoke Box Live Ray Optics Diagrams	Lay Plastic Lenses and Blocks on White Backdrops and View Laser Beams Modifications with the Aid of The Document Camera	Show Ray diagrams Involved in Image Formation Live.	10 min

Ref #	Title	Details	Physics	Run Time
034	Compressional Standing Sound Wave	Use a flame tube to demonstrate a standing wave in gas.	Standing Sound Waves;Line of Fire is Consistent with Analogies Used by Some to Motivate deBroglie wave length of atomic particles by Rings of Fire	5 min
056	Removal of Bare Radio Speaker Phase Cancellation	A speaker is placed against a cardboard baffle with a hole in it.	Sound Waves	5 min
065	Acoustic Version of Young's Double Slit	Two speakers are hooked in series to a function generator and placed about 1 m apart on the lecture table.	Waves from two fixed sources overlap to give lines of constructive and destructive interference.	5 min
075	Doppler Shift Whistle (Hi-Tech Version)	A whistle on a horizontally rotating beam doppler-shifts with each rotation	Doppler Shift	5 min
079	Breathe Helium and Speak With a High Voice	Talking with a lungfull of helium can alter the quality of one's voice.	Sound generated by a person's vocal box depends on the density of the gas in the lungs.	5 min
080	Resonant Sound Waves	Create distinct sound waves with tuning forks and organ pipes.	Resonance	5 min
119	Longitudinal Waves	Spring Coupled Vertical Rods Simulate Longitudinal Waves	Nodes, AntiNodes, Standing Waves for Longitudinal Waves
120	Simple Harmonic Motion of A Loaded Spring	Let Various Masses Hang From Spring and Observe Oscillations	Properties of Simple Harmonic Motion	5 min
123	Ripple Tank Wave Generator	Set Up Large Ripple Tank and Try To Achieve Visible Patterns For Class	Disturbing A Water Surface Leads To Waves	20 min
126	Resonance In An Open Tube Induced By Noisy Flame	Light A Burner and Lower The Big Ceramic Tube over the Flame	Suitability of Open Tubes To Amplify Sounds	2 min
147	Long Spring Tied to Door Latch for Transverse Waves & Pulses	Use A Long Spring To Set Up Pulses and Waves by Hand	Show Properties of Mechanical Waves	5 min
148	Compressional Pulses Shown With Aid of a Slinky on Lecture Table Top	Use A Slinky As A Medium In Which To Set Up Compressional Pulses	See Differences Between Transverse and Compressional Pulses	5 min
150	Sound Waves Displayed on Science Workshop Interface	Use A Science Workshop Interface and Sound Detector To Show Waveforms And Fourier Transforms To Students	Mathematical Form of Typical Pure Sound Waves & Frequency Components of More Complex Waves	10 min
151	Small Speakers Fed by Tone Generator for Interference of Sound Waves	Feed A Common Signal to Two Small Speakers and Listen To the Interference of Their Outputs	Sound waves generated by two small speakers placed side by side can interfere with each other in a fashion detectable by the human ear.	5 min
156	Horizontal (Compressional) Spring and Resonance	Use a Dedicated Apparatus For Showing A Real Compressional Spring and Some of Its Possible Excitations	Resonant Frequencies of Mechanical Systems	5 min
179	Transverse Standing Waves in a Rubber Cord fed by a Motor-Driven Rod	A Motor-Driven Rod Apparatus has been Streamlined and Put on A Dedicated Cart for Producing Transverse Waves in a Rubber Cord	Standing waves Can Be Realized in a Cord fixed at one end and driven by a Transverse Periodic Pulsing at the other end, if an appropriate tension is maintained in the cord.	10 min
184	Mechanical Wave Driver and Resonance on A Circular Wire	A mechanical driver powered by an acoustical speaker cone and a function generator is used to excite standing waves on a circular loop of stiff wire.	Standing waves on a circular wire may be used to motivate the notion of wave-particle duality.	5 min
194	* Vortex Generator*	Hold a wooden box in one hand and rap sharply on its rubber sheet back face to send a vortex ring flying out the front face.	Vortex Rings can Carry Energy and Momentum Through the Room	5 min
200	Break A Wine Glass With A Sound Wave	By positioning a wineglass appropriately near a powerful speaker one may induce resonance and effect a catastophic failure of the internal structure of the the glass.	Sound waves can transport enough energy into a target to destroy it.	15 min

Physics Demonstrations