Physics News from the AIP No 2, Term 1 2005 s6

Physics News from the AIP Term 2, No 2, 2013 Table of Contents 1. Industry to Classroom: Speakers for schools 2. Synchrotron Lab Session Bookings are open 3. Checkpoints: Detailed solutions by Colin Hopkins 4. Teacher Vacancy: 2nd Semester 5. AIP 2013 Travelling Scholarship awarded 6. App for Unit 4 Electric Power 7. A Boy and his Atom: The World's Smallest Movie 8. Astronomy Resources from the UK National Schools' Observatory 9. Forthcoming events for Students and the General Public * a) Lectures for Physics Students: Applications of photonics, 6pm, 9th May, University of Melbourne b) Understanding our weird Universe: common sense won't save you, 6:30pm, 17th May, Swinburne University c) Lectures for Physics Students: Energy Issues, 6pm, 23rd May, University of Melbourne 10. Physics News from the Web a) Graphene loudspeaker could rival commercial speakers and earphones b) 100 second video: How can quantum techniques improve the efficiency of solar cells? c) Dark lightning sheds light on gamma-ray mystery

* Events listed for the first time are in bold with details below. The details of the other events can be found on our website at www.vicphysics.org/forthcomingevents.html or in previous newsletters at www.vicphysics.org/aipnews.html

This newsletter is compiled by the Australian Institute of Physics (Victorian Branch) Education Committee.

This year the AIP Education Committee will be meeting at Kew High School, normally on the second Tuesday of the month from 5pm – 7pm, the next meeting is on Tuesday, 14th May. All teachers are welcome to attend this or any other meeting. You don't need to be a member of the AIP to get involved. If you would like to attend, please contact the chair, Sue Grant, at [email protected] .

1. Industry to Classroom: Speakers for schools The 'Industry to Classroom' project is a volunteer program by a group of engineers concerned about students' perception of science and technology and the career opportunities it offers. They offer one hour talks for Year 9 and Year 10 students. The presentations cover several disciplines of engineering including AeroSpace, Civil, Renewable, Software Systems, Telecommunications (see list of topics below)

Each presentation starts with the Presenter's 'My Story', describing their journey from the Year 9 classroom to where they are today and then moves to a particular engineering solution.

The format of the presentation is interactive, with questions and exercises to keep the students engaged, provoking them to inquire, analyse and challenge themselves for the duration of the presentation.

Topics include: Civil Engineering The Internet Portable Audio Mobile Applications Evolution to IP-TV Software Systems Construction Projects A380 Airbus Renewable Energy, Climate Change & Sustainability Living in a spatial connected world Mobile Communications For more details about the program and the speakers or to make a booking, go to their website: http://www.industrytoclassroom.org/

2. Synchrotron Lab Session Bookings are open Bookings for the Unit 4 laboratory sessions at the Australian Synchrotron are open and filling fast. Each year, the Australian Synchrotron offers full day excursions during Term 3. These include a tour of the facility and practical experiments suitable for SACs. There are two laboratory sessions available; one designed for the Interactions of Light and Matter study and the other designed for the Synchrotron and its Applications detailed study.

The sessions are free and are often fully booked before the middle of term 2, so book soon to ensure your preferred date. Details on experiments performed, class sizes and times can be found at the Australian Synchrotron’s website http://www.synchrotron.org.au/ in the education section. You may then make your booking online.

Queries should be directed to Leanne Wallace ([email protected]) or Jonathan de Booy ([email protected]).

3. Checkpoints: Detailed solutions by Colin Hopkins Colin Hopkins provides regular email support to beginning physics teachers with his teaching notes and solutions to the questions in Checkpoints. His solutions have been put on the vicphysics website at www.vicphysics.org/hopkins.html along with other material from his CDs.

If you wish to be on Colin's mailing list contact him at [email protected] .

4. Teacher Vacancy: 2nd Semester Mercy College, a catholic girls' school is seeking a part time Year 11 and 12 Physics Teacher for Semester Two 2013 (fixed term contract). Experience in teaching VCE Physics highly desirable, support of the Catholic ethos of the College is expected, possibility of junior science and Year 11 mathematics also exists. If interested please contact: Dr Michelle Cotter (Principal) on 9319 9299 or [email protected]

5. AIP 2013 Travelling Scholarship awarded The AIP Travelling Scholarship for 2013 has been awarded to Milorad Cerovac from The King David School in Armadale. He will be making a presentation in the Secondary Space Education Session at the 64th International Astronautical Congress in Beijing in September.

At the Physics Teachers' Conference next year, Milorad will be presenting a workshop on his experiences.

If you would like to consider applying for the scholarship for next year, go to our website www.vicphysics.org/scholarship.html for information on possible conferences, etc.

6. App for Unit 4 Electric Power While not directly related to the course content, the app shows Australia's energy consumption, and the energy flow around Australia. It is called Sparky Pro and is produced by Phanalytics Pty. Ltd. It is free and can be downloaded at https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/sparky-pro/id558275210?mt=8 Its size is 3.6 MB and is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. It requires iOS 5.1 or later. The app is optimised for iPhone 5. The app gives close to real time info on the electrical energy flow between the states that are linked in Australia. It also gives information on all the power generation plants connected to the grid including type, capacity and current output. You need to register to get a password to use it.

Submitted by Paul Fielding, Billanook College

7. A Boy and his Atom: The World's Smallest Movie 'Wallace and Gromit' is a form of stop motion animation using clay figures. IBM have just produced a stop motion animation using individual atoms. Each atom was placed on a substrate in turn and moved into position to make up a frame, the image was then recorded. The atoms were then moved into new positions for the next frame. The atoms were moved by a scanning electron microscope. The story of a boy and his atom can be seen as a youtube video, it lasts for about 100 seconds. There is also a 4 minute video showing how the film was made. The speakers are enthusiastic, young, male and female and explain their work well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oSCX78-8-q0

8. Astronomy Resources from the UK National Schools' Observatory Schools in the UK have access to a professional robotic telescope. The telescope was conceived, funded, designed and built in Merseyside by Liverpool John Moores University, but due to the inclement weather in the UK, it is located on a small island off the coast of Africa. Schools elsewhere do not have access to the telescope, but their website has an extensive range of classroom resources.

The address is http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/ . Select 'Teacher Zone', then 'Resources'. There are also videos in the 'Student Zone'.

9. Forthcoming events for Students and General Public * a) Lectures for Physics Students: Applications of photonics, 6pm, 9th May, University of Melbourne This series of lectures is specifically designed to cover the Years 11 and 12 VCE Study Design. The lectures, of about 1 hour duration, are held on Thursdays at 6pm in the Laby Theatre of the School of Physics. Some light refreshments are available before the lectures.

The speaker is Dr Wayne Rowland of Swinburne University. The talk will be relevant to Unit 2 Light and Unit 4 Photonics.

Details about the lecture series can be found at http://outreach.physics.unimelb.edu.au/VCE/Lecture-Series b) Understanding our weird Universe: common sense won't save you, 6:30pm, 17th May, Swinburne University Presenter: Dr Jonathan Whitmore, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing Time: 6.30pm to 7.30pm Venue: Swinburne University, Hawthorn Campus, ATC Building, ATC101

Abstract: Two foundational physical theories of science: Quantum Physics and General Relativity are counter-intuitive descriptions of reality. They also form the foundation upon which much of our modern technology depends: from MRI machines, to lasers, to GPS. The methods of science are not the methods of common sense -- in fact, relying on common sense will almost assuredly lead down a false path. This talk will include a brief history of the scientific method, its stunning successes over the centuries. It will conclude with examples of some of the strange features of both Quantum Physics and General Relativity.

To book https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14SnVUYAmR15Acc4B87bfof5DCUpbevLTkcGM3Jlxgdo/viewform c) Lectures for Physics Students: Energy Issues, 6pm, 23rd May, University of Melbourne This series of lectures is specifically designed to cover the Years 11 and 12 VCE Study Design. The lectures, of about 1 hour duration, are held on Thursdays at 6pm in the Laby Theatre of the School of Physics. Some light refreshments are available before the lectures.

The speaker is Dr Geoff Hudson, who is an inventor, and sometime guest on the ABC science program “Ockham’s Razor”. . The talk will be relevant to Units 1 & 2 Sustainable Energy Resources.

Details about the lecture series can be found at http://outreach.physics.unimelb.edu.au/VCE/Lecture-Series

10. Physics News from the Web Items selected from the bulletins of the Institute of Physics (UK) and the American Institute of Physics. Each item below includes the introductory paragraphs and a web link to the rest of the article. a) Graphene loudspeaker could rival commercial speakers and earphones b) 100 second video: How can quantum techniques improve the efficiency of solar cells? c) Dark lightning sheds light on gamma-ray mystery a) Graphene loudspeaker could rival commercial speakers and earphones http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2013/mar/29/graphene-loudspeaker-could-rival-commercial- speakers-and-earphones Researchers in the US have made a graphene loudspeaker that has an excellent frequency response across the entire audio frequency range (20 Hz–20 kHz). While the speaker has no specific design, it is already as good as, or even better than, certain commercial speakers and earphones in terms of both frequency response and power consumption. b) 100 second video: How can quantum techniques improve the efficiency of solar cells? http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/multimedia/2013/apr/04/how-can-quantum-techniques-improve-the- efficiency-of-solar-cells c) Dark lightning sheds light on gamma-ray mystery http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2013/apr/17/dark-lightning-sheds-light-on-gamma-ray-mystery Scientists in the US say they have found a dramatic new electrical-discharge mechanism that could explain how thunderstorms can produce flashes of gamma radiation. Called "dark lightning", the effect is silent, invisible to the eye and a potential threat to aeroplane passengers – at least according to the researchers' models. This is because such lightning has the potential to produce intense terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) and could deliver a radiation dose equal to a full-body X-ray-tomography (CT) scan to nearby air travellers.