Physics News from the AIP No 2, Term 1 2005 s3

Physics News from the AIP Term 2, No 5, 2010

Table of Contents 1. Dates for Physics Consultation Forums on the Draft Curriculum. 2. Forthcoming events for: Students and the General Public * a) The dark ages of the universe, 6:30pm, Friday 18th June, Swinburne University, Hawthorn Campus b) Experience the Universe in 3D, school holidays, Swinburne University 3. Forthcoming events for Teachers * a) Diamond-based photonic devices and their applications, 17 June, 6:30pm, University of Melbourne. AIP Vic Branch Meeting b) July Lectures in Physics, Fridays in July, 8pm, University of Melbourne c) Carbon Capture & Storage under the Spotlight, Thursday, 22nd July 6:00pm - 8:00pm, University of Melbourne 4. Physics News from the Web a) Players attack aerodynamics of the World Cup ball. UK researcher defends the 'roundest' ball ever b) Spotting fake bank notes with butterfly colour. Structural colour of Papilio blumei recreated in the lab c) Entangling photons with electricity. 'Entangled' LED could help make quantum computer

* 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, 13th July. All teachers are welcome to attend this or any other meeting, if you would like to attend, please contact the chair, Sue Grant, at [email protected] .

1. Dates for Physics Consultation Forums on the Draft Curriculum The current VCE Physics course has only a couple of years to run. The draft of the new course is now available for review. It has significant implications for teachers and students. Teachers are encouraged to participate in the consultation to ensure their voice is heard.

Consultation forums will be held in the week beginning Monday 19th July at the following locations: Sunshine West Tuesday, 20th July Northcote Wednesday, 21st July Kew Monday, 19th July Ringwood Wednesday, 21st July Mentone Thursday, 22nd July Mt Eliza Thursday, 22nd July Geelong Monday, 19th July Warrnambool Thursday, 22nd July Horsham Tuesday, 20th July Ballarat Wednesday, 21st July Mildura Wednesday, 21st July Bendigo Tuesday, 20th July Shepparton Wednesday, 21st July Sale Monday, 19th July

All forums, except the forum at Mildura will run from 4:30 - 6:30pm. The forum at Mildura will run from 5:00 - 7:00pm.

To register please email the AIP at [email protected] with subject ‘Registration: Consultation forum’, giving your name and school and your chosen location. The draft of the Physics curriculum is available at www.vicphysics.org/nationalcurriculum.html .

There will be an earlier consultation forum on the last Friday of the school holidays, Friday 9th July from 10:00am until 2:00pm at Kew High School. This is for the presenters of the above forums to go through the presentation and discussion questions. Teachers are welcome to register for this.

Other ways of participating in the consultation process hat have been organised by VCAA and ACARA include: 1. Online survey http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/natcurric/consultation.html Go down the page and select ‘Australian Curriculum Consultation: Science 11 - 12’, then move through to Physics. The survey should take about 20 minutes depending on how many comments you make.

2. Regional consultation forums Regional consultations for the English, History, Mathematics and Science subjects will be held across Victoria in the week beginning 21st June. The two hour session will introduce all subjects then break up into specific groups. Check http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/natcurric/ for dates and venues and also to register.

3. Study-specific forums VCAA will be conducting a consultation forum for the Science subjects at the Melbourne Business School (200 Leicester Street, Carlton). It will be on Tuesday 20th July from 2:00pm until 5:00pm. The forum is designed to provide the opportunity for subject associations, academics and parents, as well as teachers and principals, to provide feedback on the draft senior secondary documents. To register go to http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/natcurric/registrations.html

2. Forthcoming events for Students and General Public a) The dark ages of the universe, 6:30pm, Friday 18th June, Swinburne University, Hawthorn Campus Presenter: Stuart Wyithe, Melbourne University Venue: EN building, Room: EN515, Swinburne University, Hawthorn campus Time: 6.20 pm for a 6.30 pm start Duration: 1 hour including questions Places are limited so please RSVP to Liz Thackray via email [email protected] Free Astronomy Public Lectures. Each month, from February to November, the Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing will be putting on a free public lecture at the Hawthorn campus of Swinburne University of Technology. b) Experience the Universe in 3D, school holidays, Swinburne University During the Winter break Swinburne University will be running a series of 3D Astro Tours for the general public. Join one of their Astro Tour guides on a journey through the Universe in 3D. Sessions will feature the 3D movies "Bigger Than Big" and "Extreme Places", Dates: Wednesday 30 June at 2.00pm, Wednesday 7 July at 2.00 pm and Thursday 8 July 7.00 pm Seats available: 55 (max). Duration: 50 minutes. Suitable for: Ages 7 years and over Cost: $10 per person (inc GST) payment can be made at the door. Venue: Swinburne University, Hawthorn campus, AR104 next to Haddons coffee shop Directions: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/outreach/?topic=directions RSVP to Liz Thackray via email [email protected] or call 9214 5569. Please remember that places are limited so bookings are essential.

3. Forthcoming Events for Teachers a) Diamond-based photonic devices and their applications, 17 June, 6:30pm, University of Melbourne. AIP Vic Branch Meeting Speaker: Andrew Greentree, University of Melbourne Diamond has long held appeal for humanity. Now, advances in the fabrication of synthetic diamond are allowing it to play an ever increasing rule in technological applications. Perhaps the most important of these applications will be in the emerging field of quantum information. Here, diamond has unique properties based on some of the remarkable colour centres that it houses. In this talk I will describe how diamond is formed, some of physics that explains why it is such an attractive material for quantum technology, and the applications that is being used for, and will be used for to fundamental alter twenty first century technologies.

AIP Vic branch meeting: 6:30pm, with finger food (wine and soft drinks) from 6.00 pm at The University of Melbourne, Old Geology Theatre 2. b) July Lectures in Physics, Fridays in July, 8pm, University of Melbourne July 2nd The invention of laser: from Einstein to holograms - Prof David Jamieson July 9th Laser in Astronomy: from guidestars to ripples in spacetime - Professor Stuart Wyithe July 16th New light on bio molecules: The free electron laser - Professor Keith Nugent July 23rd The solid state laser: Spanning continents and computer chips - Dr. Jeff McCallum Check http://outreach.physics.unimelb.edu.au/July-Lectures-in-Physics/Program for details. c) Carbon Capture & Storage under the Spotlight, Thursday, 22nd July 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Copland Theatre, Economics and Commerce Building Free Public Lecture: Speakers Professor Ross Garnaut, Mr Barry Hooper, Dr Peter Cook

Abstract: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology with the potential to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Professor Ross Garnaut, Mr Barry Hooper (Chief Technologist CO2CRC) & Dr Peter Cook (CEO CO2CRC) will discuss the development of CCS, and in particular Australian research and demonstration projects. The lecture will be chaired by Professor Geoff Stevens (Department of Chemical Engineering) and Professor Mike Sandiford (Director, Melbourne Energy Institute).

Booking required: Website: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CO2CRC-Lecture

4. Physics News from the Web Items selected from the bulletins of the Institute of Physics (UK) and the American Institute of Physics. a) Players attack aerodynamics of the World Cup ball. UK researcher defends the 'roundest' ball ever b) Spotting fake bank notes with butterfly colour. Structural colour of Papilio blumei recreated in the lab c) Entangling photons with electricity. 'Entangled' LED could help make quantum computer a) Players attack aerodynamics of the World Cup ball. UK researcher defends the 'roundest' ball ever http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1758/92939/article/news/42886

The engineer who led the testing of the ball for the FIFA World Cup is defending the product despite a torrent of criticism from leading footballers. In the British press it is the goalkeepers who seem to be most unhappy, with the England number one, David James, describing the ball as "horrible" and "dreadful", and his Italian counterpart, Gianluigi Buffon, fearing that its "unpredictability" could ruin the tournament.

The new ball, called the Jabulani, meaning "celebrate" in isiZulu, was unveiled by the sports manufacturing firm Adidas in December of last year. Loughborough University in the UK was the exclusive research partner, where a group of engineers spent four years testing and developing the aerodynamic features of the ball. This included a "kicking robot" positioned in a wind tunnel to see how the ball responded to aerodynamic instabilities. The final design introduces a new texture, trademarked as "Grip 'n' Groove", and a new manufacturing process. When combined these features are supposed to make the ball more round and more predictable in flight

The article has a link to an in-depth article on the physics of football, i.e. soccer. b) Spotting fake bank notes with butterfly colour. Structural colour of Papilio blumei recreated in the lab http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1758/92939/article/news/42861 When it comes to head-turning fashion the animal kingdom often steals the show with its fantastic "structural colours" that can manipulate light in some weird and wonderful ways. One such beauty is Papilio blumei, a butterfly native to Indonesia, whose wings manage to combine green and blue in varying mixes depending on your viewing angle. This particular effect has now been mimicked by a group of researchers in the UK who say that their man-made structural colours could be added to bank notes to help prevent forgery.

At first glance the wings of Papilio blumei appear to be dominated by bright green coloured areas. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the wings are speckled with cavities that are yellow at the centre, gradually blending into blue at the tips. Light from the centre of the cavity is directly reflected whereas light hitting the edges is initially deflected towards a substructure in the cavity, which consists of alternating layers of cuticle and air. When it finally re-emerges, the light has been partially polarized and comprises a mixture of wavelengths, creating the effect of structural colour. c) Entangling photons with electricity. 'Entangled' LED could help make quantum computer http://physicsworld.com/cws/m/1758/92939/article/news/42847 Researchers in Cambridge in the UK have succeeded in generating entangled photons using electricity alone, with a new device called an "entangled light-emitted diode" (ELED). The device converts electrical current directly into entangled light rather than relying on laser power as in previous technology. The technique could be a practical way to integrate many entangled light sources together on a single chip – something that will be crucial for making a real-world optical quantum computer.

Entanglement allows particles to have a much closer relationship than is possible in classical physics: if two particles are entangled, we can automatically know the state of one particle by measuring the state of the other – despite the state of either being impossible to guess before the measurement. For example, two photons can be entangled such that they are always measured to have the same linear polarizations, even though we cannot predict that polarization beforehand.