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Há Tempos Que Se Apresenta A ................ 1. Introdução mais revolucionárias desenvolvidas du- rante o Século XX. Essa tecnologia en- Larissa do Nascimento Pires* á tempos que se apresenta a controu imprescindíveis aplicações em Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência necessidade de uma reformu- diversos ramos da medicina, desde te- e Tecnologia de Santa Catarina, lação do ensino de física quan- rapias médicas até procedimentos ci- Araranguá, Santa Catarina, Brasil. H to aos conteúdos abordados na rúrgicos [4]. Não somente isso, os lasers educação básica, considerando o dis- apresentaram aplicações ainda mais Israel Müller dos Santos tanciamento entre a ciência ensinada próximas do cotidiano dos alunos: além Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência no meio escolar e aquela que se apre- de alimentarem histórias de fantasia, e Tecnologia de Santa Catarina, senta, por exemplo, nos meios de comu- como a franquia Star Wars com seu Araranguá, Santa Catarina, Brasil. nicação [1]. Nesse sentido, a abordagem raio da morte, os lasers são utilizados, favorável aos conhecimentos da física por exemplo, em leitores de código de Felipe Damasio moderna e contemporânea (FMC) na barras. A existência de variedades de Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência educação básica considera que somen- lasers e suas inúmeras aplicações possi- e Tecnologia de Santa Catarina, te a partir de conceitos desenvolvidos bilita que possam ser utilizados como Araranguá, Santa Catarina, Brasil. durante o Século XX será possível en- um instrumento gerador de discussões tender, por exemplo, uma gama de fe- de vários conceitos físicos em sala de RESUMO nômenos cotidianos, além de aparelhos aula [5]. É consenso que os lasers consistem em uma das temáticas que demonstram potencial para serem e artefatos da atualidade. Além disso, a importância da exploradas no ensino de física, pelo fato de Ostermann [2], em sua pesquisa de abordagem dos lasers em sala de aula propiciarem uma aproximação com o cotidiano dos doutorado, elencou alguns dos exem- não se restringe somente à proximida- alunos e alunas, além de possibilitar a discussão plos de temáticas de FMC, apontados de dessa tecnologia com o cotidiano sobre aspectos históricos e epistemológicos pelos professores de física como essen- dos alunos, mas também “entender o presentes na construção dessa tecnologia. De fato, percebendo a relevância dos lasers na atualidade, a ciais para a formação dos alunos do en- laser e suas características nos remete temática das láureas no Prêmio Nobel de Física de sino médio; alguns desses exemplos de- à discussão de fenômenos de grande 2018 consistiu em reconhecer cientistas cujas scritos pela autora importância para o contribuições fossem relevantes para a área da física são: o efeito fotoelé- entendimento da fí- dos lasers. Nesse sentido, este trabalho objetiva “I have great faith in lasers, but articular, para o contexto de ensino de física, as trico, a relatividade no one's putting one near my sica do Século XX, contribuições desenvolvidas pelos laureados no restrita, as partículas eye!”1Donna Strickland incluindo as inter- Nobel de Física: Donna Strickland, Gérard Mourou e elementares e a ori- pretações filosófi- Arthur Ashkin. Com este artigo, espera-se contribuir gem do universo, in- cas” [6]. Sabendo com ações docentes que possam discutir, no cluindo também aparatos tecnológicos, que o desenvolvimento dos lasers ambiente de sala de aula, conhecimentos relativos à física moderna e contemporânea, além de como os lasers e as fibras ópticas. De fa- ocorreu em meio às discussões sobre problematizar elementos para a abordagem de to, a abordagem dessas temáticas é pre- a dualidade onda-partícula, sua abor- questões relativas à presença de mulheres cientistas. conizada nos documentos oficiais, co- dagem no contexto de ensino básico mo nos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacio- possibilita a apresentação desse episó- Palavras-chave: ensino de física; física nais, que descrevem que as discussões dio histórico, que é considerado um moderna e contemporânea; física dos lasers. de aspectos da FMC são “indispensáveis dos mais interessantes da história da ................ para permitir aos jovens adquirir uma física. Entretanto, diferentemente dis- compreensão mais abrangente sobre so, a realidade que se apresenta de como se constitui a matéria, de forma certa maneira consiste no enfoque que tenham contato com diferentes e pontual dos conhecimentos de FMC, o novos materiais, cristais líquidos e la- que gera “uma notória diminuição da sers presentes nos utensílios tecnológi- discussão sobre o problema físico, dos cos” [3]. envoltos epistemológicos, da história e Autor de correspondência. E-mail: larissa.n. As luzes dos lasers, em específico, filosofia da ciência” [7] presentes nes- [email protected]. são consideradas uma das ferramentas ses conhecimentos. 54 A Física na Escola, v. 18, n. 1, 2020 Com isso, argumenta-se que além produziu [13], a utilização do exemplo sas relacionadas à física dos lasers. Gé- de se desenvolver uma abordagem que do Prêmio Nobel pode suscitar outra rard Mourou, por sua vez, se graduou seja motivacional para os alunos, “tópi- discussão: a presença das mulheres na em física pela Universidade de Greno- ca e informativa como alento à exaus- ciência [13, 14]. Nesse sentido, Lima [15] ble Alpes em 1967 e obteve seu douto- tão provocada pelas aulas de física” [8], apresenta um panorama que nos faz rado na atual Universidade de Sorbon- a apresentação de conhecimentos rela- perceber a importância de se inserirem ne, em Paris, no ano de 1973. Na década tivos à FMC, como no exemplo dos la- discussões acerca da diversidade de pes- de 1980, Strickland e Mourou desenvol- sers, deve ser desenvolvida para além soas e da pluralidade de ideias na ciên- veram a técnica chirped pulse amplifica- de um aspecto informacional e comple- cia, pois os discentes geralmente com- tion, cujo objetivo era aprimorar a in- mentar aos conceitos já tradicionais preendem o empreendimento científico tensidade de pulsos de lasers ultracur- abordados; devem ser explorados de sem “a colaboração de mulheres, lati- tos [21, 22]. maneira que os alunos entendam os nas/os, negras/os, africanas/os, orientais Arthur Ashkin, que recebeu a outra processos de modelização que envol- […], assumindo como inexistentes as metade do prêmio, graduou-se no ano vem esses conhecimentos e suas rela- contribuições desses grupos para o de- de 1947 em física pela Universidade de ções com o desenvolvimento científico senvolvimento cientifico e tecnológico”. Columbia; cinco anos depois, recebeu da atualidade. De maneira a resgatar uma antiga seu doutorado em física nuclear pela Nesse sentido, reconhecendo a im- tradição de A Física na Escola de publi- Universidade Cornell. Em seguida, tra- portância dos lasers como uma tecnolo- car artigos descrevendo algumas das balhou nos Laboratórios Bell em Nova gia relevante, a Academia Sueca de pesquisas desenvolvidas pelos laurea- Jersey até se aposentar, no ano de 1992 Ciências, no ano de 2018, escolheu co- dos no Nobel de Física [16-19], este arti- [23]. As pinças ópticas, desenvolvidas mo temática das láureas justamente go intenciona oferecer um material pelo cientista e sua equipe, possibilita- pesquisas cujas contribuições fossem textual sobre as aplicações atuais dos la- ram o desenvolvimento de estudos so- relevantes para a física dos lasers. Desta sers desenvolvidas pelos laureados no bre a vida microscópica e seus sistemas forma, Donna Strickland, Gérard Mou- Prêmio Nobel de Física de 2018. Dessa moleculares. rou e Arthur Ashkin receberam as láu- forma, espera-se contribuir com a dis- reas do Prêmio Nobel de Física pelas seminação de textos e propostas didáti- 3. Laser: um breve histórico “invenções inovadoras no campo da fí- cas que abordem aspectos relativos à sica dos lasers”[9]. Primeiramente, física moderna e contemporânea [20]. Ainda que o laser tenha sido desen- Strickland e Mourou dividiram a meta- volvido somente na década de 1960, os de do prêmio pelo desenvolvimento da princípios teóricos para seu funciona- 2. Os Laureados técnica chamada chirped pulse amplifi- mento foram elencados no início do sé- cation [10], cujo objetivo é a produção No ano de 2018, a Academia Sueca culo XX, por meio de estudos relaciona- de lasers supercurtos de alta intensida- de Ciências laureou Donna Strickland, dos à mecânica quântica. Em 1917, Al- de, que podem ser utilizados em inúme- Gérard Mourou e Arthur Ashkin (Fig. 1) bert Einstein (1879-1955), utilizando o ras aplicações na medicina. A outra pelas suas contribuições no campo da trabalho desenvolvido por Max Planck metade do prêmio foi destinada a Ash- física dos lasers [9]. Donna Strickland (1958-1947), propôs teoricamente o kin, pelo desenvolvimento pioneiro das graduou-se em engenharia da física pe- conceito de emissão estimulada de ra- pinças ópticas [11], cujas aplicações são la Universidade MacMaster, no Canadá. diação, que consiste em um fenômeno visualizadas em sistemas biológicos. Em 1989, na Universidade de Roches- quântico em que a interação de um fó- A inserção em discussões em sala ter, localizada em Nova York, ela con- ton com um átomo excitado provoca a de aula de exemplos atuais de pesqui- cluiu seu doutorado em óptica. Desde produção de outro fóton idêntico [25]. sas científicas como aquelas expostas 1997, Donna Strickland atua como pro- Alguns autores sugerem que os pri- no Prêmio Nobel de Física de 2018 pode fessora associada na Universidade de meiros estudos para aplicação da emis- permitir uma abordagem contextuali- Waterloo, no Canadá, liderando pesqui- são estimulada foram desenvolvidos no zada da FMC, além de possibilitar que os alunos percebam a ciência como um construto inacabado, em que as impli- cações de seus resultados não se apre- sentam de maneira imediata, por sofrerem interferências de aspectos so- ciais, econômicos e culturais [12]. Mais do que isso, possibilita entender a com- plexa relação entre ciência e tecnologia ao longo da história, tendo em vista que, muitas vezes, “a tecnologia foi pre- cedida pelo desenvolvimento da física, como no caso da fabricação de lasers, ou, em outras, foi a tecnologia que ante- cedeu o conhecimento científico” [3].
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