Author Archives: Buzz Putnam

The link between electricity and magnetism finds its legendary roots back to Hans Christian Orsted when he supposedly found that electric current affected his compasses during a student lecture. That piece of scientific history may be one of exaggerated legend, but the marriage of electricity with magnetism has been widely known for over a century, later to be given a full mathematical explanation by Lord Kelvin and James Clerk Maxwell. The concept of electron movement causing the production of an ensuing magnetic field is a fundamental model used in describing electromagnets, generators, transformers and electric motors.

A really great addition to the Standing Wave lab that I did with my students this year is using the new plastic "Spring Wave" along with the metal Helical "Snakee spring" that we all use for demonstrating a Standing Wave. I have added them as an unknown to the lab. The students will have to [...]

This week I began Magnetism in class and wanted to "wow" my students with Magnetism. Take a Neodymium magnet to show the concepts of Ferromagnetism and Diamagnetism. I used an American "crisp" $5 bill and taped a thread to it. Hanging it from a crossbar and using the Neodymium magnet, you can attract [...]

Think back to when you were a little kid playing one of your most enjoyable family games on Saturday night. It involved rolling a die and moving around a game board, all while building a complex “mousetrap”, hoping that you wouldn’t get caught in its devious shenanigans or secretly wishing that its numerous “Energy Transfers” would fail to work!

I have found that over the years, creating a Positive charge in class using the conventional Glass rod/Silk combination just doesn't produce a great enough charge to be able to demonstrate Conduction or Induction on pith balls, electroscope and other objects. The BEST way to produce a Positive charge is using the "Fun Fly Stick [...]

I constructed the do-it-yourself Faraday Motor with my students as a demonstration, just as the video instructs Their reaction was amazing! When linking the concepts of Electricity with Magnetism, I normally use pre-made motors and other conventional equipment that has been purchased or donated over the years. When I decided to create the "original" Faraday [...]

If you are looking for something that occurs in nature and is tied to the physics classroom, look no further than vortex rings. These Vortex Rings are more common and widespread in nature than most people had probably thought; in fact they are studied in great detail by aeronautical engineers and combustion scientists. But we just think they are cool!

The Resonance Bowl can be traced back to ancient Tao tradition in China during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 9) making this an ancient, but still highly effective, way to discuss and demonstrate behavior of waves and their interactions. Fill the bowl with water, rub the handles just the right way, and water [...]

You probably won't find this product in the Arbor Scientific catalog anytime soon, but it is definitely cool stuff! The Anti-Laser was demonstrated recently for the first time at Yale University. The fundamental concept of the Laser is that it is able to transmit "Coherent Light", which are monochromatic (one color) light waves that are [...]

Picture of a Lab – Different Graph TypesStation #1 investigates the relationship between force and displacement of a stretched spring. Students will discover a direct linear relationship, with an equation of the form y = mx + b. Station #2 demonstrates Boyle’s Law, or the relationship between the pressure on a gas and its volume [...]