The Teacher's Blog

Paul Falstad's popular ripple tank simulation is now available for your iPhone/iPad and it's free. Now make virtual waves with your finger!

Check out the app here:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ripple-tank-free/id453342553?ls=1&mt=8

For non iPhone/iPad owners the ripple tank java applet is also available here:

http://www.falstad.com/ripple/

 

 

 

Here is an article we thought was too good not to share. Mitir Krioukov, physicist based at the University of California San Diego, recently pleaded his way out of a fine for rolling through a stop sign by using the power of mathematics.
Read the article on physicscentral.com to see how he used physics to show the [...]

We will be at NSTA 2012 in Indianapolis, IN March 29th - 31st. Stop by and see us at Booth # 1347 or see our Cool Tools at the following workshops by Buzz Putnam: Cool Tools for Light, Color, Sound and Waves and Cool Tools for Force and Motion.

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 [...]

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 [...]

In the December CoolStuff newsletter, Bridgette Sparks of Saline High School in Michigan talks about using a discovery based lab exercise for the topic of pressure.
In my classroom I ask the students to calculate the net force on the can by giving them the dimensions of the can and an estimate of the reduced pressure in the can [...]

Over the holiday break, Arbor Scientific will be quietly launching our new website!  If you happened to drop by and are reading this note, then you caught us!  We thought it was best to take the new website for test drive during the holidays when things are a little more quiet.  So we aren't spreading [...]

Arbor Scientific has officially launched a new blog!  The blog is less formal than our official CoolStuff Newsletter, but it will be filled with ideas and perspectives from teachers just like yourself.  Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new development in the new year!