Physics to the People!
J. C. Sprott
Department of Physics,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
53706
Many recent studies[1] have documented the decline in scientific
interest
and understanding among people of all ages in the United States. Though
our educational system is the envy of the world in its ability to train
scientists, most of the rest of our students and the public as a whole
never experience the excitement that we physicists and physics teachers
feel about our subject.
The Wonders of Physics
To counter this alarming trend, the University of Wisconsin at Madison
began in 1984 a program called "The Wonders of Physics." It was
inspired
by and patterned after the popular "Chemistry Can Be Fun" presentations
of Professor Bassam Shakhashiri and his colleagues at the University of
Wisconsin, which follow the tradition of Christmas lectures for
children
at the Royal Institution in London started by Michael Faraday in the
1840s
and continuing to the present. The idea was to select from those
lecture
demonstrations that we use in our undergraduate general physics courses
about 20 to 30 of the most dramatic demonstrations and present them in
a fast-paced public presentation suitable for an audience of mixed ages
and interests. The primary goal is to entertain and only secondarily to
educate, since the program is aimed at those with little interest in or
exposure to science. It is a family activity that can be enjoyed on
some
level by preschoolers as well as by professional physicists.
"The Wonders of Physics" program has been an overwhelming success.
In
the first seven years it has been put on sixty times to a total
audience
of about 18,000. A series of six shows are put on each February for the
public, and special shows are done throughout the year for schools and
other groups. The shows are put on in the same lecture room that we use
for our large undergraduate classes. The room seats 350 people and is
always
filled to overflowing. We have had to adopt a system of issuing (free)
tickets for the public shows to avoid having to turn people away.
Having
the shows in our physics building allows us to combine the shows with
tours
of the laboratories, which generates awareness and good will among the
public upon whose support we ultimately depend. A special, scaled-down
traveling version of the show has been developed and taken to schools
throughout
Wisconsin by some of our graduate students.
It has been our experience that almost any physics teacher with the
desire can put on such a program and that it can do much to generate
interest
in science. The demonstrations need not be elaborate. In fact the
simpler
demonstrations are usually the best. Most colleges and universities and
even the better high schools have more than enough equipment for a
modest
show. The explanations should be quick and simple--perhaps as we would
explain the phenomena to our grandparents. The demonstrations provide
the
interest and excitement that most of us only dream of generating
through
our eloquent and passionate speech.
What does help is an uninhibited presenter who is willing to try
things
that are a bit unusual. A funny costume adds to the atmosphere. Tuxedos
can be purchased at surprisingly low prices when formal-wear stores
have
their periodic clearances. A dramatic entrance and exit are good.
Audience
participation is important. Children will always volunteer to assist
with
the demonstrations. Live music, or even tape- recorded music, and sound
effects are good additions. Special guests in the audience or surprise
visits by historical figures add a delightful touch. We have invited
local
politicians, university administrators, and local television
personalities.
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein have paid unexpected visits. The most
important thing is to have fun and to create a relaxed atmosphere so
that
the audience enjoys being there and feels part of the presentation.
Demonstrations
We have developed about a hundred demonstrations that have proved
especially
effective. Many of the demonstrations are the standard ones from
classical
physics, but some unique demonstrations have been developed for the
show.
Many of these make their way back into our regular lecture courses. The
best demonstrations are those that share the following qualities:
- They are easily visible.
- They yield a dramatic or unexpected result.
- They can be understood at least superficially without extensive
explanation.
- They involve some degree of audience participation.
We develop a show that is given about a dozen times in the course of a
year. Each year the show is revised, using about a dozen new
demonstrations
along with about a dozen old favorites. We look for ways to present the
old favorites in new and different ways. A year is an adequate time to
develop new demonstrations but not so long that people get out of the
habit
of attending.
It is helpful to have the demonstrations organized around some
theme.
We find it useful to divide classical physics into six subject areas:
motion,
heat, sound, electricity, magnetism, and light, and to group the
demonstrations
accordingly. We have also done presentations focused on a particular
area
such as the physics of sound. Others we have done or are planning are
physics
and magic, randomness and chaos, modern physics, and physics of the
weather.
The demonstrations need only be loosely tied to the theme.
Videotaping
The effectiveness of the program can be greatly expanded by videotaping
the shows. We have established a good relationship with a commercial
video
producer whom we use regularly. The taping is done with three,
broadcast-quality
cameras and is edited from about an hour and fifteen minutes to just
under
an hour. Seven tapes have thus far been produced[2], and there is a
substantial
demand for the tapes among schools and cable television stations. Cable
stations are especially anxious to obtain good-quality, low-cost,
educational
programming. One of our local stations shows the tapes about once a
week,
and the publicity generated helps to sustain interest in the program.
We
have produced a brochure advertising the tapes and have distributed it
to schools throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota and to cable stations
across
the nation.
Computer Animations
A useful embellishment has been the use of computer animations to
supplement
the presentation. Our lecture hall is equipped with a number of
television
monitors that can display computer graphics. We have cartoons and text
scrolling on the monitors before the show. During the show, the
computer
is used to help explain the phenomena and in some cases as a substitute
for the real demonstration. Many of the demonstrations that we do are
available[3]
in the form of computer animations that run on IBM-compatible personal
computers. One package, Physics Demonstrations, contains five
demonstrations
on motion and five on sound. A second package, Chaos Demonstrations,
contains
eighteen demonstrations covering chaos, randomness, fractals, cellular
automata, and other related topics. These programs serve not only as a
lecture aid, but have proved popular among science museums because they
can be set to cycle automatically through the demonstrations while
still
being responsive to keyboard input. We often leave one or both of the
programs
cycling on a computer outside the lecture room for people to use before
and after the show.
Funding
Funding for a public education program as extensive as ours is always a
concern. A modest program making use of already existing demonstrations
and volunteer help can be started at negligible cost. As the program
expands,
significant costs arise for publicity, mailing, telephone, printing of
handouts and other materials, development of new demonstrations, and
videotaping.
We recover some costs through donations but have benefited from the
University
of Wisconsin Office of Outreach Development and a local private
foundation
(the Brittingham Trust). The National Science Foundation provided
funding
to assemble a kit of materials containing all the information that
someone
interested in starting a similar program would find useful[4]. It
includes
a how-to book, a list of demonstrations and sources, sample handouts, a
sample videotape of "The Wonders of Physics," and the Physics
Demonstrations
software. It is continually updated as we accumulate new ideas.
A Challenge
The involvement in an outreach program of this kind is a highly
rewarding
experience and one that is strongly recommended to anyone who wants an
enjoyable experience while meeting a serious need in our society for
generating
interest in the wonders of physics!
References
- See, for example, The Science Report Card--Elements of Risk
and
Recovery
(Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ).
- Videotapes of The Wonders of Physics are available for
rent or
purchase
from the University of Wisconsin, Bureau of AudioVisual Instruction,
P.O.
Box 2093, Madison, WI 53701-2093 (800-362-6888).
- Computer Software, Physics Demonstrations and Chaos
Demonstrations
are available from The Academic Software Library, Box 8202, North
Carolina
State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8202 (800-955-TASL).
- The Wonders of Physics Lecture Kits are available for
$90
each from
The Wonders of Physics, 1150 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706
(608-262-2927).
Ref: J. C. Sprott, The Physics Teacher 29, 212-213 (1991)
The complete paper is available in PDF format
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