Physics News from the AIP Term 1, No 4, 2008
1. 2008 Physics Teachers Conference: Update on Proceedings
2. Physics Tutor sought: Rowville
3. Physics Teacher Survey Update
4. VCE Physics Days at Luna Park: Update.
5. Forthcoming Events for Teachers
a) Accelerator Science School, University of Melbourne: 26 March - 2 April - Free
b) Astrophysics for Physics Teachers; Friday 4 April, 2008. Marsfield, NSW.
c) One day workshop on teaching the Unit 2 Astrophysics, Thursday 17 April, 2008 at Victorian Space Science Education Centre, Strathmore.
d) Astronomy from the Ground Up!' Teacher Workshop at Parkes, 9 – 11 May, 2008. Special Package for Victorian Teachers
e) VCE Physics Implementation Workshops, May
For details of items b) to e) please see “Physics News from the AIP Term 1, No 1, 2008”
6. Physics News from the Web
a) Two is a crowd for quantum particles, double slit probes the limits of decoherence
b) The discovery of the accelerating universe
c) Hydrogen-Seven
Compiled by the Australian Institute of Physics (Victorian Branch) Education Committee. Check their website www.vicphysics.org for latest resources, events and forum discussions. A list of over 60 items from previous “Physics News from the AIP” that are still of value can be found in the “News” section of the website, as can all the news stories from the “Physics News from the Web”.
This year the AIP Education Committee meets at Camberwell High School normally on the second Tuesday of the month from 5pm – 7pm, the next meeting is on Tuesday, 11th March. If you would like to attend this or any meeting, please contact the chair, Sue Grant at
1. 2008 Physics Teachers Conference Report
Conference Proceedings: Material from the following sessions is now available on our website at www.vicphysics.org/events/conf2008.html
· The Opening Address,
· The Physics Oration,
· The Chief Assessor’s Report,
· Teaching Plans and Practical Activities for “Synchrotron and its applications”,
· Teaching the Transistor,
· Renewable Energy and Ecologically Sustainable Design at Ecolinc,
· Investigating the Characteristics of Photovoltaic Panels,
· How to organise a Physics Camp,
· The Helicopter: A context for Unit 2 Aerospace and Units 2 & 3 Motion,
· Investigating the Transistor,
· Using ‘Speaker Workshop Freeware” for sound reproduction measurements,
· Powerful Learning Demonstrations (Cheap Pracs, Cheap Demos, Cheap shots),
· Teaching the Physics of Climate Change,
· The Smarties model for electric circuits,
· Physics is a branch of Philosophy - Students love the big questions,
· Why don't girls choose physics? What female Math Methods students say,
· Enhancing Physics Teaching with Technology, Phil Jones, The Logical Interface,
· Activities for Year 11 Astronomy. *
* Astronomy session: Peter Fitzgerald has not only supplied the PowerPoint of his session, but also about 100 MB of videos, images and applets. The 100 MB has been transferred to the website, but the html code to access each of the files has not been written yet, so the files will not be available for a week or two.
More material will go up as it becomes available. Streaming audio of many sessions including the Opening Address on course changes and the Physics Oration will be available next week. A CD of the proceedings will be distributed to participants by STAV later this term.
2. Physics Tutor sought: Rowville
A parent in the Rowville area is seeking a tutor for Year 11 Physics. If you are interested, please contact Dan O’Keeffe at and the parent’s contact details will be passed on.
3. Physics Teacher Survey Update
At the conference teachers completed a survey form on their qualifications, teaching responsibilities, administrative responsibilities and when they intended to retire. This information is essential in advising and informing decision-makers on matter affecting physics education.
It is therefore important to obtain as large a coverage of physics teachers as possible. The survey form is available on our website at www.vicphysics.org/events/conf2008.html
Thank you to those who responded to the request in the last newsletter, however more replies are needed to ensure the validity of the survey, so if you did not complete the survey at the conference, could you please take a few minutes to complete it, it would be very much appreciated. Depending on your desire for anonymity, the completed form can be either mailed to AIP Education Committee, PO Box 304, Glen Waverley, VIC 3150, or faxed to (03) 95617602, or emailed back.
The analysis of the survey data will appear in the next newsletter.
6. VCE Physics Days at Luna Park: Update.
The bookings for the three days in March have closed, bookings for Tuesday 15th April are still open. To make a reservation contact Luna Park by phone on (03) 9525 5033 or fax to (03) 9534 5764, or mail to Luna Park at PO Box 1083, St Kilda South, Victoria, 3182. A confirming deposit of 10% of the estimated cost is required. The cost of the day is unchanged at $20.95 per student, with teachers free. Our website, http://www.vicphysics.org/events/lunapark.html has details of the worksheets and arrangements for each of the days. The Scenic Railway ride will not be available as the renovation will not have been completed. The Spider will also not be available for the days in March.
Luna Park is faxing to schools the groupings of schools and the ride sequence for each group. These are also available on the website at the above address.
The dataloggers are available for hire, $30 for a half day, $60 for a full day. Proceeds go to the AIP to further support Physics education. To reserve a datalogger, email Dan O’Keeffe at stating your brand preference, Pasco or Vernier, and whether you want the datalogger for a half day or a full day. The cost will be added to the tax invoice your school will receive from Luna Park.
7. Forthcoming Events for Teachers
a) Accelerator Science School 26 March-2 April (Free) and
Accelerator Science Workshop 7-8 April, 2008 (Small fee)
The Australian Synchrotron together with the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne is conducting an Accelerator Science School and Workshop. The school is an introduction to particle accelerators aimed at university students in physics or related engineering fields, with lectures by Prof Ted Wilson, former head of the CERN Accelerator School. The workshop will give an overview of accelerator science with an emphasis on the synchrotron light sources.
The website http://www.synchrotron.org.au/content.asp?Document_ID=5306 has a description of the draft syllabus for the Science School and Registration details. There is no cost to register for the Science School, which is on during the school holidays, Weds to Fri of the first week and Mon to Weds of the second week, but a cost to register for the Workshop which is on during the first week of term 2.
8. Physics News from the Web
Items selected from the bulletins of the IOP and the American Institute of Physics.
a) Two is a crowd for quantum particles, Double slit probes the limits of decoherence
b) The discovery of the accelerating universe
c) Hydrogen-Seven
a) Two is a crowd for quantum particles, Double slit probes the limits of decoherence
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/31763
While a single electron will behave as a purely quantum entity, the mere presence of another electron is enough to cause the electron to make the transition from quantum to classical behaviour -- according to an international team of physicists who have done a bizarre yet simple version of the famous “double slit” experiment. The result could have important implications for those seeking to create solid-state quantum computing devices, where minimizing electron-electron interactions is a key challenge. A link to related story on decoherence reveals several links on wave particle duality.
b) The discovery of the accelerating universe
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/31908
The competition between the two teams of scientists that discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, reveals how hard it can be to assign scientific credit – particularly when a Nobel prize may one day be at stake. Robert P Crease explains in detail their methods, observations, collaboration and differences. It is a fascinating insight into the nature of the scientific process and raises the query of whether, the question of when and by whom a discovery is made, can really be answered.
c) Hydrogen-Seven
An experiment at the GANIL facility in France is the first to make, observe, identify, and characterize the heaviest isotope yet of hydrogen, H-7, consisting of a lone proton and 6 neutrons. All of the lighter isotopes of hydrogen have previously been seen: H-1 (ordinary hydrogen), H-2 (deuterium), H-3 (tritium), and H-4 up to H-6. Technically speaking, the H-7 state (like H-4, H-5, and H-6) is not a fully bound nucleus. It is considered a resonance since (besides being very short lived) energy is required to force the extra neutron to adhere to the other nucleons.
In a proper nucleus energy is required to remove a neutron. In the GANIL experiment, a beam of helium-8 ions (themselves quite rare) is smashed into a carbon-12 nucleus residing in a gas of butane (see figure at http://www.aip.org/png/2007/283.htm). In a few rare occurrences, the He-8 gives one of its protons to the C-12, producing H-7 and N-13, respectively. The H-7 flies apart almost immediately into H-3 and 4 separate neutrons.
Meanwhile the N-13 is observed in the active-target MAYA detector (named after a cartoon character, Maya the Bee, whose honeycomb hive resembles the hexagonal cathode pads in the experiment), a device much like a bubble chamber, allowing its energy and trajectory to be deduced.
By taking the conservation of momentum and energy into account, the fleeting existence of the H-7 is extracted from the N-13 data. A total of 7 H-7 events was observed. A rough lifetime for H-7 of less than 10^-21 seconds can be inferred. The helium-8 nucleus (2 protons plus 6 neutrons) used to make the H-7 is interesting all by itself since it is believed to consist of a nuclear core with two “halo” neutrons orbiting outside.
This radioactive species must carefully be gathered up from carbon-carbon collisions (in a separate step) and then accelerated to participating in the H-7 experiment. One of the GANIL researchers, Manuel Caamaño Fresco (, 33-231-45-4435), says that one of the chief reasons for looking at H-7 is to get a better handle on exotic nuclear matter.
The H-7 nucleus, during its brief existence, might consist of a H-3 core and plus two 2-neutron outriders, or maybe even a single 4-neutron blob outside. Larger still hydrogen isotopes, such as H-8 or H-9, might be observable.