1.   PHYSCON 2023: Victorian Physics Teachers' Conference: 24th February.  11 days to go
Vicphysics Teachers' Network will be presenting PHYSCON 2023 with the support of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Swinburne University of Technology.  PHYSCON 2023 will be held at their Hawthorn Campus in Burwood Rd on Friday, 24th February.

The conference will be a hybrid conference offering both face to face and on-line sessions.  
The Conference website is now live and registrations are open.

The conference program includes:

• Live-streamed keynote addresses,
• 3 sessions with over 40 workshops in person and online,
• Access to exhibitors
• Round table activities on course planning of Units 3 & 4 for 2024,
• Networking lunch,
• In-depth review of the 2022 VCE Physics exam, with Andrew Hansen, the Chief Assessor
• VCAA presentation by Maria James, Science Curriculum Manager,
• Laboratory tours of cutting-edge facilities and visits to the Virtual Reality theatre,
• Saturday morning Excursion Tasters and Peter MacCallum Medical Physics In-Service.

Conference fees:
In person: $330         Online: $270
Discounts:

• Individual Vicphysics Subscribers: $50
• Student and Retiree Subscribers: $100
• School Vicphysics subscribers: $10

To ensure that your dietary preferences can be accommodated, please get in your registration as soon as possible.
For information about the workshops on offer, please click the link above or download a pdf of the conference program here.

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3. Combining Yr 11 and 12 classes in 2023 Zoom Session Thurs, 16th Feb 4. On-line Revision Lecture; Invitation to join the panel
For the last two years Vicphysics has provided a VCE Physics Revision Lecture for students.  This year it will be held on Sunday, 10th September.  It will consist of 45 min talks on each Area of Study with a 15 min break in between.  The day starts at 9:00am and finishes at 1:45pm. Currently we have a panel of two presenters, if you would like to join them, please contact Vicphysics. 5. Caesium 137 capsule lost in transit: Useful support material.
Some on the initial reporting on the Caesium 137 capsule was inaccurate and incomplete.  One early report said the strength of the radioactive source was 9 Becquerel!
This note has some of the important data and links to authoritative sources.  It could form the basis for some questions for students.
Cs 137 decays with a half-life of 30.05 years with a 0.5120 MeV beta minus particle to metastable Barium 137 which then decays with a half-life of 153 seconds with a 0.6617 MeV gamma ray to the Barium 137 ground state.  It is this gamma ray which is the reason for the industrial and medical use of Caesium 137.
The reason for the concern about the capsule is that the activity is actually 19 GBq. With the capsule being so small 8mm by 6mm, there have been many industrial accidents over the decades, some causing deaths.  In one instance a capsule was lost and ended up mixed with gravel and used to construct an apartment building. By the time the capsule was discovered, 6 residents had died.
It has been estimated that spending one hour a metre from the source was equivalent to the exposure of between 10 and 17 chest X-rays.
Cs 137 is not naturally occurring, it can only be produced in a nuclear reactor or by nuclear explosion.  It is one of the more abundant fission fragments.  The other concerns about Cs 137 are that it is chemically reactive and highly soluble, although in the capsule Cs 137, usually as a chloride, is embedded in lucite inside a metal container.
The capsule was detected by a new ANSTO product, CORIS360, which is described as an advanced radiation imaging solution.  The device measures gamma rays in a full 360 degrees with remarkable sensitivity.  The device was placed in a van and driven along the route taken by the truck at a speed of 70 kph and picked up the capsule from a spike in the gamma ray count.  No articles on the technology could be found.
Useful articles:

• The Guardian: Explainer article
• Wikipaedia Information on production and nuclear incidents
• Caesium 137 A deadly hazard an article prepared by Stanford University
• CDC information sheet A radioisotope brief

6. Key Concepts for future Quantum Information Science Learners
The Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center at the University of Illinois has been working on the 'essential concepts for future curricular and educator activities that will help learners engage with quantum information science (QIS).' 
The five page document lists nine key concepts, each with an explanation, then for each identifies the supporting fundamentals.
The first key concept defines the field as a whole. Concepts 2-6 introduce ideas that are necessary for building an understanding of quantum information science and its applications. Concepts 7-9 provide short explanations of critical areas of study within QIS: quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum sensing.
While not immediately relevant, the article identifies how quantum physics will impact future technologies and to help prepare secondary school students to engage with QIS and provide possible pathways for broader public engagement.
7. Seeking a Physics teacher? Seeking a new position?
The Vicphysics Teachers' Network has a Job Ads page to assist schools in finding a physics teacher.
There are two (2) schools are seeking a physics teacher.  The Vicphysics webpage above has a link to the Government schools jobs website. The following Gov't Schools are seeking a physics teacher.

• Melton Secondary College (closes 13th Feb)
• Warrandyte High School (closes 16th Feb) two positions

The webpage is updated every weekend.  The webpage also has a link on how schools can register a position and lodge a payment for this service. 9. Events for Students

Physics Days at Luna Park.  2023 Dates: Monday, 6th March and then Wednesday, 8th to Friday, 10th March.  There will be no aerobatic display this year.
The numbers for Friday are close to capacity, while for Wednesday and Thursday, they are filling fast.  However, there is still plenty of space for the Monday.
To make a booking with Luna Park, click here.

Luna Park tallies your number of students on the day and then invoices the school accordingly. 
You can book a data logger from Ciderhouse.

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10.   Physics News from the Web
Items selected from the bulletin of the Institute of Physics (UK).
Each item below includes the introductory paragraphs and a web link to the rest of the article.

a) Hydrogen-producing solar cells mimic photosynthesis
Two independent teams have taken inspiration from nature to develop better ways of producing hydrogen with solar cells. The first team, from the University of Michigan in the US, achieved a record-breaking solar-energy-to-hydrogen efficiency of more than 9% using a solar panel containing an indium gallium nitride (InGaN) catalyst. The second team, from the EPFL in Switzerland and Toyota Motors Europe, created a new type of transparent, porous gas diffusion electrode that harvests water from the air and turns it into hydrogen when exposed to sunlight. Both technologies could, in principle, supply hydrogen for fuel cells and industrial processes in a “green” way, without the need for fossil-fuel precursors.

b) Ionocaloric cooling makes a new type of refrigerator (adding salt to ice)
The new technique invented by Drew Lilley and Ravi Prasher at LBNL makes use of an entirely different caloric effect. It works by adding salt to a solid, which makes the solid “want” to be a liquid in the same way as adding salt to a cold, icy road transforms the ice into slush.
“To become a liquid, the solid must melt, which means it must absorb energy,” Lilley explains. “If you prevent the solid from absorbing energy from its surrounding, it will ‘steal’ energy from itself, so cooling the whole material down (see steps 1 to 2 in the image above). Once it has cooled down, the solid can continue melting, but at a lower temperature, and absorbs energy from its surroundings. This leads to refrigeration (steps 2 to 3 in the diagram).”

c) It’s all about the money. Why seemingly great technological solutions can sometimes fail
"When I was younger, I used to believe that science alone could solve any technological challenge – and that whatever solution was technically the best would win out. It was only after spending a few years in industry that I came to realize how economics, market forces and competition play equally important (and sometimes bigger) roles. A technological solution that might seem excellent on paper can, I learned, be dragged down by practical difficulties and poor timing." James MacArthur