1. Supporting out-of-field teachers of Physical Science
Vicphysics is preparing intensive PD for out-of-field year 7 - 10 science teachers. The first module will cover the teaching of forces and motion and will run after school for two hours per week from Thursday, 21st July to Thursday, 25th August.  The times will be 4:30pm to 6:30pm.  The venue is Kew High School.

• Do you have colleagues in your Science Faculty who find the teaching of the physics aspects of Year 7 - 10 challenging?

Then this course will be of value to them.

The course will be presented by Jane Coyle, an experienced science teacher and regular conference presenter.  The cost is $240, with a discount available for schools with a low ICSEA rank.
For more details including registration, click here.

Other courses are being prepared on other Years 7 - 10 topics: light rays and waves, electric forces and electricity and sources of electricity; and one for VCE Physics teachers on special relativity.  These will be progressively offered over 2022 and 2023 in metropolitan Melbourne and a regional centre.
2. A Survey: Supporting Physics in Years 7 – 10 Science
A team of researchers: Dr Victoria Millar and Dr Merryn Dawborn-Gundlach (the University of Melbourne), Dr Jared Carpendale (Massey University), Dr John Cripps-Clark (Deakin University) and Dr Bec Cooper (Monash University) are conducting a joint project about the teaching and learning of physics in Years 7-10 in Victoria.

They are inviting teachers to take part in the project.

They are seeking the views of practising science and physics teachers on the teaching of Year 7 – 10 physics topics. Additionally, they are exploring the role that physics teachers have on the design and support of physics-based units in these years.

If you are keen to be involved please complete this survey.

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3. Students explore nucleosynthesis: Report on last week's Girls in Physics Breakfast
Almost 100 people attended the Girls in Physics Breakfast at Monash last Thursday to hear A/Prof Amanda Karakas give a fascinating overview of the various means by which elements were formed in the universe, see images below.
Some of the students' comments to a question on the evaluation sheet 'What did you like about the Girls in Physics Breakfast?'

• I liked learning new concepts that aren't always taught in schools,
• I enjoyed the guests we had on our table, we could talk to them 1 on 1 and receive personal feedback and answers rather than just group questions,
• I was exposed to the array pf job opportunities in the field of physics,
• Being able to talk to real-life scientists, while having breakfast.
• Seeing that there were so many females who enjoy STEM,
• Getting to talk with other girls who have the same interest as me
• I liked how at every table there were students from different schools with guests
• I got to make new friends

There were two slides that really caught the teachers' attention.  One was of the periodic table, with the image for each element showing, by proportion, the different methods by which atoms of that element were formed, including big bang fusion, neutron star fusion, exploding massive stars, exploding white dwarfs and dying low mass stars. There are several versions of this image. One is in the media release for the research paper that Dr Karakas wrote with Chaiki Kobayashi and Maria Lugano, an all female team. There are other images in wikipedia , AAAS article  and a NASA image.

The  other slide of interest described the process by which the elements heavier than Iron were formed. This is called the s-process (s for slow) in which nuclei repeated capture neutrons until a radioactive nucleus is formed which decays by beta minus decay, with a neutron decaying into a proton and an electron and increasing the atomic number by one.  In the diagram on the right neutron capture is represented by the red dot.  Beta decay by the diagonal blue arrow. The Z axis is the number of protons in the nucleus and the N axis is the number of neutrons. A similar image is at Oregon Uni, 

Drs Karakas and Kobayashi feature in a 25 min youtube video on Astronomy News for The Cosmic Companion, The introduction by the presenter is slow and dull, but the two scientists come in at 6 min. 4. Physics Gymnasium: Lectures for students - University of Melbourne
Formally known as the VCE lectures, while they do explore the current VCE curriculum, these lectures are open to students of all ages with a keen interest in Physics, as well as teachers and parents

• Thursday, 2nd June, 5:30pm. Electromagnetic waves and the songs of the Solar System, Dr Andrew Melatos
• Thursday, 16th June.  To be advised
• Thursday, 4th August. 5:30pm. Gravity, Dr David Simpson
• Thursday, 18th August, 5:30pm. The photon: a wave or a particle? or both? Prof Harry Quiney
• Thursday, 1st September, 5:30pm.  The Future of Optics with Prof Ann Roberts

Check here for more details and to book.
These are Covid-safe events. The lectures will be delivered to a live audience in the School of Physics. The lectures will also be live streamed. The Zoom link will be sent two days before the lecture.
5. A lockdown resource of lasting benefit: ophysics: Interactive Physics Simulations
During lockdown new strategies and resources surfaced around the world.  These were covered in this newsletter at the time.  Some are of lasting value.  One that came up in conversation at last week's Breakfast is ophysics: Interactive Physics Simulations.  Below is the report from the lockdown newsletters.

This website is a comprehensive set of simulations written by a recently retired US physics teacher, Tom Walsh. The simple and elegant illustrations on various physics principles have been written in GeoGebra.  There are no worksheets nor are there any experimental simulations but the animations require user input.  There is limited text, but they are instructive. The EMI and standing wave model for energy levels are impressive.
Nine topics are covered: Kinematics (vectors, graphs projectile motion, relatve velocity) - 14 animations, Forces (friction,conical pendulum, Kepler's 2nd law) - 5, Conservation (collisions and springs) - 6, Waves (SHM, superposition, standing waves) - 15, Light (colour, mirrors, lenses, rainbows, the eye, interference) - 20, E & M (Coulomb, fields, DC motor, EMI) - 12, Rotation - 10, Fluids - 2, Modern (energy levels) - 1. 6.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 is two (2) schools seeking a physics teacher:

• Castlemaine Secondary College  (closes 25th May)
• Lara Secondary College (closes 31st May)

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.

• Subscriptions: Subscriptions will last for a year from the day payment is received. Both individual and school subscriptions are available.

• Tutor Listing Service: The website has a Tutor Listing Service.  There are now four tutors listed.  If you tutor and wish to add your name to the list, please check the website.

8. Events for Students
a)  Girls in Physics Breakfasts in 2022

After a break of two years, the Girls in Physics Breakfasts are back.  There are now five events open for bookings.  They are:

• Bendigo postponed to early Term 3.  The speaker is Dr Semonti Bhattacharyya and her topic is 'Tinkering with atoms to build electronic devices for the future'. Date: TBA
• Thursday, 14th July at Warrnambool.  The speaker is Prof Frances Separovic AO and her topic is 'MRI of molecules: Where Biophysics meets Cell Chemistry'
• Thursday, 28th July in Central Melbourne.  The speaker is A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic, the AIP Women in Physics lecturer for 2022 and her topic is 'Impacts! Rocks from space colliding with Planets'
• Friday, 19th August at Mildura.  The speaker is Dr Judy Hart and her topic is 'Developing new materials for Renewable Energy'

Click here for more details of each event, such as promotional flyers, speakers' bios and abstracts of their talks.  There are also links for make a booking.

Cost: $15 per student if booking with a credit card through Trybooking and $25 if using bank transfer with an invoice .  There is a discount for low ICSEA schools.
b) Victorian Young Physicists' Tournament for students in Year 10 and 11

VYPT is back this year with a number of changes. For those not familiar with VYPT.  It is a competition for students in Years 10 and 11. During Terms 2 and 3, in teams of 3, the students experimentally investigate a common set of three topics, then on Saturday, 10th September in a series of one-on-one 30 minute contests with other teams, they describe their method, explain their findings, and question and challenge the presentations of others.
The topics for 2022 are:

• Conical Piles Non-adhesive granular materials can be poured such that they form a cone-like pile. Investigate the parameters that affect the formation of the cone and the angle it makes with the ground.
• Saxon Bowl A bowl with a hole in its base will sink when placed in water. The Saxons used this device for timing purposes. Investigate the parameters that determine the time of sinking.
• Falling Tower: Identical discs are stacked one on top of another to form a freestanding tower. The bottom disc can be removed by applying a sudden horizontal force such that the rest of the tower will drop down onto the surface and the tower remains standing. Investigate the phenomenon and determine the conditions that allow the tower to remain standing.

These topics are engaging, accessible at different levels, don't require a lot of equipment and not restricted to the science classroom. They are an ideal challenge for keen students.  They can also be done as part of the Unit 2 Practical Investigation Area of Study.

The features of the competition are:

• it is team based,
• focused on experimental investigations and
• uses oral presentations.

Prizes: There is a prize for every student, with major prizes for top place getters and a trophy for the winning team.
Mentors: This year sees the involvement of university students, who will not only assist teachers on the judging panels, but will be available as mentors to the teams. Teachers will be able to request a mentor for each team when they register.
Venue: University of Melbourne
Registration: This year there is a fee: $20 per team for a Vicphysics subscriber, $40 per team for a non-subscriber.  Registrations are now open and will close on 29th July, see links to 'Teachers' below. 
Note: One teacher for every two teams needs to be nominated, who will be a member of the judging panels on the day.
Travel Subsidy will be available for regional schools.

For further details, there are four relevant webpages on the Vicphysics website:

• For general information,
• For teachers to register teams, along with advice on planning, including a promotional flyer and a link to the video of Physics Teachers' Conference workshop with a discussion among a panel of teachers who have participated before.
• For students, with guide questions, hints and links to useful resources.
• For University students, interested in being judges and mentors.

c)  Poster Competition for Unit 2 Practical Investigation
The Poster Competition is designed to award quality student work and to provide exemplars of quality investigations. There is a maximum of ten prizes, with a list of criteria on this webpage.  Entries need to be submitted as a one page pdf.  The posters should be sent as an email attachment by the teacher to Vicphysics by the second Friday of Term 4.  Successful entries with judges' comments are also on the webpage.

d) Physics Photo Contest
Entrants must submit their photos by email attachment. The photo must accompanied by a statement of 250 words or less describing the physics in the photo.  Entries are limited to 10 per school each year. The photos can involve everyday situations that may demonstrate a variety of physics concepts or a set-up to show a particular physics concept or related set of concepts.

Prize pool: up to $1000.  Closing Date: The Friday of the first week of term 4.  For details click here

e) Physics Video Contest
Entrants must submit their video either as an email attachment or on a DVD. Videos must be in MP4 or Quicktime format, or a format suitable for video streaming. The video should relate to some aspect of the VCE Physics Curriculum. It may not be longer than three minutes in length. 
Students could use the videos by the keynote speaker at the 2012 Physics Teachers' Conference, Dr Derek Muller, as a guide to how to structure a video. His videos can be found at his website

The submission must contain a statement of 250 words or less explaining the physics in the video. Entries are limited to 10 per school each year. Closing Date: Friday of the first week of Term 4. 
Prize pool: Up to $1000.  For details click here.

e) Prof Brian Cox. Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey, 7:30pm, 15th October
Venue: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
Cost: Dull time students $56
To Book: click here

9. Events for Teachers
Practical Activities Workshop, Saturday, 28th May
Purpose: Hands on practical activities for VCE Physics, supported and demonstrated by experienced physics teachers. The workshop is nominally targeted at teachers new to teaching physics and those taking Year 12 for the first time or coming back to teaching physics after an absence. However the workshop will have something for everyone.
Venue: The workshop will be held at John Monash Science School on the Clayton campus of Monash University
Time: 10:30am to 2:00pm
Program:

• A two hour session in which participants will be able to move freely from station to station, talking to the demonstrators and trying our the pracs for themselves. There will be over 10 stations available.
• A one hour session on Designing Assessment Tasks, presented by Dr Barbara McKinnon, President of Vicphysics Teachers’ Network and Sandor Kazi from Melbourne Girls’ College and Treasurer of Vicphysics Teachers’ Network.

Cost: $40.  There is a discounted fee of $25 for Vicphysics subscribers. A travel subsidy is available for regional participants.
To Book: Click here. Closes this Wednesday.
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) Decoy nanoparticles soak up SARS-CoV-2
The ACE2 protein is the cellular door through which SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, enters cells. What if we could trick SARS-CoV-2 into binding to decoy cells that render the virus inactive?

Nanoparticles may be the answer. By binding their ACE2 receptors to viral spike proteins, nanoparticles could act as cellular decoys that soak up viral particles like a sponge.

b) Thermophotovoltaic cells top 40 percent efficiency
The first thermophotovoltaic cells with an efficiency of more than 40% – higher than any existing solid-state heat engine, and exceeding even the average efficiency of turbine-based power generation – have been fabricated by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The cells, which are two-junction devices made from III-V semiconducting materials with electronic bandgaps between 1.0 and 1.4 eV, use back surface reflectors to divert unusable sub-bandgap radiation back to the source, and are optimised for heat sources at temperatures of 1900–2400°C.
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices use photovoltaic cells to convert the predominantly infrared light emitted by hot objects (at 600°C or more) into electrical energy. They can operate with higher-temperature heat sources than those used by turbines, and their range of possible sources is very broad, including combustion, nuclear reactions, waste heat, heat stored in a thermal energy storage system and solar radiation via an intermediate radiation absorber. 

c) Manganese oxide mineral is a heat-storage champion
A form of manganese oxide that incorporates water between its layers could make an ideal heat-storage material. The Japan-based researchers who created it say that its volumetric energy density exceeds 1000 MJ/m³ – close to the theoretical maximum and the highest among all minerals that “lock” other molecules within their structure.