1. A one hour online Discussion Forum on Data in Practical Investigations: 6pm, Weds 5th August
Vicphysics invites you to participate in a one hour network meeting at 6:00pm, Wednesday, 5th August. This will be a forum for discussing aspects of recording, processing and analysing data in practical investigations, with the aim of producing resources that are useful to current teachers and/or students of VCE.
Please check here resources to be used as discussion starters, as well as for discussion questions.
To participate please email Vicphysics and the Zoom link will be forwarded to you the day before the event.
2. More Online Teaching Resources from AAPT (American Association of Physics Teachers):
a) The Spacetime Emporium: A collection of information and resources for anyone interested in Einstein's Special and General Theories of Relativity. There are materials for a wide audience, from the general science reader to specialists in spacetime physics. There are sections on Galilean relativity, Special relativity, General relativity, Reference frames, Spacetime fundamentals, Maths, History and Beyond relativity. Each section has a list of several links to articles and websites, which can be filtered by Year level and type of resource.
b) Voice Science: A Digi Kit for Grades 6 - 12 This Digi Kit blends a cell phone oscilloscope app with a digital wave graphing activity to explore how human voice patterns can be visualized as waves. The digital tools transform students' voice recordings into wave patterns. The package has sections with Lesson plans, Models/simulations, Videos/animations, Real life connections, Digital tools and Activities.
The Vicphysics Teachers' Network set up a Job Ads page on our website to assist schools in finding a physics teacher, either to be a LSL replacement or to fill an ongoing position or just to cover an extended sick leave.
- There is two Government schools seeking a physics teacher: Parkdale Secondary College and Wantirna College.
This webpage is updated every weekend. The webpage also has a link on how schools can register a position and also lodge a payment for this service.
4 . Events for Students and General Public
a) ANSTO National Science Week Hackathon. Registrations close Thursday, 6th August.
Hackathons are high-energy sprint-like events where participants work in a team, with the help of mentors, to design and build a solution to a problem.
The Australian Museum and ANSTO are excited to announce ANSTO's National Science Week Hackathon for Australian secondary students in Years 7-11 as part of National Science Week 2020.
The theme is: “How can we use our oceans to innovate for a changing climate?”
The first 20 teams to submit a complete registration form will receive $100 to use towards their hack. Official registration for this online event opens on Mon 27 July and closes on Mon 3 August.
To register a team and more details, click here. It seems you can register a team without supplying names, but years level(s) are required, It appears names and parental permission slips can be supplied later.
Recommended team size is 3 - 7 students.
Timeline:
Friday, 14th August: Problem challenges are released. Teams review challenges, pitch ideas, choose a mentor *, finalise team roles, begin team work. * Currently there is a list of 10 at the link above.
Sat and Sun, 15th and 16th August. Teams work on their proposal.
Monday, 17th August. Teams meet with mentors, revise and re-work their project.
Tuesday, 18th August. Teams create video presentations of their solutions and submit.
Prize pool: $1000 and medals for first and second places.
b) Behind the Scenes of Big Science, 7:00pm - 8:30pm, Weds 19th August
This National Science Week ANSTO are giving the public a unique opportunity to see behind the scenes at the Australian Centre for Neutron Science, online and for free. Students can see the different kinds of instruments the Centre hosts, and hear the results that they bring. Five of their scientists will each walk the students through their world-class science machines, and after there will be a live Q&A where they can quiz them more. This is a rare opportunity to see behind the scenes of this big science factory.
When: Wednesday 19 August, 7pm-8.30pm (AEST)
To register, click here. There is no cost.
c) UNSW Bragg Prize for Science Writing for Years 7 - 10. Entries close 27th August.
The 2020 Theme is 'The Big Ideas saving the Planet'.
Students write up to 800 words to describe some scientific research that has delivered a solution that the student believes could change the future for the planet.
This website has entry details, as well as FAQs, Teacher's resources and Writing tips.
5. Events for Teachers
a) 2020 Physics in the Cloud: A Physics Free-For-All Variety Night, 6:00pm, Friday, 2st August
Physics in the Pub has gone virtual! An AIP Initiative.
Tiny magnets, cell goop and the future of the Universe
"We’ve digitized and uploaded our scientists and they’ll be streaming to you from the cloud, about the complex protein structures in our cells, how tiny magnets can cure cancer and, well, the philosophy of everything!
There’ll be songs, poems and quizzes, so have your device ready. Grab yourself a drink and join us online, with host Dr Phil Dooley of Phil Up On Science."
Cost: Free, thanks to the AIP
For more information, click on Facebook here
To register, click here.
6. Physics 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.
Strategically designed nanomaterials have been used to optimize the performance of a solar cell that incorporates photosynthesizing cyanobacteria. What is especially impressive about the new technology is that it exploits a broad region of the solar spectrum while simultaneously boosting the photosynthetic activity of the cyanobacteria. The device achieved enhanced efficiency by employing three separate active materials, each covering different regions of the solar spectrum.
Zinc oxide nanorods are highly photoactive in the ultraviolet region, but the researchers extended this range to include visible light by coating the nanorods with another functional nanomaterial: gold nanoparticles. These exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance, a phenomenon capable of increasing the photoactivity of semiconductors through strong light absorption and scattering; and an enhanced local electromagnetic field at a specific frequency. Essentially, the gold nanoparticles act as tiny light-harvesting antenna.
b) Thermogalvanic hydrogel cools down electronic devices
A new thermogalvanic hydrogel can simultaneously cool down electronic devices and convert the waste heat that they produce into electricity. The material, developed by a team of researchers at Wuhan University in China and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US, decreases the temperature of a mobile phone battery by 20 °C and retrieves 5 μW of electricity at fast discharging rates. This reduced working temperature ensures that the battery operates safely, while the amount of electricity harvested is enough to power the hydrogel’s cooling system.
c) Physicists create quantum phase battery
Researchers in Spain and Italy have constructed the first-ever quantum phase battery – a device that maintains a phase difference between two points in a superconducting circuit. The battery, which consists of an indium arsenide (InAs) nanowire in contact with aluminium (Al) superconducting leads, could be used in quantum computing circuits. It might also find applications in magnetometry and highly sensitive detectors based on superconductors.
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