Volume 55 Issue 2, February 2017
The Physics Teacher
This month's cover showcases a new twist on visualizing the electric field's magnitude and direction from James Lincoln. Crystals of KMnO4 atop a moistened coffee filter produce colorful streaks in response to a potential difference of 200 volts.
ColumnsAnd the Survey Says..., Figuring Physics, iPhysicsLabs, Little Gems, Astronotes, Physics Challenge for Teachers and Students, Fermi Questions, Visual Physics, In my opinion: The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, and Websights.
Letters to the Editor
Beyond the Point Charge: Equipotential Surfaces and Electric Fields of Various Charge Configurations by Jeffrey A. Phillips, Jeff Sanny, David Berube, and Anatol Hoemke. DOI 10.1119/1.4974113
Uranium Glass: A Glowing Alternative to Conventional Sources of Radioactivity by Roeland Boot. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974115
The Scientific Legacy of Charles Wheatstone by Thomas B. Greenslade Jr. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974117
Using a Cell Phone to Investigate the Skin Depth Effect in Salt Water by John Rayner. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974118
Kitchen Physics: Lessons in Fluid Pressure and Error Analysis by Rebecca Elizabeth Vieyra, Chrystian Vieyra, Stefano Macchia. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974119
Physical Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem by David Tree. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974120
Students Learning Physics While Lifting Themselves: A Simple Analysis of a Scissors Jack by Ole Anton Haugland. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974121
The Importance of High School Physics Teachers for Female Students' Physics Identity and Persistence by Zahra Hazari, Eric Brewe, Renee Michelle Goertzen and Theodore Hodapp. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974122
Reaching More Students Through Thinking in Physics by Vincent P. Coletta. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974123
Manchester's Magiscope: An Interesting Optics Puzzle by Rachael Lancor, Brian Lancor. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974124
A Student Diffusion Activity by Mickey Kutzner and Bryan Pearson. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974125
How Magnus Bends the Flying Ball –Experimenting and Modeling by V. Timková, Z. Ješková. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974126
Detecting Forward-Scattered Radio Signals from Atmospheric Meteors Using Low-Cost Software Defined Radio by Ana Snjegota and Nicholas James Rattenbury. DOI: 10.1119/1.4974127
DNA Science Lesson & Digi-Kit
Inspired by an article from The Physics Teacher, this multidisciplinary lesson and digital resource collection is based on How Rosalind Franklin Discovered the Helical Structure of DNA: Experiments in Diffraction (Braun, Tierney, & Schmitzer, 2011). Click the image to access this resource.