Low Cost Physics Experiments Using New Technologies

Low-cost Physics Experiments Using New Technologies

This book presents a set of low-cost physics experiments, making use of the new technologies available (data collection and analysis systems by computers, Internet, video, commercial electronics, smartphones, etc.), while highlighting the methodological aspects of physics and science in general. The projects are aimed at university students of science and engineering, although some may be used in high schools.The experiments would enable students to answer the questions: How do we know this? Why do we believe in that? These questions illustrate the nature of scientific thinking process.This book is complemented by the site www.fisicarecreativa.com, where several of the projects presented here were carried out by students from different universities. We hope it can be used as an innovative STEM learning tools.

Physics Experiments with Arduino and Smartphones

This book on the use of Arduino and Smartphones in physics experiments, with a focus on mechanics, introduces various techniques by way of examples. The main aim is to teach students how to take meaningful measurements and how to interpret them. Each topic is introduced by an experiment. Those at the beginning of the book are rather simple to build and analyze. As the lessons proceed, the experiments become more refined and new techniques are introduced. Rather than providing recipes to be adopted while taking measurements, the need for new concepts is raised by observing the results of an experiment. A formal justification is given only after a concept has been introduced experimentally. The discussion extends beyond the taking of measurements to their meaning in terms of physics, the importance of what is learned from the laws that are derived, and their limits. Stress is placed on the importance of careful design of experiments as to reduce systematic errors and on good practices to avoid common mistakes. Data are always analyzed using computer software. C-like structures are introduced in teaching how to program Arduino, while data collection and analysis is done using Python. Several methods of graphical representation of data are used.

Research and Technology Objectives and Plans Summary (RTOPS)