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Brownian Motion of Smoke Particles

Smoke cell under microscope; smoke particles seen bombarded by air molecules.

What it Shows

Brownian motion shows direct evidence of the incessant motion of matter due to thermal energy. Here we use the random bombardment of smoke particles by air molecules.

How it Works

The CENCO Brownian Movement Apparatus consists of a metal chamber with a glass viewing window on top and a lens on one side (see figure 1). Smoke from a piece of smoldering rope or match is drawn into the chamber through an inlet tube by squeezing the rubber bulb....

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Reaction of Hydrogen and Oxygen

Blue balloon with hydrogen, green balloon with helium, red balloon in back with hydrogen and oxygen mixture, and, on a cart, a red water balloon on large watch glass. Candle on a stick with matches, and a needle in the end to prick the water balloon.

Safety glasses and hearing protection is required for the demonstrator and anyone else who can't cover their ears for the red balloon.

Gravi Car

A falling weight propels a car forward.

What it shows:

Gravitational potential energy can be converted into mechanical kinetic energy.

gravi car

How it works:

A Gravicar is a vehicle powered by gravitational potential energy that it stores in...

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Collapsible Cow

What it shows:

A small crude spindly model of a cow is able to support five times its own weight. Another model, scaled up exactly six times in all dimensions, collapses under its own weight! Assuming that strength is proportional to cross-sectional area (∝ dimension 2) and weight is proportional to volume (∝ dimension 3), simply scaling the model up geometrically leads to the situation where the weight is too great for its strength.

How it works:

This demonstration was inspired by R.H. Stinson's apparatus note in the AJP (see References...

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Vibrating String

A 1.5m length of string driven at one end and fixed at the other shows standing waves for various driving frequencies.

What it shows

vibrating string

The fundamental is the most dramatically visible state (usually around 15Hz). It's possible to...

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Benjamin Franklin's Thunder House

A replica of Franklin's Thunder House demonstating the efficacy of his invention—the lightning rod. The class will get a charge out of this one.

thunder house

Electronic Pinhole Camera

What it shows:

The simplest method of controlling light to form an image is to use an opaque mask with a pinhole in it. Rectilinear propagation of light explains all (nearly). A video camera is substituted for the old prototypal shoe box so that an entire audience can see the pinhole image "live."

How it works:

An extremely light-sensitive video camera 1 sans lens substitutes for the pinhole camera box and film. The front of the Newvicon is the image plane and, as this sits right behind the faceplate of the camera...

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Brewster's Angle

What it shows:

When unpolarized light is reflected from a non-metallic surface, the reflected ray is plane polarized parallel to the reflecting surface if

θi + θr = 90°

or

tanθi = n

where θi = incident ray (Brewster's angle), θr = refracted ray, n = refractive index

How it works:

We use a black vinyl sheet 1m×4m as the reflecting surface, which has a Brewster angle of 57°. A theatrical spot lamp 1 is used to give a 50cm circle...

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