How is physics taught and learned. Teaching strategies, class examples and demonstrations; learning resources, career advice, etc. For explicit problems, use the 'homework' tag instead.
Questions tagged [education]
1274 questions
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Does Earth really have two high-tide bulges on opposite sides?
The bit that makes sense – tidal forces
My physics teacher explained that most tidal effect is caused by the Moon rotating around the Earth, and some also by the Sun.
They said that in the Earth - Moon system, the bodies are in free-fall about each…
Benjohn
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179
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15 answers
What is a field, really?
There was a reason why I constantly failed physics at school and university, and that reason was, apart from the fact I was immensely lazy, that I mentally refused to "believe" more advanced stuff until I understand the fundamentals (which I,…
Dan
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Simple check for the global shape of the Earth
I have been on a date recently, and everything went fine until the moment the girl has told me that the Earth is flat. After realizing she was not trolling me, and trying to provide her with a couple of suggestions why that may not be the case, I've…
SBF
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14 answers
How do I explain to a six year old why people on the other side of the Earth don't fall off?
Today a friend's six year old sister asked me the question "why don't people on the other side of the earth fall off?". I tried to explain that the Earth is a huge sphere and there's a special force called "gravity" that tries to attract everything…
Amal
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Reading the Feynman lectures in 2012
The Feynman lectures are universally admired, it seems, but also a half-century old.
Taking them as a source for self-study, what compensation for their age, if any, should today's reader undertake? I'm interested both in pointers to particular…
David Feldman
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19 answers
What is a good introductory book on quantum mechanics?
I'm really interested in quantum theory and would like to learn all that I can about it. I've followed a few tutorials and read a few books but none satisfied me completely. I'm looking for introductions for beginners which do not depend heavily on…
PhaDaPhunk
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15 answers
Why quantum mechanics?
Imagine you're teaching a first course on quantum mechanics in which your students are well-versed in classical mechanics, but have never seen any quantum before. How would you motivate the subject and convince your students that in fact classical…
Jonathan Gleason
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How can we see an atom now? What was the scale of this equipment?
I've just seen this on the news - Single Trapped Atom Captures Science Photography Competition's top prize.
Credit: David Nadlinger via EPSRC
I am not a Physics major but I believe I do know the basics. I have always believed that we can't really…
Hanky Panky
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104
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13 answers
Best books for mathematical background?
What are the best textbooks to read for the mathematical background you need for modern physics, such as, string theory?
Some subjects off the top of my head that probably need covering:
Differential geometry, Manifolds, etc.
Lie groups, Lie…
ahh
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84
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24 answers
List of freely available physics books
I'm trying to amass a list of physics books with open-source licenses, like Creative Commons, GPL, etc. The books can be about a particular field in physics or about physics in general.
What are some freely available great physics books on the…
pcr
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Lev Landau's "Theoretical Minimum"
The great russian physicist Lev Landau developed a famous entry exam to test his students. This "Theoretical Minimum" contained everything he considered elementary for a young theoretical physicist. Despite its name, it was notoriously hard and…
jdm
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What is the simplest way to prove the Earth is round?
Assume you've come in contact with a tribe of people cut off from the rest of the world, or you've gone back in time several thousand years, or (more likely) you've got a numbskull cousin.
How would you prove that the Earth is, in fact, round?
tQuarella
58
votes
8 answers
What are the prerequisites to studying general relativity?
This question recently appeared on Slashdot:
Slashdot posts a fair number of physics stories. Many of us, myself included, don't have the background to understand them. So I'd like to ask the Slashdot math/physics community to construct a…
David Z
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Books for Condensed Matter after Ashcroft/Mermin
What are some good condensed matter physics books that can fill the gap between Ashcroft & Mermin and research papers? Suggestions for any specialized topics (such as superconductivity, CFT, topological insulators) are welcomed.
leongz
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51
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6 answers
What physics paper would a high school student be able to read?
I'm looking for a physics paper which a typical high school student who is new to physics would be able to read and grasp the general idea of the purpose, setup and results, if not the details. To be clear, I don't expect that high school students…
Brionius
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