Readers are introduced to the structure of the book, including a discussion of the topics in each chapter, as well as how the book may be integrated in an introductory physics course.
Chapter 2 serves as an introduction to the GlowScript VPython environment. The student is shown how to enter GlowScript via a browser. The student is asked to create simple programs, including ones that print, make shapes, and...
In chapter 3, the student is asked to program the motion of a ball with constant velocity, to plot the position with respect to time of the ball moving with constant velocity, and to simulate the motion of a ball undergoing a...
In chapter 4, students are introduced to the mathematics behind the Euler method, as well as the coding involved. Students are given code and then asked to modify it.
In chapter 5, students are introduced to the kinematic equations describing an object undergoing a constant acceleration. Students are asked to write code simulating the flight of a projectile over level ground and sloping...
In chapter 6, students are introduced to the idea of a central force, the idea of a instantaneous acceleration (as opposed to average acceleration) and using the Euler method to determine the position and velocity of the...
In chapter 7, students are introduced to the concepts of center of mass, the impulse-momentum theorem, and conservation of energy. This is done by considering a binary star system, mass-spring system, and scattering in the...
In chapter 8, students consider again the motion of a comet around the Sun, but now consider torque and angular momentum. Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is introduced, as well as the cross product and how to code it in...
In chapter 9, students are introduced to the concept of Gravitational Assist, which is used to send probes to the outer planets and out of the solar system. Frames of reference are considered, as well as the energy of the probe...
This document provides a conclusion to VPython for Introductory Mechanics by Windsor A. Morgan and Lars Q. English. It includes the book’s bibliography as well as information about the authors.
Jackson, David P., and Ming-Hua Chang. Acoustic Levitation and the Acoustic Radiation Force. American Journal of Physics 89, no. 4 (2021): 383-392. https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1119/10.0002764, For more information...
English, Lars Q., A. Zampetaki, P.G. Kevrekidis, K. Skowronski, C.B. Fritz, and Saidou Abdoulkary. Analysis and Observation of Moving Domain Fronts in a Ring of Coupled Electronic Self-Oscillators. Chaos 27 (2017): e103125....
A soap bubble on the end of a cylindrical tube is seen to deflate as the higher pressure air inside the bubble escapes through a tube. We perform an experiment to measure the radius of the slowly deflating bubble and observe...
Our research experimentally, mathematically, and computationally investigated the singularity that forms at the tip of water droplets freezing on a flat surface (Snoeijer and Brunet, AJP 2012). We designed an apparatus to...
We study analytically and numerically the impact of the second-neighbor interactions on the propagation of an initial wave-packet through a coupled nonlinear left-handed transmission line. We start with a detailed analysis of...
English, L. Q., S. Wheeler, Y. Shen, G. P. Veldes, N. Whitaker, P. G. Kevrekidis, and D. J. Frantzeskakis. Backward-Wave Propagation and Discrete Solitons in a Left-Handed Electrical Lattice. Physics Letters A 375, no. 9...
For more information on the published version, visit Mathematical Association of America's Website., This past semester I (Jennifer Schaefer) taught single-variable calculus. Like many of you, I have taught this course numerous...
We generate compact localized states (CLSs) in an electrical diamond lattice, comprised of only capacitors and inductors, via local driving near its flat-band frequency. We compare experimental results to numerical simulations...
When a ferrofluid drop is trapped in a horizontal Hele-Shaw cell and subjected to a vertical magnetic field, a fingering instability results in the droplet evolving into a complex branched structure. This fingering instability...
Using a combination of theory, experiment, and simulation, we revisit the dynamics of two coupled metronomes on a moving platform. Our experiments show that the platform's motion is damped by a dry friction force of Coulomb...
An impressive demonstration of magnetism can be accomplished by placing some metal paperclips on a horizontal surface and then applying a vertical magnetic field. As the field is increased, the paperclips suddenly jump up, do a...
We study experimentally and numerically the existence and stability properties of discrete breathers in a periodic nonlinear electric line. The electric line is composed of single cell nodes, containing a varactor diode and an...
We derive the Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model from the basic circuit equations governing two coupled Wien-bridge oscillators. A Wien-bridge oscillator is a particular realization of a tunable autonomous oscillator that makes use of...
For more information on the published version, visit Science Direct's Website., Abdoulkary, Saidou, L.Q. English, and Alidou Mohamadou. Envelope Solitons in a Left-Handed Nonlinear Transmission Line with Josephson Junction....
We observe dark and bright intrinsic localized modes (ILMs), also known as discrete breathers, experimentally and numerically in a diatomic-like electrical lattice. The experimental generation of dark ILMs by driving a...
For more information on the published version, visit IOP Publishing's Website., Experimental evidence for the generation of intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) in a nonlinear electrical transmission line is presented both via...
The pendulum chain with torsional spring coupling represents a physical system that is described exactly by the spatially discrete sG equation. In order to study its solutions experimentally, however, we have to drive the...
For more information on the published version, visit IOP Publishing's Website., Mhiri, Houssem, Moyi Tian, Erin Wynne, Sean Jones, A. Mareno, and L.Q. English. "An Experimental Survey of Chaos and Symmetry Breaking in Coupled...
The position of the anode inside a Hall thruster is a very critical yet unexplored parameter in thruster physics. We present an innovative thruster that has a movable anode to test thruster efficiency and performance at...
Plasma thrusters have found increasing application for station-keeping of earth orbiting satellites as well as some interplanetary missions, yet a few of the finer details of the basic plasma physics of these thrusters remain...
For more information on the published version, Amazon's Website., Explorations in Physics (EiP) is a set of curricular materials developed to help non-science majors acquire an appreciation of science, understand the process of...
We show experimentally and numerically that an intrinsic localized mode (ILM) can be stably produced (and experimentally observed) via subharmonic, spatially homogeneous driving in the context of a nonlinear electrical lattice....
Complex Ginzburg–Landau (CGL) equations serve as canonical models in a great variety of physical settings, such as nonlinear photonics, dynamical phase transitions, superconductivity, superfluidity, hydrodynamics, plasmas,...
We discuss a project on rigid-body motion that is appropriate for students in an upper-division course in classical mechanics. We analyze the motion of Hurricane Balls, two spheres that are welded (or glued) together so they...
Sato, M., L.Q. English, B.E. Hubbard, and A.J. Sievers. Influence of Sample Shape on the Production of Intrinsic Localized Modes in an Antiferromagnetic Lattice. Journal of Applied Physics 91, no. 10 (2002): 8676-8678....
Only 28% of the U.S. adult population is considered scientifically literate. Although this is the second highest among 35 developed countries, a fact attributed to postsecondary science requirements, it should not be considered...
in our case several blackened, corrugated aluminum mesh grids. The grids transfer their thermal energy to the passing air. This paper theoretically and experimentally investigates the optimal number of grids to maximize...
Open Access: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give...