These are my 3D-printed Meissner tetrahedrons, each maintaining the same height when rolled in any direction. The Meissner tetrahedron is a 3D version of the 2D Reuleaux triangle, which is a triangle with constant width. A flat platform can be placed on top and remain level when pushed around. The STL files can be obtained from Thingiverse. Sliced using Cura (with treelike supports) and printed with my Creality Ender 3.
Not exactly a physics teaching aid, but it demonstrates the affordance of 3D printing, which allows us to produce interesting objects overnight for lessons or if inspiration strikes. I am going to print a Gomboc next, which is an object when resting on a flat surface have just one stable and one unstable point of equilibrium, and is relevant to the topic of turning effects of forces.
I bought a Creality Ender 3D printer in 2020 (going at about $270 at Lazada now), at the height of the pandemic and have been using it to print physics-related teaching aids for a while, including balloon hovercrafts, catapults, a Pythagorean cup, tippy top and a vertical axis wind turbine. In addition to complete demonstration sets, it is also handy for printing parts to fix old demonstration sets such as a base for a standing cylinder with spouts at different heights.
The Creality Ender 3 3D printer
This is a video compiled with the objects that I printed in recent months. The lime green filament that I used were purchased at $16.40 for 1 kg from Shopee. Therefore, each of the prints shown in the picture cost between forty cents to four dollars’ worth of filament.
The first is a coin funnel that can be used to demonstrate how centripetal force keeps objects moving in circles. As the energy of the coins decreases due to friction, the radius of the circle gets smaller and its speed actually increases. This forms a cognitive dissonance that often surfaces when we discuss satellites losing altitude in orbit.
The second is a tensegrity structure which can be used to teach about moments and equilibrium.
The third is a marble run set that was really just lots of fun to watch rather than teaching any difficult concept other than energy changes.
The fourth is a series of optical illusions that can be used to promote thinking about how light from reflections travel.
The final print is a cup holder that can be swung in vertical loops with a cup full of water. This is the most popular print among my colleagues and will certainly be used in term 3 for the JC1 lessons on circular motion.
Came across a question recently that many students answered incorrectly.
Close to the surface of the Earth the gravitational field strength is uniform. A pair of unequal masses are joined by a light, rigid horizontal bar and suspended by a string from their centre of gravity as shown. The mass M of the ball on the left is larger than the mass m of the ball on the right.
The supporting string is now cut and the system begins to fall. Air resistance is negligible.
Which statement is correct?
A
The bar will remain horizontal as it falls.
B
The bar will rotate clockwise as it falls.
C
The bar will rotate anti-clockwise as it falls.
D
The bar will first rotate clockwise and then rotate anticlockwise as it falls.
Without air resistance
This question supposes that air resistance is negligible and so the only forces initially acting on the object is weight. The answer that many students gave incorrectly as B because they assume that the larger weight acting on the larger mass will bring about a larger acceleration.
Since the object begins in equilibrium, and the acceleration of both objects is just gravitational acceleration, the bar will remain horizontal.
With air resistance
This then invites a question: What if there is air resistance?
To consider the vertical acceleration on both balls, we need to consider the net force $F_{net}$, which is the vector sum of weight $W$ and air resistance $F_R$, ignoring the tension exerted by the rod at the initial stage of the fall.
$$F_{net} = W – F_R = V \rho_{ball}g – \dfrac{1}{2} \rho_{air}v^2C_DA$$
The volume V of a sphere is proportional to $r^3$ and its cross-sectional area A is proportional to $r^2$,
A larger radius will imply a larger increase in V than A, and hence, a large $W$ than $F_R$. This will then allow the larger mass to experience a larger acceleration than the smaller mass in the initial stage.
This applet highlights the parts of a circuit that becomes live depending on the state of a switch and the type of electrical fault in a device. It also demonstrates the roles of the fuse and earth wire in preventing accidents.
I just took the elevator in my apartment building with the PhyPhox mobile app and recorded the acceleration in the z-direction as the lift went down and up. This was done in the middle of the night to reduce the chances of my neighbours getting into the elevator along the way and disrupting this experiment, and more importantly, thinking I was crazy. The YouTube video below is the result of this impromptu experiment and I intend to use it in class tomorrow.
I used to do this experiment with a weighing scale, and a datalogger, but with smartphone apps being able to demonstrate the same phenomenon, it was worth a try.
To complement the activity, I will be using this simulation as well. Best viewed in original format: https://ejss.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/elevator_Simulation.xhtml, this simulation done in 2016 was used to connect the changes in acceleration and velocity to the changes in normal contact force as an elevator makes its way up or down a building.
