MacBeth's Opinion
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Physics Demo Links
Click on the links for some animations and interactive demos of classic physics experiments:
(the following are off-site. I have checked these sites out as "safe" at the time of posting. Please report any link problems to me)
Experimental Researches in Electricity Learn from the best, using primary sources...Faraday has a gift for explaining in clear language.
Turning the World Inside Out Physics demonstrations don't get much better than this. These are innovative and simple. Classic high school demos and a few simple mini-demos to keep everyone interested.
Backyard Ballistics How fun is this? Combines history and physics with a bang! Build a potato cannon, rockets and more. Includes CLEAR instructions, diagrams, and brief biographies of great thinkers in the field of physics. Author Dava Sobel calls it "the official manual for real boys."
Vacuum Bazookas, Electric Rainbow Jelly, and 27 Other Saturday Science Projects Like the title says. These projects go beyond the typical science demonstrations. Cool names for cool demonstrations. Great for those who like to tinker.
Hands-On Physics Activities With Real-Life Applications for grades 7-12. Includes reproducible data sheets and more.
Alice in Quantumland : An Allegory of Quantum Physics and Scrooge's Cryptic Carol : Visions of Energy, Time, and Quantum Nature by Robert Gilmore these very CM books are terrific introductions to quantum mechanics. They are also very funny and well written--a rare combination in the field of physics. Alice gets really small this time.
Opticks : Or a Treatise of the Reflections Inflections and Colours of Light by Isaac Newton (ignore the Amazon review--it is for the CD ROM--this is the book link)
The Forces of Matter by Michael Faraday (more from Faraday, eloquent physics)
Matter and Motion and Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism by James Maxwell (primary sources)
Thermodynamics by Enrico Fermi (ditto)
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (whether you believe it or not, interesting reading on theoretical cosmology)
Instant Physics : From Aristotle to Einstein, and Beyond by Tony Rothman (intro to physics)
A History of the Circle : Mathematical Reasoning and the Physical Universe by Ernest Zebrowski (another wonderful book about the history of scientific thought)
Six Easy Pieces : Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher by Feynman, of course (no better intro to physics anywhere, anytime)
Lectures on Gas Theory by Ludwig Boltzmann (Chemistry meets physics in gaseous realms)
A Tour of the Subatomic Zoo Occasionally silly, and written for college non-majors. Includes self-tests.
Laboratory Manuals and Equipment
Much of the following material is available off-site, from sources other than Amazon. To keep things simple, I have used as few suppliers as possible. You may find other sources for these materials, but these links are provided to give you a place to start (and shopping at our affiliates helps pay for website...but no pressure!) .
The following lab manual is from Castle Heights Press. Written by Kathleen and Mark Julicher, these manuals are meant for use in small schools or the homeschool. The labs contain clear instructions and are simple to do in the home, yet provide the student with solid high school laboratory experience.
We have also enjoyed Physics Lab in a Hardware Store, The Physics of Baseball, Sports Science Projects,
Equipment and supplies available from: