Frank Potter's Science Gems
Physical Science I

PHYSICAL SCIENCE SUBCATEGORIES

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I. Physical Science - Techniques: Measurement and Scientific Investigation

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• International System of Units in Science - National Institute of Standards (NIST) Definitions, conversions, and prefixes.
  
  
• NANOWORLD - D. Waddell @ Univ. of Queensland, Australia Electron microscope images in abundance: in the Image Gallery one sees insects, blood cell, cement, polyp skeleton, crystals, bread mold, rat hair, egg shell, pollen, etc. Also a wonderful section on scale size examples from the atomic molecular to the cellular and macromolecular.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• International System of Units in Science - National Institute of Standards (NIST) Definitions, conversions, and prefixes.
  
  
• Interactive Periodic Table - M. Winter, U. Sheffield, UK All you want to know about each element.
  
  
• Periodic Table Viewer (JavaScript) - Barrett Golding, Dross LLP Simultaneously view: Name; Discoverer; Atomic Weight; Melt/Boil; Shell; Isotopes; Orbital; & SpecificGravity.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• Fundamental Physical Constants - National Institute of Standards (NIST) Universal, Electromagnetic, Atomic & Nuclear, Physico-Chemical.
  
  
• Exploratorium Science Resources- San Francisco - Exploratorium, San Francisco
  A variety of science resources for students, teachers and the general public, including the Science of Gardening, Sport Science, Music, How Do We Know?, Afterschool Activities, Digital photo & video library, Webcasts, Microscope Imaging, teacher teaching tips, Explorium exhibits about the Mind, and much other information.
  
  
• A Walk Through Time: Evolution of Time Measurement - G. Wiersma and M. Hane, NIST History of ancient calendars, clocks, atomic clocks, and the time zones.
  
  
• Laws, Rules, Principles, Effects, Paradoxes, Limits, Constants, Experiments, & Thought-Experiments in Physics - Author E.M Francis, HTML-version K. Hellig, Institute of Physics, Technical University Chemnitz-Zwickau Dictionary of 100's of physics terms and ideas.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• International System of Units in Science - National Institute of Standards (NIST) Definitions, conversions, and prefixes.
  
  
• Fundamental Physical Constants - National Institute of Standards (NIST) Universal, Electromagnetic, Atomic & Nuclear, Physico-Chemical.
  
  
• Expressing Measurement Uncertainty - National Institute of Standards (NIST) Basics, Evaluating, Combining, and Examples.
  
  
• Interactive Periodic Table - M. Winter, U. Sheffield, UK All you want to know about each element.
  
  
• Periodic Table Viewer (JavaScript) - Barrett Golding, Dross LLP Simultaneously view: Name; Discoverer; Atomic Weight; Melt/Boil; Shell; Isotopes; Orbital; & SpecificGravity.
  
  
• Physics Pocket Computer (JavaScript) - Jean-Pol Vigneron, Department of Physique, Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix de Namur, Belgium Extensive manipulation capability!!
  
  
• World of Physics- E. Weisstein and Wolfram Research Definitions, equations, and examples.
  
  
• World of Scientific Biography- E. Weisstein and Wolfram Research Scientific contributions and links, some photos.
  
  
• THE NIST CODATA RECOMMENDED VALUES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICAL CONSTANTS - E. Richard Cohen and Barry N. Taylor and maintained by the Physics Laboratory, National Institute of Standards "This document gives the values of the basic constants and conversion factors of physics and chemistry resulting from the 1986 least-squares adjustment of the fundamental physical constants as published by the CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants and as recommended for international use by CODATA".
  
  
• Musée des arts et métiers - Paris (In French) Historical instruments of measurement and research - with images.
  
  
• Atomic Spectra Database - NIST Spectral lines and energy levels.
  
  Some readable journals:
• Scientific American (Journal) - Scientific American, Inc. Selections from the monthly journal.
  
  
• Nature (Journal) - Macmillan Publishers Ltd Selections from the international weekly journal.
  
  
• Science (Journal) - AAAS Selections from the global weekly journal of science research.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Junior Lab in Physics at MIT - MIT Optics, Compton scattering, Millikan, Zeeman Effect, Faraday Effect, Optical Pumping, Mossbauer Spectroscopy, X-ray physics, Superconductivity, Johnson Noise, 21 cm Radio Astronomy, Parity non-conservation, etc.
  
  
• THE NET ADVANCE OF PHYSICS - N.H. Redington, MIT Articles at different levels in practically all areas of physics and astrophysics!! "A free electronic journal/encyclopaedia modeled somewhat on the old Handbuch der Physik. We have brought together review articles, tutorials, and lecture notes in physics and allied sciences from across the Internet to create an unparalleled information resource for scientists and graduate students. By continually updating this collection, we hope to make The Net Advance of Physics a reference tool as nearly up-to-the-minute as possible."
  
  
• Atomic Spectra Database - NIST Spectral lines and energy levels.
  
  

II. Physical Science - Mathematical Methods

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• MONTESSORI Math Numerous lessons with beads, stamps, etc. on numeration, addition, subtraction, fractions, etc.
  
  
• NANOWORLD - D. Waddell @ Univ. of Queensland, Australia Electron microscope images in abundance: in the Image Gallery one sees insects, blood cell, cement, polyp skeleton, crystals, bread mold, rat hair, egg shell, pollen, etc. Also a wonderful section on scale size examples from the atomic & molecular to the cellular and macromolecular.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Glossary of Mathematical Mistakes - P. Cox "This is a list of mathematical mistakes made over and over by advertisers, the media, reporters, politicians, activists, and in general many non-math people. These come from many sources, ..." Examples are explained and there are many links.
  
  
• Decibels vs. Distance Calculator (JavaScript) - MC2 Design Group, Vancouver, Canada "This calculation will give you the amount of attenuation, in decibels, you can expect with a change in receiver distance, in a free field (outdoors). Plus many other sound related calculators"
  
  
• GRAPHICS FOR THE CALCULUS CLASSROOM - Douglas N. Arnold, University of Minnesota Collection of graphical demonstrations for first year calculus. MPEG Animation, text, etc. Topics include: Derivatives and differentials; Volume of water in a tipped glass; Archimedes' calculation of pi; How the ball bounces; Secants and tangents; Zooming in on a tangent line; A trigonometric limit; The limit; A nowhere differentiable function; exponential function; Intersection of two cylinders.
  
  
• The Integral Calculator - Wolfram Research Integrates practically any combination of functions!
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Test data for comparative studies - NIST "A visual repository of test data for use in comparative studies of algorithms for numerical linear algebra, featuring nearly 500 sparse matrices from a variety of applications, as well as matrix generation tools and services. "
  
  
• Mathematical Examples - K.S. Brown Interpretations of gravity, retrograde motion, accelerated frames, shortest paths, etc. - explanations and answers to questions. Number theory; Combinatorics; Geometry; Algebra; Calculus; Probability; Set Theory; History of Mathematics; Physics; Music.
  
  
• An Introduction to Wavelets - A. Graps "Wavelets are mathematical functions that cut up data into different frequency components, and then study each component with a resolution matched to its scale. They have advantages over traditional Fourier methods in analyzing physical situations where the signal contains discontinuities and sharp spikes..."
  
  
• HyperStat Online Textbook - D.M. Lane, Rice University "HyperStat Online is an introductory-level hypertext statistics book.... " - distributions, testing, ANOVA, etc.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• Mathematical Physics Electronic Journal - Dept. of Mathematics at U. of Texas at Austin Abstracts and articles.
  
  

III. Mechanics of Motion

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• NEWTON'S APPLE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS More than 100 lessons from the 9th through 15th seasons from brain mapping to bread chemistry to the Hubble telescope to printing money to a raptor hospital: activities, questions, and further investigation suggestions.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Damped Oscillatory Motion (Java Applet) - E. Woolgar, University of Alberta Vary the natural frequency and the damping factor to observe the behavior of a non-linear system.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Astronomy Workshop - D. Hamilton, Univ. of Maryland All sorts of astronomy related treasures: Orbit viewer; Central force integrator; 3-body integrator; etc.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

IV. Energy

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• IPPEX Interactive Physics Modules - IPPEX Development Team Energy, Matter, Electricity & Magnetism, and Fusion modules which include interactive simulations, activities to do at home, and self-checks.
  
  
• What is energy? What is energy?; Energy sources; Nuclear power; Fossil fuels, etc.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

"MINIMUM" Level: university

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

V. Linear Momentum

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

"MINIMUM" Level: university

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

VI. Mechanics of Rotational Motion

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Four Bar Linkages - Brock Engineering "One important application of four bar linkages is the generation of functions - relating the output of a mechanism with some functional relationship of the input "
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

VII. Solids and Fluids

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• SMITHSONIAN GEM & MINERAL COLLECTION - Smithsonian photos by D.A. Penland About 100 marvelous pictures.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• The Mineral Gallery - Amethyst Galleries, Inc Images and properties of 100's of minerals, etc. "The Mineral Gallery is a constantly growing collection of mineral descriptions and images (specimens last updated 29-May-97), together with several ways of accessing these descriptions. The descriptions include searchable mineralogical data, plus other information of interest to students and rock hounds!"
  
  
• 40 Common Minerals & their Uses - Gold-Traders, UK Images and properties of 40 common minerals - such as bauxite, asbestos, gold, feldspar, gypsum, iron ore, mica, potash, etc
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Fluid Flow between Two Reservoirs (Java Applet) - F. Hellweger, U. of Texas Adjust many of the parameters.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Level Set Methods - Author: J.A. Sethian; Contributors to project include: D Adalsteinsson; D.L. Chopp; J.S. Davis, II; M.L. Hald; R. Kimmel; R. Malladi; J. Rey and J. Zhu, Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley Interactive Java Applet Tutorials & Movies. Movies include: Curvature Collapse; Soap Bubbles; Medical Imaging; Rising Bubble; Microchip Manufacturing and much more.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

VIII. Vibrations and Wave Motion

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• Absorption of Sound by the Atmosphere Calculator (JavaScript) Put in air pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and frequency.
  
  
• Fourier Series applet Put in various wave types.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Synthesis of Speech - H.T. Bunnell, Applied Science and Engineering Laboratories, and administered jointly by the Alfred I. duPont Institute of the Nemours Foundation and the University of Delaware "This interface allows you to synthesize non-nasalized monopthongal English vowels using the Klatt synthesizer. It provides control over vowel duration, voice pitch, and the first three formant frequencies."
  
  
• Astro's String (Vibration) Calculator (JavaScript) - Arto Wikla, University of Helsinki, Finland "When using the calculator, you must first select the note: its name and the octave. There is also the choice between two tunings, the 'modern': a'=440 Hz, and 'baroque': a'=415 Hz."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• Sonoluminescence: an Introduction - W.A. Steer Introduction, history, and apparatus results.
  
  

IX. Thermodynamics

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Whole-Wall Thermal Performance Calculator - K. Childs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) "The determination of a whole-wall thermal performance rating is a multistep process. The first step is to select a structutural wall system type from the list below. After the wall system type is chosen various options (e.g. interior finish, insulation, exterior sheating, exterior finish) specific to that wall type can be selected."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.