CRADLΣ Teachers Professional Development Workshops

Description

What does meteorology have to do with particle physics? In this workshop, participants will learn how a serendipitous observation led to the development of the cloud chamber particle detector by Charles Wilson (Nobel prize 1927). “The most wonderful and original instrument in scientific history”, as Lord Rutherford, the “father of nuclear physics”, called it, enabled further work resulting in several other Nobel prizes.

Teachers will:

construct a diffusion cloud chamber.

observe the different signatures left behind by ionizing radiation, such as cosmic ray particles.

experience and realize the omnipresence of background ionizing
radiation.

Description

Besides gravity, electromagnetism is the next most encountered force
in our everyday life. It is of immense practical importance and underlies
numerous innovations that propelled humanity into the modern age –
e.g. electricity generation (motors and transformers), modern
communications and optics.

This workshop explores the relation between static magnetic fields,
electrical currents, and forces resulting from their interaction. The
methods used are of high relevance to “current events” as the
international system of units and measurements (SI) is expected to
switch to electromagnetic methods for defining base units such as the
kilogramme in the near future.
 
Teachers will:

measure the Earth’s magnetic field strength using a compass and a
current-carrying conductor.

determine the magnetic constant (“permeability of free space”),  𝜇o
using a current balance.

get a taste of how fundamental constants and units are determined
or reproduced.

Description

19th century experiments (e.g. by Michelson and Morley) and new theoretical approaches (Lorentz/Einstein) established the speed of light, c, as a fundamental property that ties together space-time, the fabric of the universe. The speed of light is hence not just of great importance in the fields of optics and astronomy, but also fundamental for the microscopic structure of the world, e.g. in quantum physics. The speed of light also lies at the heart of everyday measurements: since 1983, the SI unit for length, the metre, is derived from the speed of light.

Teachers will:

(Basic) determine the speed of light in air using a laser diode, a photo detector, and common electronic measurement instruments.

(Advanced) explore and appreciate general problems in fast measurements (and how to deal with them) which may also clear some common misconceptions on how signals travel along a cable.

Description

The electrical conductivity of certain materials changes dramatically as they are cooled to sufficiently low temperatures. In 1911, Heike Kamerlingh-Onnes (Nobel Prize 1913) found that some materials might enter a state where electrical resistance completely disappears. While in this superconducting state, quantum mechanical effects in the material manifest themselves at the macroscopic scale, in the form of zero electrical resistance, as well as perfect diamagnetic properties (resulting in Meissner levitation).

Teachers will:

learn to reliably measure very small resistances using the  4-point method.

conduct resistance measurements on a superconducting material as it is slowly cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures.

determine the critical temperature TC.

observe the disappearance of electrical resistance at low temperatures. 

Description

The study of light has been a major topic since the time of the ancient Greeks. In early 18th century, Sir Isaac Newton proposed that light must be made up of particles to explain its straight line propagation. It wasn’t until the early 19th century that the wave theory of light gained popularity when Thomas Young demonstrated diffraction effects using two closely spaced slits. This laid the foundation for a modern understanding of optics, including breakthrough applications like crystal/molecular structure analysis using X-ray diffraction (Laue and Bragg/Bragg, Nobel prizes 1914 and 1915, and many more Nobel prizes).

Teachers will:

appreciate how diffraction arises as a consequence of the constructive and destructive interference.

relate the wavelength of light, the microscopic structure of the diffracting object, and the resulting diffraction patterns to each other.

use the characteristics of diffraction to perform measurements of wavelengths or microscopic structure sizes. 

Description

Spectroscopy is a class of techniques that investigates how radiation (such as, but not limited to light) is affected by interactions with matter. Our understanding of the micro- and macro-cosmos is largely based on spectroscopic observations. Spectroscopic techniques are also everyday characterization tools in materials science, chemistry, physics, life sciences, astronomy, and more and are taught early in chemistry.

This workshop has close links to our workshops on diffraction and Bohr’s atomic model, but focuses on qualitative characteristics of optical spectra and how they are linked to the atomic/molecular structure of materials.

Teachers will:

build (and keep!) a pocket spectroscope with surprisingly good performance.

explore characteristics of different types of spectra (atomic, molecular and solid state).

link the spectra to quantum concepts (energy levels, orbitals).

identify different types of light sources through their spectra.

observe Fraunhofer absorption lines in the daylight spectrum.

Description

Description 

Microcontrollers are integrated circuits (IC) chips that are able to process input and control machines and devices based on their written program. One example is the rice cooker. A microcontroller in the cooker controls the heating coil and with its array of sensors, emulates the manual cooking of rice on a stove. In our current lifestyle, it is rare to find a product that does not involve a microcontroller at some stage of its operation.

Teachers will:

learn about components – LEDs, piezo buzzers, light dependent resistors (LDRs), resistors.

learn basic programming structure, terminology and simple codes.

prototype circuits using the breadboard.

Participants will also be introduced to more electronic components and programming syntax. They will learn more advanced methods of controlling the same components to achieve more complex results. Concepts such as Charlieplexing and multiplexing will also be introduced and these will come in handy in future workshops when dealing with 7-segment LED displays or LED cube projects.

Teachers will:

learn about components – Servo motors, RGB LEDs, potentiometers.

learn concepts such as multi-plexing, Charlieplexing and persistence of vision (POV)

Description

Data logging is a common application in many science laboratories. In this workshop, participants will learn how to integrate micro-controllers, sensors and data storage devices to make their very own data loggers. The challenge activity will see participants designing and incorporating the different sensors to form an environmental monitoring system.

Teachers will:

learn about components – pH sensor, humidity / temperature sensor, gas sensor, SD card read / write module.

Description

In this workshop, participants will learn about the science behind the different distance and motion sensors and integrate them with components learnt in the Introduction series to come up with real life applications. Further applications to these sensors can be found in the field of robotics.

Teachers will:

• learn about components – PIR motion sensor, ultrasonic distance sensor, IR rangefinder.

Description