PIRA

Demonstration Bibliography
 
 

NC State has supplied us with a faster search engine. It is FAST. Unfortunately it only shows the old static pages. If you are looking for a group of demonstrations on a topic, you should use it. Otherwise, use the search engine located on the NC State Demonstration Resources Page.

This Demonstration Bibliography contains about 7500 entries including all of Sutton, Freier & Anderson, Meiners, Hilton, AJP, The Video Encyclopedia of Physics Demonstrations, the Minnesota Demonstration Handbook, a few articles from the Physics Teacher, and listings of the PIRA 200, PIRA 500, and PIRA 1000 demonstrations.

If you do not have a copy of one of the references listed above and would like to find out more information about a particular demonstration, ask someone on TAP-L for help.

Information in the main body of this bibliography is listed in four columns: PIRA Demonstration Classification Scheme Number, Demonstration Name, Reference, and a very brief abstract.

The structure of the bibliography is based on the preliminary Physics Instructional Resource Association (PIRA) Demonstration Classification Scheme. This classification scheme is intended to provide a framework to organize all demonstrations, old and new, current and obsolete, good and bad.

The demonstration name listed in the bibliography is either the name listed on the reference or, if none is given, a simple descriptive name. In cases where there are several common names for a demonstration, the committee has chosen a preferred name.

Each Reference has a unique numbering format. This unique format is used in the bibliography as the sole means of identifying the source of each entry. A list of the formats for the reference column is listed at the bottom of each table.

The abstract is very brief. It is not intended to be a summary of the reference. One sentence is, in general, sufficient to describe the unique characteristics, if any, of an item.

Each demonstration is listed in only one location, even if it is commonly used to illustrate several concepts. The committee has tried to determine the most fundamental use for any demonstration and included reference pointers at other common locations of demonstration use.

If you can find the location of a particular demonstration, all references relating to that demonstration should be located in the immediate vicinity. Unfortunately, this work is incomplete, as most of the volumes from the Physics Teacher and some from The American Journal of Physics are not included at this time.

All suggestions are welcome and thoughtfully considered. Since this work is based on publications, many unpublished demonstrations do not appear in this compilation. It is important that we include as many unpublished demonstrations as possible in the next draft. If you notice demonstrations in your collection that do not appear on this list, please communicate with a committee member. The current list of members is:

Gerald Zani, Chair

Brown University

Zigmond Peacock

University of Utah

Marsha Hobbs

Karl Trappe

University of Texas at Austin

Keith Warren

North Carolina State University

Michael Thomason

University of Colorado

Dave Maiullo

Rutgers University

Douglas C. Johnson

Cal Poly University

The DCS committee would like to acknowledge the work done on this project by the late Philip Johnson of the University of Minnesota. His leadership and guidance were key to the development of this database.


This draft includes entries for the PIRA 200, PIRA 500, and PIRA 1000. The PIRA 200 is a list of demonstrations which should be considered fundamental to any demonstration collection. This is a preliminary list adopted by PIRA at the 1993 Summer Meeting. Generic demonstrations and abstracts are complete for these demonstrations. The PIRA 500 and PIRA 1000 have not yet been adopted and are only listed here as a starting point for defining these lists. No abstracts have yet been written for these lists.

PHYSICS DEMONSTRATION BIBLIOGRAPHY


  • Mechanics
    • 1A- Measurement
    • 1C- Motion in One Dimension
    • 1D. Motion in Two Dimensions
    • 1E- Relative Motion
    • 1F- Newton's First Law
    • 1G- Newton's Second Law
    • 1H- Newton's Third Law
    • 1J- Statistics of Rigid Bodies
    • 1K- Applications of Newton's Laws
    • 1L- Gravity
    • 1M- Work and Energy
    • 1N- Linear Momentum
    • 1Q- Rotational Dynamics
    • 1R- Properties of Matter
  • Fluid Mechanics
    • 2A- Surface Tension
    • 2B- Statics of Fluids
    • 2C- Dynamics of Fluids
  • Oscillations and Waves
    • 3A- Oscillations
    • 3B- Wave Motion
    • 3C- Acoustics
    • 3D- Instruments
    • 3E- Sound Reproduction
  • Thermodynamics
    • 4A- Thermal Properties of Matter
    • 4B- Heat and the First Law
    • 4C- Change of State
    • 4D- Kinetic Theory
    • 4E- Gas Law
    • 4F- Entropy and the Second Law
  • Electricity and Magnetism
    • 5A- Electrostatics
    • 5B- Electric Fields and Potential
    • 5C- Capacitance
    • 5D- Resistance
    • 5E- Electromotive Force and Current
    • 5F- DC Circuits
    • 5G- Magnetic Materials
    • 5H- Magnetic Fields and Forces
    • 5J- Inductance
    • 5K- Electromagnetic Induction
    • 5L- AC Circuits
    • 5M- Semiconductors and Tubes
    • 5N- Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Optics
    • 6A- Geometrical Optics
    • 6B- Photometry
    • 6C- Diffraction
    • 6D- Interference
    • 6E- Interference
    • 6F- Color
    • 6H- Polarization
    • 6J- The Eye
    • 6Q- Modern Optics
  • Modern Physics
    • 7A- Quantum Effects
    • 7B- Atomic Physics
    • 7D- Nuclear Physics
    • 7E- Elementary Particles
    • 7F- Relativity
  • Astronomy
    • 8A- Planetary Astronomy
    • 8B- Stellar Astronomy
    • 8C- Cosmology
  • Equipment
    • 9A- Support Systems
    • 9B- Electronic
    • 9C- Mechanical

PIRA || AAPT || On-Line Physics Demonstrations

This page was last updated 18 March 1998 by Keith Warren