🚀 go-pugleaf

Some of my favorite resources for ideas about physics
demonstrations, problems, and strategies of teaching. Many of these
are older books, found at used-book sales and used-book stores.
They are worth watching for. The comments in square brackets are
my own.

Thompson, N. _Thinking Like a Physicist, Physics Problems for
Undergraduates_ Adam Hilger, 1990. A collection of problems and
solutions, written by the staff of the Physics Department of the
University of Bristol, and Edited by N. Thompson, PhD, FInstP,
Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Bristol. [Definitely
college level. Uses math and calculus freely.]

J. W. Warren _The Teaching of Physics_ Butterworths, 1965. From the
dust jacket: "The author, long dissatisfied with the falsities and
absurdities which have gradually come to be accepted by physics
teachers and examiners, cuts through the traditional interpretation
of elementary physics and offers constructive criticism."

Jargocki, Christopher P. _Science Brain-Twisters, Paradoxes, and
Fallacies_ Scribner's, 1976. [Good collection, useful at high
school or elementary college level.]

Jargocki, Christopher P. _More Science Brain-Twisters and
Paradoxes_, Van Nostrand, 1983.

Gardner, Martin. _Entertaining Science Experiments with Everyday
Objects_ Dover 1981. Reprint of _Science Puzzlers_, 1960, published
by Scholastic Book Service.

Gardner, Martin. _Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic_ Magic Inc.,
1978, 1985, 1991. [Many of these are physics demos in disguise, in
the spirit of Martin's recent contributions to _The Physics
Teacher_.]

Gardner, Martin: There's a whole series of reprint books of
Gardner's columns _Mathematical Games_ from the Scientific
American. Many of these have useful ideas for physics demos, and
are just good reads to stretch the mind.

Miller, Julius Sumner. _Millergrams I_ Doubleday, 1970 (pb).
_Millergrams II_ (companion volume) [Physics puzzlers with answers,
but the answers suggest more puzzles. Designed to encourage
conceptual thinking.]

Miller, Julius Sumner. _Demonstrations in Physics_ Ure Smith,
Sydney, London, 1969. [A larger collection in the spirit of the
Millergrams books. This one was not readily available in the United
States.]

Lynde, Carleton John. _Science Experiences with Home Equipment_ D.
Van Nostrand, 1937, 1949.

Good, Arthur. Prolific author of many books on magic tricks,
puzzles and science demonstrations, often published under
pseudonyms. These remind us of earlier times when people,
especially young people, thought science was fun, and enjoyed doing
science with readily available objects and materials and home-made
apparatus. Definitely hands-on physics. These are frequently
reprinted under other titles, for example:

_100 Amazing Magic Tricks_ Pinnacle Books, 1977.

Lanners, Edi. _Secrets of 123 Old-Time Science Tricks and
Experiments_ TAB Books, 1981.

_Columbus' Egg_ [Several books have appeared under this title.
Lanners' book is from one such two-volume set, published in 1890.

        -- Donald

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Dr. Donald E. Simanek                            Office: 717-893-2079
Prof. of Physics                    Internet: dsimanek@eagle.lhup.edu
Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA. 17745          CIS: 73147,2166
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