Physics Links

kinematics/dynamics - light/optics - waves

relativity / mind-bending theoretical physics

The Big Book of Physical Science - 16 chapters of juicy information ranging from scienctific method, to kinematics, to waves, to dynamics, etc, etc... there is even a sprinkling of chemistry. Each chapter explains subject matter and gives a historical perspective with mini-biographies and the contributions of scientists. This site has a broad scope but it is worth the visit due to good organisation. Great for research and review!

How Things Work - Although organized poorly, this site has no equal in explaining the technological applications and connections of physics theory to everyday life. A wonderful place to send students when they ask, "Why do we have to know this"?

The Internet Pilot to Physics - this is the mother of all physics instruction sites... it has it all; physics institutes, related magazines, links to just about everywhere, students forums and my favorite "today in the history of physics" - it's fun to share important historical events with students.

The Virtual Laboratory - Applets galore!!! Shockwave too. This site has all sorts of neat interactive little programs that run right in your web browser and do a great job of explaining a variety of physics concepts in an entertaining way.

Hurricane Hunters - Pictures and movies from planes that have flown into the eyes of hurricanes! Cool!

Ross Shep Physics Page - Great links and terrific Flash demonstrations!

University of Alberta High School Physics Labs - the Uof A physics department hosts a fantastic program for Physics 30 students. I take my class every year - I wouldn't miss this excellent field trip.

Bob Delaney's Science Software - Bob is a retired physics teacher who has used to his creativity to help students - at no charge! Visit this site and check out the cool stuff - especially his Supercard tuturial stacks. Thanks, Bob!

Introduction to Geodesic Domes - a simple introduction with a few pics.

Early Steam Engines - this site is not flashy, but it's got some great videos and neat stories of steam pioneers.

Space Station Extravehicular Activity - at this NASA page read all about the details and history of spacewalks. Includes details on what it's like to work in space, space station construction, robotics, spacesuits, and more.

Space Suits - what better place to get information about spacesuits than the company that actually makes them for NASA? This page from the Hamilton Sundstrand company provides many details regarding how their spacesuits work.

Historical Inventions - a massive A-Z list of inventions and the stories behind them. Provides many research links - a great place to start your invention search!

A Brief History of the Microwave Oven - almost everyone has a microwave in their kitchen - learn the story behind it!

Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics - this entertaining and educational site is a blast to read! You won't be able to hold back a smile as the physics in movies is thoroughly skewered! I love the hilarious ratings on this page "PGP-13" for example means "Children under 13 might be tricked into thinking the physics were pretty good; parental guidance is suggested". The page even dissects the recent movie Pearl Habour, and has a section of "Generic Bad Movie Physics" that covers everything from flaming cars to space explosions.

Modern Relativity - ouch, this baby will bend your brain! Have run reading about all aspects of relativity at this site (thanks for the work, David!)

How Gas Turbine Engines Work - jet engines are good examples of heat engines. Find out how they work here. You might also want to check out these pages for more jet engine information: Principles of Jet Engine Operation, NASA: Ultra Efficient Engine Technology, Pictures of Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines, How Jet Engines Work.

James Watt and the Steam Engine - this site has a very childish cartoon interface, but you can't help liking the cartoon character Jenny's goofy smile! Although the interface and language is aimed at younger children, the site has very worthwhile facts about James Watt's life, and has excellent animations of the Newcomen and Watt versions of the steam engine.

Savery Engine - check out this QuickTime movie (11.5MB) of a teacher's model of the savery engine. The industriousness of high school science teachers never ceases to amaze!

Gallery of Fluid Dynamics - amazing pictures.

Moonpans.com - It's a good site for ordering high quality space exploration prints, if you are into that kind of thing. But educationally, the most useful part of the site is the collection of fantastic Apollo Panoramas - great for showing kids what moon exploration really looked like!

Space Telescope Institute Site - The best site on the net for you astronomers interested in the Hubble Space Telescope - it has great explanations of all the science instruments, and even has a java applet that allows you to determine the Hubble's exact position any moment.

Emory University Astronomy Pages - The good Dr. Anderson at Emory University created the pages for an astronomy course, but I see plenty in these superb pages for use in the high school classroom, and will likely be of interest to astronomy hobbyists as well. This link will take you to the main page - set aside some time to explore all the pages... you won't regret it!

Space TV - Amazing videos of space phenomena - featured right now is a profile of Linda Godwin, one of NASA's few female spacewalkers.

NASA Video Gallery - Aerospace technology, astronomy, human space flight, robotics, a great number of fascinating videos can be found on these pages.

NASA Webcast Archive - A little of everything!

Theodore Van Karman Lecture Series - Fascinating lectures on many aspects of the space program's missions, instruments and technologies - could keep you and your students busy for some time!

NASA Solar System Videos - If you just want to explore our solar system, NASA has conveniently gathered all their relevant videos into one place.

Powers of Ten - starting 10 million light years from Earth, you zoom in continually until you reach the subatomic level! Very cool journey!

Spectra of Gas Discharges - got gas? Want to see it glow? Come here!

Life, the Universe and the Electron - Nothing "Bohring" here... just everything you could possibly want to know about electrons! Good images too.

ABC's of Nuclear Science - Alpha, Beta, Gamma..., Dopey, Sneezy, Grumpy, this site expertly explains every nuclear particle there is and much, much more! Fusion, fission, nuclear safety, experiments, cosmic rays, magnetic deflection... this site has it all. Clear explanations with great diagrams - this site covers everything nuclear to such a great degree I suprised you can't find Mr. Burns and Homer here!

Spacetime Wrinkles - Gravity waves, black holes and relativity... ready for a little light reading? C'mon don't be afraid... send your physics students here for something to chew on. Great movies available for download, too.

Fermi National Lab - We can try to explain what a particle accelerator looks like or we can take an online tour of the most powerful one in the world! Abundant accelerator info as well.

Bose-Einstein Condensation - This site will give you the chills! Take a trip on a journey toward absolute zero and see what happens to atoms. Very, literally cool.

Einstein's Legacy - You've gotta go here just to see the fluoroscope applet - it is SO cool! There is nothing intimidating about this site... it welcomes and beckons you to explore the inventions (X-ray machines, CAT scans, microwaves, etc.) that have been borne of Einstein's theories. The theories are also clearly and entertainingly discussed. An absolutely incredible site.

Amateur Radiation Detection and Experimentation Page - it's fantastic! The page is beautifully free of any fancy physics jargon - yet it manages to clearly explain the different types of radiation, how to build a gieger counter, the dangers of radon and describes some very interesting experiments regarding radioactive dust and household sources of radiation. Very interesting reading.

The Strange Attractors of Lorenz and Rossler - a complex but interesting discussion of the math behind these chaotic models.

Uranium: It's Uses and Hazards - this site provided by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research does a fairly good job of explaining depleted uranium while also covering other uranium issues well.

Meltdown at Three Mile Island - although this news is very old, the topics covered are still very relevant.

Chernobyl.com - an older page, but contains links to just about everything you'll want to know about this disaster.

Nuclear Disasters and Accidents - a summary page that clears up some misconceptions.

Exploration of the Earth's Magnetosphere - Long name, cool site! This is a self-contained course consisting of 8 sections, ranging from magnetism to solar wind to auroras. The section on magnetism is particularly good, especially as an introduction to the subject.

DC Circuits - An incredible set of tutorials on circuitry - includes self tests, example problems and very clear diagrams. A must visit for review purposes!

Nasa Ohms Law Tutorial - Well, the title says it all! Although I'd feel a little more confident in the space program if the astronauts DIDN'T need tutorials in Ohm's law. Oh well, I guess even they forget the basics.

Aurora Borealis - Beautiful, mesmerizing images and movies of the poorly understood phenomenon. I especially appreciated the artistic renditions of how the solar wind affects the Earth's magnetosphere.

Optical Transient Detector - Huh? In English, please? Space based sensor detects lightning events - come here to see the cool images! You can even take your class on a lightning field trip! The whole thing (the field trip) is downloadable and very educational. Fits in great to electricity units.

Magnetism - a thorough explanation!

Circles of Magnetism - although written for elementary students (Tinkertoy!), this activity can also be done by high school students. Great way to illustrate the magnetic field around a current carrying conductor.

Electricty and Magnetism - a complete course on line, from Janak Sodha at the University of West Indies. Does go into some more advnaced concepts but most of it is great material for high school as well.

History of the Van de Graff Generator - an oldie, but a goodie! Some cool pix too.

Van de Graaff Generator - good diagram and explanation of how it works.

Demonstrations Using a Van de Graaff Generator - a bunch of great ideas for getting the most out of your Van de Graaff.

Van de Graaff Generators in the Classroom - a description of electrostatic theory, plus some good safety tips when using a leyden jar in your demonstrations.

How a Tesla Coil Works - not light reading! An in-depth description of how a Tesla coil differs from a typical transformer.

Do You Know Your Electronic Symbols? - here's a great quiz put together by Brook Weston College!

Electronic Symbols - if you don't have any clue about electronic symbols, maybe you should study here first!

Electrostatics: Hands-on activities - a clearly spelled out activity with the results that should be achieved.

Van de Graaf generators in the classroom - a good discussion of theory and excelent safety advice.

New York Vector Adventure - If you're hooked to the net in your class, then you'd be crazy not to take your physics students here! An engaging online treasure hunt through NY - your key to success... vectors!

The Physics Classroom - Theoretically, you don't have to do any of the teaching! Just send them here! Kinematics, Newton's Laws, Vectors, Momentum... are all covered in this clear and simple site. Good for review and study purposes.

Roller Coaster Physics - Wonderful, clear instruction on concepts of weightlessness, banked curves, centre of mass, centripetal acceleration, physiological effects of acceleration and more! Labs for amusement parks are also included with many handy tips and hints.

Interactive Physics Problem Set - About a 100 great physics problems! If you've got a Mac, and your MPEG extension, you'll be able to view movies for many problems. Impressive passel of work.

Kepler's Laws - Mr. Drennon has done a great job of providing some clear explanations and cool animations of Kepler's laws. I suggest gravitating toward this small but useful site.

Canobie lake Park - The cool world of interface technology never ceases to amaze me... check out this great page that illustrates the use of eMate and Newtons connected to interface devices. Students used them (with some clever adjustments and software!) to collect data at an amusement park! Terrific!

Tornado Project Online - The frightening phenomenon of tornados is well covered at this site - get cool details, tornado FAQs, safety info, the Fujita scale, tornado top ten list... it's all here and it's a great example of the forces in nature.

Java Cannon - The University of Oregon Virtual Lab did a wonderful job with this one... students can adjust angle, velocity and gravity, but also other interesting variables - windage and density of the ball. The results are amazing and the animation is perfect - an exceptional applet that you'd be crazy not to use in your room.

Super Bridge - this NOVA site goes through the four major bridge types and then challenges you to match the appropriate bridge to several locations. Cool! And guess what else is at the site - movie of the Tacoma Narrows bridge oscillation. Hang on!

The Secret of the Archer Fish - so how do they shoot those little bugs off those branches?

What is a Liquid Mirror? - all about liquid mirrors!

Hubble Space Telescope Public Pictures - The trouble with Hubble? Nothing! Don't settle for mediocre space pix, these are the absolute best.

Holoworld - Pretty cool... learn all about holograms and lasers and how you can set them up in your classroom.

Illusionworks - Stomach turning fun! When you need an interesting topic in optics, be sure to stop here! If your browser is Java/Shockwave savvy, you'll have even more eye-bending interactive fun!

The Planets - Just in case the Hubble pix weren't enough, this ought to satisfy your study of the cosmos.

Laser Science Projects - So you're really going to let them use the laser, eh? You've got a lot more guts than I do. Great resource for students and teachers regarding laser fun stuff.

Color Theory of Light - A fantastic set of four applets that clearly demonstrate the light emission and absorption principles.

Line Spectra - Too cool! Click on a particluar element and this program will simulate what it's spectrum would look like in a spectroscope.

Physics Java Applets at Appleby - So good, I listed it twice! A wonderful collection of quick loading, excellent java applets, focussing primarily on light/optics and sound/waves.

Ken's Fluorescent Minerals - a great page of beautiful pictures with plenty of links for gemologists.

Don Klipstein's Lighting Info Site - wow, this guy really likes lights! Information on everything from LEDs to UV lamps... not a flashy site, but great info.

Spherical Aberration - good explanation, part of the excellent "Reflection and Ray Model" tutorial on the Physics Classroom site.

Digital Journal of Ophthalmology - great site loaded with images, articles, a basic knowledge section (with quizzes!) and even review page for opthalmic CD-ROMS and software!

Refraction from glass to air - a simple refraction applet combined with a good analysis page.

Single-Slit Diffraction - this colourful applet allows you to change slit width and the wavelength of the incident light. Also has a great explanation.

Bragg's Law and Diffraction - alter wavelength, atomic plane distance and angle of incidence with this great applet. Also does a good job of explaining Bragg's Law.

Two-Slit Experiment - wow! Someone did a wonderful job with the lush graphics of this beautiful diffraction demonstration. A must see!

Seismic Intensity Scales - Whole lotta shakin' goin on! It's really tough to explain the Richter scale, and even harder to give realistic analogies of how the relative intensities would feel. So give up, and send your students here instead! Armando Amador did a great job on this site.

Earthquake Information - Quake! No, not the game, the deadly Earth thingy! If you want earthquake resources, you really should start here - seismology, plate tectonics, the whole bit.

Soundry - Hey! Listen up! Check out the Soundry if you want any type of information on sound! It's a great site, especially the section on the physics of sound.