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Physics Demonstrations and Equipment

Physics Demonstrations and Equipment

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766 Demos

770 Classes Served since 2002

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Hand holding a white styrofoam cup with water streaming from a hole near the base, above a large clear graduated bucket filled with water; a wooden cafeteria tray sits on the table to the left

Leaking Cup Drop

A cup with a hole leaks water when held stationary but stops leaking when dropped. In the cup's freely falling reference frame, the effective gravity is zero, eliminating the hydrostatic …

Transparent projection force table with ball chains attached to central ring at various angles, shown both directly (left) and projected on screen (right)

Projection Force Table

Demonstrates vector addition of coplanar forces and the conditions for static equilibrium. Students observe how multiple forces acting at a point can balance, reinforcing force resolution and equilibrium conditions. The …

Red-and-yellow checkered meter stick balanced on a black pivot stand, with a brass mass hanging from a screw clamp on the left and a larger black cylindrical mass on the right, mass set visible behind the pivot

Meter Stick on Support

Hanging different masses at different lever arm positions on a pivoted meter stick demonstrates torque balance. Students verify that at equilibrium and predict where to place masses to achieve balance.

Person standing on the overhanging end of an 8-ft wooden plank on a lecture bench; medicine ball and blue safety-stop blocks visible at the far end, chalkboard behind

Walking the Plank

A person walks along a plank extending over the edge of a lecture bench, dramatically illustrating torque balance. Adding a counterweight (medicine ball or lead bricks) to the opposite end …

Fluid level tube apparatus in a white frame: four connected glass tubes filled with blue-colored water -- one straight wide tube, one with zigzag bends, one spiral, and one S-curve -- all showing water at the same height

Fluid Level Tubes

Connected tubes of different shapes (straight, zigzag, spiral, S-curve) all equilibrate to the same water level, showing that hydrostatic pressure depends only on vertical height, not path geometry.

Intact black 55-gallon drum with vacuum gauge on top, motorized vacuum pump on cart in center, and a previously crushed drum on the right

Collapse of 55-Gallon Drum

Dramatically illustrates the magnitude of atmospheric pressure. A vacuum pump evacuates a sealed 55-gallon steel drum until it catastrophically implodes with a loud bang, crushing on three sides simultaneously. The …

Composite bar with aluminum tube on left and wood dowel on right, wrapped in white paper that shows scorch marks only on the wood side

Wood and Aluminum Bar

Wrap paper around a composite aluminum-and-wood bar and pass it through a torch flame. The paper over aluminum is unscorched; the paper over wood burns. Students see that high thermal …

Setup: fiber optic lamp and power supply on left, condenser on ring stand in center, water-filled aquarium on wooden block on right

Air Lenses

Air-filled lenses submerged in water reverse the expected behavior: convex shapes diverge light and concave shapes converge it. Students see directly that lens action depends on the refractive index contrast …

$Four green laser single-slit diffraction patterns stacked vertically, from widest slit (top, narrow pattern) to narrowest slit (bottom, wide pattern with many visible side maxima)$

Electroformed Single Slits

Students observe single-slit Fraunhofer diffraction patterns produced by a laser through precision electroformed slits of different widths. Comparing the patterns demonstrates the inverse relationship between slit width and diffraction pattern …

$Green laser and Cornell diffraction plate mounted on optical rail, with single-slit diffraction pattern projected on white paper attached magnetically to the blackboard$

Cornell Plate Single-Slit Diffraction

Demonstrates single-slit Fraunhofer diffraction using a Cornell plate with calibrated slits of varying widths. Students observe the inverse relationship between slit width and diffraction pattern width, with quantitative verification possible …

Two mini Maglite flashlights with caps removed, mounted horizontally in parallel clamps on a ring stand rod, bulbs illuminated and separated by a few centimeters

Angular Resolution of the Eye

Demonstrates the angular resolution limit of the human eye using two closely spaced point light sources. Students discover that the ability to resolve two sources depends on separation, viewing distance, …

$Phosphorescent screen showing bright central spot with concentric blue diffraction rings from electron scattering$

Electron Diffraction 1

Demonstrates the wave nature of electrons by showing diffraction rings from a polycrystalline graphite target. Students observe direct evidence for de Broglie's hypothesis and can verify quantitatively by varying the …

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PASCO aluminum air track on a green lab bench with adjustable metal leveling feet, a yellow measurement scale along the track, wooden blocks underneath for tilting, and the air blower unit at the right end

Tilted Air Track

A nearly frictionless air track tilted at an angle produces constant acceleration. The glider bounces off a rubber bumper at the end, and equally-spaced markers along the track enable quantitative …

Four multicolored bean-bag style juggling balls on a gray surface

Juggling Balls

Lightweight, non-bouncing balls for demonstrating 1D and 2D motion with little risk of damage. Can be thrown from rest or from a moving cart to show projectile motion and relative …

Tennis ball attached to white cotton cord with knots at two positions and a loop handle at the end

Ball on String

Demonstrates centripetal force and circular motion by swinging a ball on a string in horizontal and vertical planes. Students observe how tension depends on speed, radius, and position in the …

White hinged release platform with two chrome ball bearings of different sizes sitting in circular recesses, electromagnetic latch mechanism in the center

Galileo Ball Drop

Two ball bearings of very different masses are dropped simultaneously from 6.3 meters onto a sounding board. They hit at the same instant, demonstrating that gravitational acceleration is independent of …

Inverted 2L Erlenmeyer flask filled with water and containing a red-white fishing float, mounted in an aluminum frame on a wheeled wooden cart, connected by a metal spring to a wooden block clamped to the bench

Accelerometer

An inverted water-filled flask with a fishing float rides on a spring-mounted cart. When accelerated, the heavier water pushes opposite to the acceleration while the buoyant float moves toward the …

Two wooden blocks arranged in series on a demo bench, connected by string to a large circular 20 N spring scale with red needle, pulled by hand

Sliding Blocks

Demonstrates that friction force is independent of contact area. Blocks pulled in series (large contact area) and stacked (small contact area) require the same force on the spring scale, directly …

Wooden inclined plane tilted at an angle with a block and binder-clipped masses on top, a large brass protractor at the base, assorted wooden blocks with different surfaces, and black hooked masses on a wooden platform

Block on Inclined Plane

Shows that the critical angle for sliding on an incline depends only on the coefficient of friction, not on mass. Adding weight to a block does not change the angle …

Tall wooden frame clamped to lecture bench with vise-grip clamps, metal disk pulley at top, meter stick mounted vertically on the frame, and a small metal stool at the base for height compensation

Simple Atwood Machine

Demonstrates Newton's Second Law quantitatively using two masses connected over a pulley. A small mass imbalance produces measurable constant acceleration, allowing students to compare predicted and measured fall times.

White plastic bucket with wire handle and rope threaded through it, looped around a person's wrist and hand for secure grip

Whirling Bucket

A bucket of water swung in a vertical circle stays dry — even when inverted — because the centripetal acceleration exceeds at the top. Illustrates circular motion dynamics and addresses …

Overhead view of inverted Erlenmeyer flask filled with water with orange fishing float visible inside, mounted in white aluminum frame on teal rotating platform with grid pattern

Rotating Accelerometer

Provides cognitive dissonance for students who expect all objects in a rotating system to be flung outward. An inverted water-filled flask with a fishing float is spun on a rotating …

Free fall apparatus with a horizontal brass rod holding two steel balls on a green and black base, spring-loaded launch mechanism on one end, vertical trigger lever hanging below

Vertical, Projectile Free Fall

Demonstrates that horizontal and vertical motion are independent. One ball is launched horizontally while an identical ball is dropped simultaneously — both hit the ground at the same time, showing …

Two gray Hanson hanging scales with white dial faces, connected at their top hooks by rope, with rope handles tied to the bottom hooks

Third Law Tug-of-War

Two volunteers pull on connected force meters (dairy scales) while seated on rolling platforms. The scales always read equal forces regardless of who pulls harder or who is heavier, directly …