Physics in a box
“Experiments for High Schools”
Jitka Houfková, Dana Mandíková
Department of Physics Education
Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
Charles University Prague
The box overview
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Mechanics
Looking for a centre of mass
Playing with a centre of mass
Moving a paper with the box
Pulling a paper out from underneath the box
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Let the box fall forwards
Let the box fall backwards
An airscrew
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
A little rocket
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Exploring the properties of a pendulum
Friction and ball bearing
Get the cork into the middle of the box without touching it
Drinking with a drinking straw
Holding water in a straw
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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A ship with a soap motor
A ship from Play-Doh
Chromatography
Electrostatics
An electrically charged drinking straw is “glued” to the box and to the wall
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Electrically charged drinking straws
can attract or repulse each other
An electrically charged drinking straw attracts
the box and knocks it down without touching it
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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An indicator of electric charge
Electrostatic shielding by the box
Electromagnetism
A circuit connected via people – no one has an infinite resistance 
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
Graphite is a conductor
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An electromagnet
An electromotor
An electromagnetic brake – works with copper, does not work with paper 
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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A magnet and an aluminium cylinder falling through a copper tube
Magnets
A compass
Torsional oscillations
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
Dana with magnetic powers
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How a magnet attracts a paper clip through different materials (air, paper, metal)
Thermodynamics
A burning match with an aluminium collar
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Putting out a candle and lighting it again by a metallic spiral
Lighting a candle from a distance
Heat transfer in a metallic box
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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A bimetallic strip
A flying tea bag
Thermosensitive Play-Doh
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Acoustics
A whistle from a drinking straw A whistle from a preserving lid
A guitar
Optics
A mirror
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Rainbow reflections on a piece of CD
Looking through polarisation filters at a string and at a pattern from adhesive tape
A projection of a candle flame through a tiny hole
Looking through different optical grids
A magnifying glass
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
A telescope
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A strange monster
A dog
A cat
Optical illusion – make the sun smile
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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Nuclear Physics
Modelling of the radioactive decay – the number of nuclei in a sample of a radioactive element (lentils) as a
function of time (tossin the lentils)
Quantum Mechanics
The non-commutativity of operators “pour water into” the box and “close the lid of” the box 
And much much more can be done ;-) …
Physics in a box – jitka.houfkova@gmail.com, dana.mandíkova@mff.cuni.cz
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