July 2018 Issue, Volume 86, No. 7
Improved microparticle electrodynamic ion traps for physics teaching
We review the essential physics of microparticle electrodynamic ion traps (MEITs) and suggest several improvements in the design, construction, and application of MEITs in undergraduate physics teaching. Pulling together insights gleaned from a number of disparate sources, we have developed MEITs with better overall performance and reliability in comparison to previous publications. This work builds upon a long history of MEIT advancement over many decades, further lowering the barriers to using these fascinating devices in physics teaching labs and demonstrations.
Editorial
A call for more video abstracts by David P. Jackson. DOI: 10.1119/1.5039339
Papers
Spherical aberration, coma, and the Abbe sine condition for physicists who don't design lenses by Alex Small. DOI: 10.1119/1.5036939
Blackbody radiation in classical physics: A historical perspective by Timothy H. Boyer. DOI: 10.1119/1.5034785
A simple game simulating quantum measurements of qubits by Theodore A. Corcovilos. DOI: 10.1119/1.5036620
An asymmetric isochronous pendulum by Juan M. Randazzo, S. A. Ibáñez, and J. M. Rosselló. DOI: 10.1119/1.5036627
An experimental demonstration of avoided crossings with masses on springs by Andrew B. Lockhart, Alexandria Skinner, William Newman, Daniel B. Steinwachs more.... DOI: 10.1119/1.5036752
Physics Education Research
A comparison of student evaluations of instruction vs. students' conceptual learning gains by LaDoris J. Lee, Manju E. Connolly, Melissa H. Dancy, Charles R. Henderson more.... DOI: 10.1119/1.503933
Back of the Envelope
Making Fermi estimates by tapping the vast knowledge in our gut by Sanjoy Mahajan. DOI: 10.1119/1.5040578
Apparatus and Demonstration Notes
Improved microparticle electrodynamic ion traps for physics teaching by Kenneth G. Libbrecht, and Eric D. Black. DOI: 10.1119/1.5034344
A flexible positron spectrometer for the undergraduate laboratory by Jason Engbrecht, and Nathaniel Hillson. DOI: 10.1119/1.5038672
Book Reviews
Mathematical Methods in Engineering and Physics by Christine Aidala. DOI: 10.1119/1.5029824
Books Received
American Journal of Physics 86, 560 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5040259
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