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Opening a new window on the Universe: the future Gravitational Wave detectors1
by Michele Punturo
Thanks to a worldwide scientific and technical effort, the second generation of gravitational wave interferometers will be soon operative. These new detectors will open a new era for the observation of the Universe. Will the gravitational messenger unravel the enigmas still unsolved in astrophysics and cosmology?
My amazing experience2
by Ofri Kahana
In my junior year at high school I was offered to do a physics project instead of the ordinary exam. The idea of conducting real scientific research intrigued me, so I started working right away with Haggai Landa from the University of Tel Aviv as my guide. We performed various ion-trapping simulations of equally charged cold ions in Multipole Paul traps. We studied their structures, the configurations they created (such as crystals of one or more rings), defects, and the vibrations they performed around the minimum of their potential energy. Moreover, I visited Roee Ozeri’s laboratory at the Weizmann Institute of Science, the only place in Israel where experiments with actual ion traps are being conducted. Little did I know that later on a Nobel Prize would be given in this very field of quantum optics, which at first was so new and unfamiliar to me.
Inspiring learning environment, the school as a three-dimensional text book3
by Mirjana Božić
History teaches us that knowledge about basic natural laws often began with observations of intriguing phenomena in nature. As a next step scientists started to perform measurements in the environment and later in their laboratories. Good physics teaching should provide opportunities for students to repeat the observations and reasoning of great scientists. This requires distribution of equipment over a wider space than just the classroom: think of corridors, courtyards and roofs. Consider the school building and its environment as a 3D lecture book and science lab.
Beauty in disguise – the physics behind the power grid4
by Christian Ohler
The power system is built from four main components – overhead lines, transformers, generators, and circuit breakers. Physics determines their shape, and by looking at their shape, we learn how power grids work.
- Michele Punturo. 2013. Opening a new window on the Universe: the future Gravitational Wave detectors. EPN, Vol. 44, No. 2. DOI: 10.1051/epn/2013201 [↩]
- Ofri Kahana. 2013. My amazing experience. EPN, Vol. 44, No. 2. DOI: 10.1051/epn/2013202 [↩]
- Mirjana Božić . 2013. Inspiring learning environment, the school as a three-dimensional text book. EPN, Vol. 44, No. 2. DOI: 10.1051/epn/2013203 [↩]
- Christian Ohler. 2013. Beauty in disguise – the physics behind the power grid. EPN, Vol. 44, No. 2. DOI: 10.1051/epn/2013204 [↩]
