Ever sat in a class that bored you to sleep, making you wish there was something that would break the monotony of the lecture?
"Phenomenal Physics," a lecture discussing the various demonstrations that can be used in physics classes, showed how to do just that.
Gene Bickers, a professor of physics and associate vice provost for undergraduate programs, demonstrated the importance of physical examples Thursday evening to an audience of about 30 people.
During the session, part of USC Festival 125, he showed the real effects of physics and contextualizing the mathematical concepts covered in every physics class.
"Why? Because I think it's fun, and it adds to all the hard work we do," Bickers said.
With everything from launching balls and catching them in moving carts, to removing silk tablecloths without disturbing the china sitting on top, to making a small beaker seemingly disappear inside a larger beaker filled with cooking oil, Bickers tried to show how to make physics intriguing.
Using these examples, he demonstrated in one hour concepts such as Newton's first law of physics, conservation of energy and momentum.
"Studying quantitatively what's going on," is incredibly important, Bickers said.
At the end, Bickers laid down on a bed of nails to show the principle of pressure, explaining that since there is a dense layout of nails, "they share my weight."
He then had another sheet of nails placed on top of his stomach, with the nails facing down toward his body.
A cinder block was then placed over this bed of nails and decimated by a hammer.
Standing with a smile on his face, Bickers said, "I love doing these classes - it's like being Mr. Wizard."
He also showed parents a video of his annual fire walk, where he walks over a bed of coals heated to about 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The coals are covered with a layer of ashes, which, he explained, are a poor conductor of heat.
Intertwined in his various examples, Bickers demonstrated the importance of various online tools.
"We can do fantastic things in terms of using the Web," Bickers said.
Using Trojan Online Teaching and Learning Environment, an online teaching aid, he showed parents how he can post lecture notes online, use videos to teach students outside of the classroom or use Web casts to provide online homework help at the student's convenience.
"(TOTALe is) going to become more prevalent over the next few years. It's terrifically powerful," he said.
Students and parents who attended the lecture said they found the demonstrations interesting.
"To me, (the experiments) are what make the lectures interesting ... to see the principles in real life," said Matt Yrizarry, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering who is currently a student in Bickers' class.
Barbara Freeman, a parent whose son is a junior at USC majoring in architecture, said that when she was young, very few women became involved in science classes because none were enticed to do so.
"It's just interesting to know different techniques that may have interested more women," she said.
