Physlet Demonstrations

by Wolfgang Christian

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What is a Physlet?

Physlets are small scriptable applets written at Davidson College that are capable of displaying physics content.  Physlets can be embedded directly into HTML documents and can interact with the user using a scripting language such as JavaScript.  They are ideally suited for instructional purposes such as class demonstration and interactive homework problems.   Physlets are free for non-commercial educational use.

Additional information about Physlets can be obtained from:   http://webphysics.davidson.edu.

Animator

Example script:  Animator. One mole of gas as confined inside a cylinder as shown. The pressure at t=0 s is one atmosphere and dimensions are in cm. Assume that the piston is circular. What is the pressure at t=1 s?  Sketch the pressure as a function of time.

Doppler

Example scripts:  Set velocity to Mach 0.5.   Set velocity to Mach 1.0.  Set velocity to Mach 1.5.

Ripple

 

Place two wave sources on the screen so that their separation is twice their wavelength.  What is the angle between the maxima in the interference pattern?

Place two wave sources on the screen so that their separation is equal to their wavelength.  What is the angle between the maxima in the interference pattern?

Example scripts:  Create one source.  Create two sources.   Create three sources.  Create four sources.

Superposition

What are the wavelength, frequency, and speed of the the wave in the top panel?  In the second panel?  What beat frequency will an observer hear if he/she listens to the wave in the second panel?  Will two students who are 3 meters apart hear the beat maximum at the same time?

Example scripts: Create a standing wave. Create a beat pattern.