SPS utilizes a variety of experiments to demonstrate a wide range of physics topics. Below are just a few of the concepts and related demonstrations regularly covered during outreach events.
Light
Sodium lamp: illustrates monochromatic light.
Polarizing sheets: demonstrates how light can be filtered, how polarized 3D glasses and sunglasses work.
Archimedean Mirrors: Concave mirrors that reflect light to ignite a match to demonstrate mirror optics and transfer of energy through light.
Electricity and Magnetism
Tesla coil: used with various light bulbs and gas discharge tubes to demonstrate electric fields.
Copper tubes and magnets: demonstrates eddy currents.
Van de Graaff Generator: demonstrates effects of static charge and discharge.
Mechanics
Euler’s Disk: explores the motion of a spinning disk on a curved surface.
Bicycle wheel gyroscope (Susan’s Bike): demonstrates angular momentum and its conservation, procession.
Momentum Beads: a string of beads that demonstrate conservation of momentum.
Modern Physics
Gravity Well: Simulates the fabric of space time by simulating gravitational attraction.
Levitating Superconductor: demonstrates magnetic locking via the Meissner effect.