Bottle Rockets, Teacups and the Real World: A senior seminar to bridge the gap between physics students and life after college

摘要

One of the peculiar aspects to being a professional physicist is the authority we all seem to have to comment on 'real life' phenomena. I have been asked about everything from divining rods to space junk during my career. The senior seminar at Randolph-Macon College is designed to be a culminating experience that asks students to synthesize their course and research experience and improve their presentation skills. The most recent iteration focused on problems that varied from urban legends to wacky theories with an emphasis on laboratory measurement, practical calculation, and presentation of results. Methods for heating water to make lea and the practicality of launching people with bottle rockets will be discussed.