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About the Demonstrations

Demos are campus-specific - demos that are written for one campus may include equipment that is not available at another campus. When in doubt, please check with the lab tech on the campus where you are teaching.

Lab Tech Contact Information

For information about labs or equipment at Northridge, please contact:

Karl Trappe, Northridge Physics Lab Tech
Phone: 512.223.4027
Email: ktrappe@austincc.edu

NRG Demos

Name	Description	Tags	Availability	Warnings
Accelerometer, Water	When the accelerometer is moving with a changing velocity, the liquid will not be level and the magnitude and direction of the acceleration can be illustrated by the degree to which the liquid is shifted.	Acceleration,	Add water
Acrylic Prism Demo	Can spread white light into a spectrum or add a spectrum to make white light.	Light, color	Req. light source
Ball in Cup Demo	Ball at the end of lever arm drops and lands in a cup.	Torque, Free Fall	Ready
Bell In Vacuum Jar Sound Demo	Bell produces no sound when in vacuum.	Sound	Ready
Boyle's Law Lung Demo	Demonstrate how lung/diaphragm work.	Pressure	Ready
Bridge Set Demo, Pasco	Build bridges, trusses.	Statics, Engineering	Req: Assembly
Center of Mass Demo	Find the center of mass of irregular objects by hanging them and using a plum bob	Inertia, Center of Mass	Ready
Centripetal Motion Demo, Sling Weights	Twirling a mass on a string caused mass on the other end to rise through a tube	Circular Motion, Centripetal	Ready
Charge Inside Conductor Demo	Use Van de Graaff to charge outside of a cylinder. Pith balls inside show no charge, but on the outside, do.	Electrostatics, Charge, Conductor	Req: Van de Graaff	High Voltage
Chem. Battery Cell Demo	Chemical battery/electrolysis	Direct Current	Req: Chemicals	Chemical
Cloud Chamber Demo	Chamber for observing radiation	Nuclear, Radiation	Extensive set up	Radiation
Coil and Stand, Lenz's Law Demo	Various demos: make ring jump, weld with coil, boil water, etc.	EMF, induced current	Ready	High Voltage
Tesla Coil Demo	High voltage AC sparks produced. Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O2jcfOylU	AC	Ready	High Voltage
Cryophorus Demo	Freeze water using evaporation	Evaporation, phase change	Req: Acetone and dry ice	Cold
Cup and String Telephone Demo		sound, waves	Ready
Downhill Race Demo	Balls race by taking different paths down hill	2 Dimensional motion, kinetic energy	Ready
Electro-Statics Demo	Fur/silk swatches of cloth and glass/acrylic rods to build up static charge	Charge, Electric Fields	Ready
Free Fall Demo, PASCO	Ball is dropped and time of drop is measured to find g	Gravity, Acceleration	Min. Setup
Demonstration Gyroscope ME-8960, Pasco	Bicycle wheel gyro	Conservation of Angular Momentum	Ready
Hand Boiler Demo	Boil alcohol in your hand	Phase change	Ready
Hooke's Law Demo	Test Hooke's Law	Spring	Min. Setup
Human Eye Demo	Demo of how the human eye with lenses works.	Optics, lenses	Min. Setup
Impulse Elastic/Inelastic Collisions Demo	Observe difference between elastic and inelastic collisions	Impulse, Momentum	Min. Setup
Iron Filings, Magnetic Field Demo	Iron Filings take the shape of magnetic field around magnets	Magnetic Field	Ready
Kinetic Theory Model, Demo	Balls simulate gas atoms being excited by motorized piston	Heat	Min. Setup
Magnet, Floating, Demo	Ring magnets on pole repel each other and levitate	Magnetic Field	Ready
Magnet, Magic Floating Demo	Horizontal floating magnet	Magnetic Field	Ready
Magnetic Field Demonstrator	Board containing many tiny bars of steel that show a magnetic field	Magnetic Field	Ready
Magnetic Field Observation Box, Demo	Box filled with gel and iron filings with hole through center for bar magnet	Magnetic Field	Ready
Matter Model, Demo	Example of "Atoms" connected by "Springs"	Matter, Solids, Heat	Ready
Mechanical Oscillator, Cenco Apparatus Demo	Various shapes to oscillate on a speaker. Also a hoop to excite resonances in.	Sound, waves	Req: frequency generator
Metal Cans for Vacuum Demo	Cans can be crushed with vacuum or heated with water and quickly capped	Heat, Pressure	Min. Setup	Fire
Meter, Large Multiple Demo	Large meter for classroom display	Voltage, Current, Resistance	Ready	High voltage
Monkey and Hunter Demo	Projectile hits falling target in mid-air.	2-D motion, Kinematics
Motor, Simple DC Demo	Large demo of DC motor/generator	Generator, Motor, Faraday's Law	Min. Setup
Newton's Cradle Demo	Metal balls collide and kick off other metal balls	Kinematics, Conservation of Energy	Ready
Ninja Ball Demo	Elastic rubber balls are on a rod in the order of decreasing size. When the system is dropped and hits the floor, the smallest ball shoots out at a very high speed.	elastic collision, conservation, momentum, kinetic	Ready	Extremely Fast Projectile
Pendulum, Sand, Demo	A pendulum is suspended over a tray of sand and traces out patterns.	Oscillatory motion	Req. Parts (not available)
Radiometer, Demo	Light causes the vanes inside to rotate.	Light, Heat, Photons	Req. light source
Ray Optics Demo Set	large set of demo lenses and 5 ray light source	Light	Min. Setup
Ring and Disk Moment of Inertia Demo	Race down an incline plane to show different moments of inertia.	Moment of inertia, Rotational motion	Min. Setup
Scales for Demo Electrical Meter	For use with the large demo meter	Voltage, Current, Resistance	Min. Setup
Slinky, Demo Extra Long	A super long slinky.	Waves	Ready
Spectrum Demonstration Kit	Set of three high-intensity incandescent light with multiple color filters	Light, Color Mixing	Min. Setup
Spectrum Demonstration Kit, Power Splitter	Goes with Spectrum Demonstration Kit. Used to adjust light intensity.	Light, Color Mixing	Min. Setup
Student Ballistic Pendulum Demo	A ball is shot into a pendulum	Momentum, Collisions,	Min. Setup	Projectile
Thermal Brass Sphere & Ring Demo	Sphere will fit through a heated ring but not when chilled.	Heat	Min. Setup	Fire
Thermoelectric Converter Demo	A Peltier chip with two thermal contacts hooked to a motor will turn a fan if given a temp gradient.	Heat, Electricity, Energy	Min. Setup	Chip will melt if not properly cooled
Truss Set Demo, Pasco	Build bridges, trusses.	Statics, Engineering	Min. Setup
Tube Radio Demo	Parts of a tube radio	Electromagnetic radiation	Incomplete
Tyndall Heat Capacity Determination Demo	Heated metallic spheres melt through a wax disk at different rates.	Heat, Thermodynamics	Moderate Setup	Boiling water, hot metal
Virtual Image Optical Illusion Demo	Projects an optical illusion	Convex mirrors, light	Ready
Wimshurst Machine Demo	Builds up a large charge that can make a spark or be stored in Lyden jars	Electricity, Charge, Static	Ready	High Voltage