Fall Meeting to be Held at the University of Virginia on October 16, 1993.

Agenda:

9:00 - 9:30 Hello's
9:30 - 10:30 VIP Business,Hello from UVa, Election of officers, Future directions of VIP, Affiliation with VAST, Physics Pavilion update
10:30 - 11:30 Hand out freebies, demonstrations and lesson plans to share
Free Macintosh public domain software (bring 1 formatted - 800k disk)
11:30 - 1:00 Lunch (You are on your own).
1:00 - 3:00 Demonstration share session
In the Demonstration session learn how to turn a $10 stop watch plus $10 worth of parts into a digital timer that utilizes infrared beam sensors and/or magnetic sensing switches.
Bring some things to share with others. Bring lecture ideas, labs, topics, worksheets, tests, unusual assignments. Share with others the great things you do in class. Check with your school to see if they will give you recertification credit for presenting.

Notes:

Bring your favorite physics lesson. Bring 50+ copies to handout.
Bring your favorite demonstration. Bring 50+ copies of a write up.
There will be a Macintosh diskette with a HyperCard stack featuring some of the pictures from the Hubble telescope. the pictures are in a quicktime format and look spectacular.
When you bring your Macintosh disk put some public domain/shareware software on them if you have any. We are looking to start an archive on the Public Education Network.
This promises to be a terrific meeting with lots to share and lots to take home!
SEND IN THE REGISTRATION FORM IN THIS NEWSLETTER.

Did you make to the March meeting?

You missed a good one if you weren't there.

A Few Thanks

Thanks to Dr. B. Deaver and the University of Virginia for sponsoring the last VIP meeting in March. We also wish to thank them for footing the bill for these mailings. The Virginia Instructors of Physics could not operate without their help.
Thanks to Dr. Rao and VCU for hosting the March meeting. Their kindness and hospitality is greatly appreciated.
Thanks also to Frank Anderson for showing how the PRISM's program works with his great demonstrations.

THE SUN SHINES ON SCIENCE DAY AT PARAMOUNT'S KINGS DOMINION

by Brion G. Patterson
Chilly sunshine brought large numbers of science students to Science Day on April 3. About 900 young people packed the Paramount Theater to enjoy Dr. Rae Carpenter's demonstrations. Approximately 1200 students total attended the various Science Day activities. The Sixth Annual VIP sponsored Field Day Competition drew probably the largest number of competitors ever and kept the pavilion crowded most of the day.

SCHOOL GRAND TOTALS
 
	place   school          total score
 
	F
irst
	  L. C. Bird High	594
	S
econd
 Tunstall High	508
	T
hird  
Lee High	500
		Stafford High	494
		Cave Spring Jr. High	444
		Penninsula Catholic High	367
		Chancellor High	342
		Franklin High, WVA	321
		Bunn High, NC	289
		John F. Pattie Elem	285
		Botetourt Intermediate	257
		Smithfield Elem.	238
		Seneca Ridge Middle	233
		St. Mary School	226
		Fike High	224
		Commonwealth Christian	224
		Radford High	160
		McLean High	151
		Goochland Middle	142
		Louisburg High, NC	133
		Warren Co Midldle	88
		Wicomico Middle	87
		Holy Cross	82
		Alta Vista High	63
		West Point Elem	18
 
EVENT ONE: PAPER TOWER
	place	school	height (cm)	
	first	 Tunstall High	103.8
	second Radford High	88.4
	third	 Lee High	83.8
 
EVENT TWO: ALUMINUM FOIL BARGE
	place	school	pennies
	first	 Lee High	33
	second Bunn High, NC	32
	second Fike High	32
	third	John F. Pattie Elem	30
 
EVENT THREE: CENTER OF MASS
	place	school	length (cm)
	first	 Louisburg High, NC	59.5
	second Smithfield Elem.	59.2
	third	 Chancellor High	58.0
 
EVENT FOUR: FERMI QUESTIONS
	place	school	points
	first	 Chancellor High	8.00
	second Stafford High	7.67
	third	 Tunstall High	7.00
	third	 Franklin High, WVA	7.00
 
EVENT FIVE: RULING PARAMOUNT'S KINGS DOMINION
	place	school	points
	first	L. C. Bird High	8
	first	Cave Spring Jr. High	8
	second Lee High	6
	third	Stafford High	3
 
EVENT SIX: SCAVENGER HUNT
	place	school	points
	first	L. C. Bird High	11
	first	Chancellor High	11
	second John F. Pattie Elem	9
	third	Penninsula Catholic High	7
 
EVENT SEVEN: SODA STRAW LEVER
	place	school	length (cm)
	first	McLean High	45.0
	second Franklin High	44.5
	third	Tunstall High	27.5
 
EVENT EIGHT: TABLE TOP CANNON
	place	 school	score
	first	 Cave Spring Jr. High	100
	second Fike High	94
	third	 Lee High	91

THE SUPER COLLIDER IN BRIEF

Information provided by Southern Methodist University

--The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), once completed, will be the largest scientific instrument ever built. It consists of a series of five accelerators ending in an 87 km underground collider with two, 20 trillion electron volt, proton beams (20 times the energy of current facilities).

--SSC goals include determining the mechanism by which particles acquire mass, exploring the quark structure of protons, searching for the "dark matter" which is thought to make up 90% or more of our universe, and seeking phenomena beyond today's "standard model" of elementary particles.

--SSC cost is estimated at $8 to $10 billion. Texas is expected to provide about $1 billion, foreign governments $.7 billion, and the U.S. Government the remainder. Approximately $2 billion will have been spent by the end of FY93. Construction is proceeding on schedule and on budget.

--The SSC met a major milestone on August 17,1992 (six weeks ahead of schedule) when a Congressionally-mandated test of a collider half-cell was successful. A half-cell consists of five superconducting bending (dipole) magnets, one (focusing) quadrupole magnet, and associated support hardware.

--Excavation for about half of the 87-km collider ring tunnel is already under contract. Tunnel boring began in January 1993; to date, more than 11 miles (20%) of tunnel have been completed.

--The tunnel for the linear accelerator, the first of the four boosters, is complete. The LINAC is scheduled to produce beam by the end of 1994.

--Laboratory staff number slightly more than 2,000 employees distributed among 12 buildings. About 7000 more are employed by industrial contractors in 48 states around the country.

--The SSC will use more than 10,000 superconducting magnets. Successful design and testing began at Fermilab, Lawrence Berkeley and Brookhaven; the technology has now been transferred to industry which is dcvelopir,g new infrastructure to mass produce high quality superconducting magnets. Development of improved superconducting wire for SSC magnets has lowered the cost of such wire by about a factor of 10.

--More than 60 Records of Invention have already been reported based on SSC technical activities with 10 patents issued or under application, and spin-off/licensing/commercialization opportunities are being actively pursued.

--Each of the two major detector collaborations (GEM and SDC) is composed of about 1000 scientists from close to 100 institutions in about 20 countries. Just about every high energy physics group in the U.S. is a member of one collaboration or the other.

--Government to government agreements for participation in the SSC have already been signed by DOE with the Russian Federation and with the People's Republic of China; negotiations are underway with other countries. Fifteen interlaboratory agreements have been signed by SSC with foreign institutions.

DEMO MANUAL

by Fred Hoffman
Dick Minnix and Rae Carpenter have taken matters into their own hands. They have published their demo notebook themselves with 465 pages, 660 demos, and 710 screened photos. Many of us have been waiting almost as long as Dick and Rae for this publication. The quality is great.
To order:
Send a check for $40 per copy to Dick and Rae, Inc., VMI Mallory Hall, Lexington, VA 24450-0304. (tax, shipping, and handling are included)
We are going to try and have these available for sale at the meeting.

ANNOUNCING THE RADON BUSTERS!

by Brion G. Patterson
1) Teachers may sign up for their class to participate in this project, up to a limit of eight schools. Participation will be first offered to Virginia schools, and then opened up to a wider area. Most appropriate: middle schools and high schools. Special note: VA law requires all public school buildings to be tested for radon by July 1, 1994.

2) Most will use Star School (TERC) electret and cannister equipment to test for radon. If you are buying equipment new, you will need several (maybe four) electret-cannister sets, and have or borrow a "reader". Purchase of an electret and cannister from Rad Elec, Inc. is $45.

3) We will emphasize the team concepts that are fundamental to the "quality" revolution which originated in corporations like AT&T, Zerox, and "Japan, Inc.", and which are now being adopted by education and government as well as business. Therefore team building exercises will be the first Radon Busters activity. We will develop team skills among the eight geographically separate classes. These are skills' students need to prepare for the world of work. Radon Busters will communicate via email. Students will become familiar with this technology, and with disparate geographies, and will find practical reasons to improve their communication skills

4) Our first activity will be to exchange survey information describing our schools and locations.

5) Then we will exchange airborne radon measurements. So far as possible, each member-school of the Radon Busters will take ownership of one measurement activity. One school, for example, may ask member-schools to collect radon measurements of basement locations. Another school may take charge of a project investigating radon levels in buried structures. Within each school, students will need to brainstorm ideas for investigation; work with member-school to obtain data; then analyze, report and share results. Finally, all the projects will be consolidated into one final Radon Report.

6) Then the eight schools will close the project and say good bye to team-schools.A closing date will be determined by team discussion, but it will probably be around the end of December.

Note : I am a teacher at Rappahannock County High School, Sperryville, VA. Radon Busters is an extension of a project from last year, which in turn was a revival of the old Star School radon project. The private firm, Rad Elec, Inc., was contacted to obtain reduced prices of their products for educational purposes. Feel free to post questions or comments on the VIP newgroup, or email directly to Brion Patterson. Sign up now: first come, first served.

SCIENCE DAY AT KING'S DOMINION IS COMING!

by

Brion G. Patterson
VIP is again sponsoring Physics Field Day activities in conjunction with Science Day at Paramount's Kings Dominion. Kings Dominion expects to announce the exact date of Science Day by approximately the middle of September. Brion Patterson is coordinating the Field Day activities and welcomes your suggestion, by phone, email or snail mail. (See the article above for Brion's address).


EDITOR
Tony Wayne
PUBLISHED by
Dr. Bascom Deaver, Physics department, Universtiy of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22901