Teaching physics out of a bag of marbles
- 1 October 1980
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in European Journal of Physics
- Vol. 1 (4) , 206-211
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0143-0807/1/4/004
Abstract
The authors describe elements of an undergraduate life science course based on the use of packing of monodisperse spheres in a plane (2D) or in a volume space (3D). Periodic arrays introduce the students to elementary notions of crystallography as well as the recognition of symmetries and regular patterns in nature. Defects and disordered patterns can also be approached from direct observations and establish a connection with examples borrowed from macroscopic random matter. Using mixtures of objects of different conductivity leads to the important concept of percolation. This programme is not only useful as an example of applied geometry but also to establish a contact between model systems and real world complexities.Keywords
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