LATEST NEWS

 

Visit this page to learn the latest information about Six Ideas That Shaped Physics! Entries will appear with the most recent items at the top.

SERVER CHANGE (08/11/2022)

The server that serves the instructor webpages and the ProbViewer app has been changed. You will see that the instructor pages and ProbViewer have a new URL and sport an updated look. The most important change is that both apps are now able to handle problems from both the 3rd and 4th editions of the book.

 

FOURTH EDITION AVAILABLE, SITE UPDATED (03/15/2022)

The 4th edition of Six Ideas That Shaped Physics is now available from McGraw-Hill! This edition includes many improvements and error fixes: for more information. see What's New in the Fourth Edition. I have also updated this website to be consistent with the new edition. The Probviewer app still serves problems from the 3rd edition -- that will be updated this summer.

 

AAPT TALK ABOUT "Contemporary Physics first" (01/20/2020)

On January 20, 2020, I gave a talk at the Winter 2020 meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) about how our first course at Pomona College for potential majors uses the Six Ideas text, but with starting with part of unit C, followed by units R, Q, and T instead of the canonical CNREQT order. Here is the handout that accompanied the talk.

 

More New WEb-APPS (8/26/2019)

I have now posted (on the Resources page) a link to a new web app that replaces the old SchroSolver desktop app. The new SchroSolver app is written in pure Javascript, and delivers much better graphics and a better user experience than the desktop app. I have also provided a pure Javascript version of StatMech, which now (because of a new algorithm) generates tables almost instantly. Because all calculations are now done on client computer, this version will be much better for running in a classroom situations where many people are using the app at the same time.

 

NEW WEB-APPS POSTED  (2/4/2019)

I have now posted (on the Resources page) a link to a new web app that replaces the old Equipotentials desktop app. The new Equipotentials app, written by Jake Hauser in Javascript, delivers much better graphics than the desktop version. I have also provided new pure-Javascript versions of the web-apps Newton, MBoltz, and Planck. These will run much faster than the previous versions (particularly in classroom situations where many people are using the apps at the same time), and the last two involve improved (5th-order adaptive Runge-Kutta) code that delivers more accurate numerical results. Please let me know if you spot bugs in any of these applications.

 

AN ALTERNATIVE VERSION OF SECTIONS T4.3-T4.4 AND T5.1–T5.3 AVAILABLE  (8/16/2018)

In my own teaching, I have found that students have had more problems with the new material in these sections than I anticipated. Therefore, I am making available a greatly simplified version of this material that I think your students will find significantly easier. The material is copyrighted, but you may freely download it and print it for your students and/or post it online. For other uses, please ask permission.

 

THE INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL NOW AVAILABLE  (8/6/2017)

I have just posted (finally!) the Six Ideas instructor's manual! This includes a lot of new information, including a new homework rubric (tested last spring), a sample syllabus, a sample class worksheet, and some links to recent educational research. Click here or on the button at the bottom of the Resources page. I have also posted the Drude and Spins web apps (the latter is by Dan Schroeder). Now that I really understand how to write Javascript apps, I hope that other app updates will come soon.

 

INSTRUCTOR'S PAGE SOFTWARE UPDATED  (8/18/2016)

I have just posted a major update to the instructor's page software. The changes mostly affect the list-building page, which now correctly handles multiple selections in the list and which has many new features. For example, one can now change the time windows or delete multiple entries at once (even non-contiguous selections). One can also reorder lists arbitrarily, and ProbViewer should respect your ordering. Please note that one must now define (or redefine) what is in the Password text field for it to become the password. (I'm sorry that the interface is highly mouse-based at the moment: I'm working on adding keyboard support for at least some functions.)

 

INSTRUCTOR'S PAGES NOW ONLINE  (8/8/2016)

The web-based system that instructors can use to register as an instructor and (once they have completed the process and have defined their own instructor-access password) view problem solutions and define lists of problem solutions that students can view online (using the new web-based ProbViewer software) is now active and appears to be working. Please note that the registration process requires human review of the instructor's credentials before instructor access is granted, and so may take a day or two. A more detailed description of how one can create lists of solutions that students can view online is accessible once you have registered. Please report any bugs that you encounter in this very complicated software!

 

SIX IDEAS AT THE 2016 SUMMER AAPT MEETING!  (7/2/2016)

On Monday, July 18, we will be holding two workshops, one at 10:00 am and one at 3:00 pm. Each session will include information about

• Features of the new edition
• Best practices for teaching with the books
• Tools available from my website
• The SmartBook version of the new edition and integration with McGraw-Hill's Connect technology

These 90-minute sessions will be held in the Carr Room on the 2nd floor of the Sheraton Grand Sacramento, across the street from the Convention Center. We are scheduling two identical sessions to ensure that we have room and also to make it easier for people to find a session that fits their schedule. Feel free to come for even part of a session if you can't come to all. I will also be holding "office hours" between 12:00 noon and 2:30 pm in the same room. There will be copies of the books available to look at (and maybe take away) at the workshops and at the office hours. Come join us! For more information and/or to RSVP, contact Jaime Neuhaus.

 

PROBLEM SOLUTIONS ARE NOW COMPLETE  (7/1/2016)

We have just completed the problem solutions for the new edition after months of work. The technology for delivering this content and for registering instructors should be complete and working by early August at the latest. Sorry for the delays.

 

THE THIRD EDITION IS IN PRINT!  (2/15/2016)

All volumes of the new third edition of Six Ideas That Shaped Physics are now in print. This new edition provides increased flexibility and includes many pedagogical improvements and new problems. For more information, see What's New in the Third Edition.

 

AAPT Talk About Climate Change in Six Ideas (1/11/2016)

The new edition of Unit T includes a chapter on climate change. Click here to download a PDF of the talk that the author gave on January 11, 2016 at the winter meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers about the simple climate-change model used in the chapter.

 

AAPT Talk About "Serving Dessert First" (1/06/2015)

One can order topics in a number of ways. Click here to download a PDF of an invited talk the author gave at on January 6, 2015 at the winter meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers describing an innovative way to order the Six Ideas materials to “Serve Dessert First.”