While following a web lead the other day I found these most interesting measurement publications on sale at the PTB web site in Germany. Here’s some of the text and an image from their pages.
Monograph series of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Braunschweig, Germany - The monograph series serves to present subjects which ensue from, or are closely related to, the activities of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) The National Metrology Institute for Germany. These subjects relate not only to metrological issues but also to the various aspects of the physical and technical research work undertaken by the PTB and its sister institutes.
The content and form of the volumes – which are published in German or English – allow for the variety of the tasks and subjects.
The following volumes are available in bookshops:
* Herausforderung Metrologie (in German)
Die Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt und die Entwicklung seit 1945
Author: Dieter Kind (NW-Verlag, 2002) Read the rest of this entry »
He’s not alone, many teachers are using the Web, but Steve seems very adept and progressive in the things he does. We need to encourage such efforts and help promote them, I believe. Spotlighting them whenever possible is one way, I can help.
He’s involved in a contest on a Website called Instructables.com. I propose that anyone interested in science education would learn a thing or two by visiting this website and do a good turn for a very deserving teacher and help further his educational goals by voting for it.
Note the link to several free, online software programs available for such instructional and personal use. Even the comments to his information page provide links to more free technical PC programs.
Here’s Steve’s description of what “Cheap, Easy Light Probe” is and does:
I teach high school physics and I use a lot of expensive probeware to collect data. The only reason I can do this is my school has been collecting the probes over a number of years, building our collection slowly over time. For those who aren’t science teachers, probeware refers to a collection of interfaces used to connect a variety of sensors to a computer or graphing calculator. These interfaces can allow for real time data collection and graphing or can serve as data-loggers collecting data over time.
Deming Vs Dilbert: Teacher & Student Irrationality
Physicists are not gods, nor are they always right. I’ve learned that hard lesson many times over while both working for and learning from some noted and not-so noted physicists and trying to act god-like in my own encounters with geeks of any persuasion (I admit to being one, too).
Doctors of Medicine fall into the same category, yet that’s another story or three…later.
There’s a few experiences on physicist encounters of the first kind that I’d like to share.
First, I have to say, I have met many Physicists who were incredibly brilliant and also down-to-earth people. Same thing with Medical Doctors. But even exceptional people have feet of clay like my own, I think, at times.
Bottom line: we all can act like idiots sometime, again proving the Dilbert hypothesis that we all do, sooner of later. It’s truly a human condition. Read the rest of this entry »
I believe one of the most ambitious and potentially rewarding International programs in Computer literacy is the One Laptop Per Child initiative that began in Boston. It has been shipping the XO laptop since November 2007 and I think their updates are worth a report, at least every now and then, to our visitors. Here’s their latest
From The update One Laptop per Child Vol. 4 No. 27 July 6, 2008
Deployment
Rollout Update: Since November 2007, OLPC has shipped nearly 400,000 laptops. Better than a quarter of those machines went to donors who participated in the G1G1 program. Simultaneously, OLPC has been working with countries to prepare for their donee XOs, many of which already have been received. The two largest rollouts, Peru and Uruguay, account for nearly half of all units shipped to date, but have yet to receive the bulk of their orders. Read the rest of this entry »
For those of you who do not know Dilbert, you have been missing some of the wittiest and most humorous satire about American organization work life and technology ever published. It is the creation of Scott Adams, a talented observer and cartoonist.
It is loved by most hard-working nerds and underlings who work in large organizations, especially those who work for poor and or uncaring bosses. Many have survived such experiences, but few forget them.
It is a part-time model for symptoms of idiocy in corporate life in far too many organizations in the USA, and doubtless elsewhere now with Globalization. Too many people identify regularly with certain Dilbert themes and situations! Adams has a limitless wealth of situations available! Read the rest of this entry »
I’m old enough to remember Neils Bohr (actually had the pleasure of hearing him lecture at MIT in the 1960s) but I first learned about him in my Atomic Physics course when we discussed the model of atomic structure that he first proposed early in 1913. He was one of the giants in 20th Century Physics and would be amazed at what’s been done in just the past few years.
From Rice University in Houston Texas, USA comes a remarkable story of a new development in modeling atomic structure and imaging it. It really brings back memories to me!
When I was in college, the Korean War was just ended and the Draft was still active. I joined ROTC to insure uninterrupted education. I was lucky enough to get into graduate school and worked, got married had kids and then the ARMY said “Time to Serve”.
Again, I got lucky.
Some of the research I was helping with at Northeastern University (NU) in Boston was for a Professor who had Army & Air Force contracts to study the biological effects of laser radiation. Among other things, I had designed and built for him several Carbon Dioxide lasers after the then exciting new work at Bell Labs, published by C.K.N Patel.
The professor, Dr. Sam Fine, wanted me to stay at NU and asked some people in the Army Surgeon General’s Office if they would got to bat for him (and me). In a matter of a few phone calls and one visit to Washington DC, my Service Branch changed from Ordnance Corps to Medical Service Corps.
It seems the Army had slightly different ideas, however. They were expanding their own Laser Safety work and wanted someone with my background working in the US Army Medical Research Lab (USAMRL) at Ft Knox, Kentucky.
They also had plans for a recent Ophthalmology Research Fellow to work on setting up a program to study thresholds of eye injury from various lasers at the lab, too. He arrived shortly after I did.
My jobs would be to help set up and run the lasers, do some thermal modeling and handle the dosimetry tasks. Read the rest of this entry »
For news of new devices or applications visit MeasurementDevices.com where you also may post PR & New Product news at no cost, without need to register!
Braunschweig, Germany - The monograph series serves to present subjects which ensue from, or are closely related to, the activities of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) The National Metrology Institute for Germany. These subjects relate not only to metrological issues but also to the various aspects of the physical and technical research work undertaken by the PTB and its sister institutes. 
When I was in college, the Korean War was just ended and the Draft was still active. I joined ROTC to insure uninterrupted education. I was lucky enough to get into graduate school and worked, got married had kids and then the ARMY said “Time to Serve”.
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