I have updated my web site http://www.physicsweb.com
with some software you can download to show the
interference of two transverse waves. You can set the
wavelength, amplitude, phase, speed, and direction of
each wave and see the individual waves and the
resulting superposition. With the appropriate settings
you can show standing waves, beats, and harmonics. The
program is written in Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 (which
in this newest version is a fully compiled language and
hence faster than typical Basic programs)and requires
Windows 95 and a mouse. There is no documentation yet,
but the interface is intuitive and you should be able
to figure it out with a few minutes of experimentation.
In addition there is a new set of 55 multiple choice questions in
kinematics; most of which I believe go beyond the usual fare.
I have also made some slight modifications to a few of the
questions on the simulated achievement test that was already posted and
I made one correction to the answer key. By the spring I hope to have a
complete set of explanations to the answers.
The text material was written using Microsoft Word 97. Since there
are compatability problems with other word processors and even with
other versions of Microsoft Word, I have posted a downloadable copy of
the Microsoft Viewer 97. The Viewer is a freeware utility that Microsoft
encourages people to distribute. It allows those without Microsoft Word
to read and print Word documents. You cannot, however, use the viewer to
edit documents. Microsoft Viewer 97 requires Windows 95 to run. There is
also a viewer that runs under Windows 3.x. There isn't enough room at my
site to make that version available there, but I do have a link to the
appropriate Microsoft site.
Finally, I have fixed some of the formatting problems that
previously existed at the site, so that the text now reads smoothly
with both Netscape and Internet Explorer and in all the common screen
resolutions
Hope you find some of the stuff useful.
--
Ed Schweber (edschweb@ix.netcom.com)
Physics Teacher at The Solomon Schechter Day School, West Orange, NJ
To obtain free resources for creative physics teachers visit: http://www.physicsweb.com