The Department of Physics at Kenyon College is pleased to announce the release
of the latest version of PhysVis (version 1.4.1). PhysVis is freeware, digital
video analysis software designed for use in physics labs on PC-compatible
computers running Win 3.1 and above. PhysVis works with any video clip stored
in the Microsoft AVI format.
At the same time, we announce the public availability of the latest version of
PhysFit, a data analysis and graphing program written by Kenyon physics major
Robin Blume-Kohout. It was originally designed for use in introductory physics
labs, but has been extended to make it useful in a wider context. One of its
outstanding pedagogical features is the capability for interactive curve
fitting, where students type in a function and see it displayed on the same
graph as their experimental data. The function is then easily editable so
students can fit data to arbitrary functions by hand.
More details on both programs:
The last released version of PhysVis was 1.3.4. The new version improves on the
last by:
1. Being a better Windows program. It gracefully handles resizing and is not
tied to being run full screen.
2. Gracefully handling video formats other than 320X240.
3. Having a completely re-written Help document, including complete
documentation of the keyboard shortcuts.
4. Having a re-designed user interface with clearer menu choices and visual
indication of the direction of the positive y axis during calibration.
PhysVis is used for 9 of 12 first semester introductory physics labs at Kenyon
as well as selected use in introductory astronomy labs and upper-division
physics labs. For more information on its use, see "Adding Eyes to Your
Computer" on page 22 of the January, 1997 issue of The Physics Teacher or see
our Web page at:
www.kenyon.edu/depts/physics/research/addeyes.htm
The Web page article contains links to download the software. Or it may be
obtained by ftp from:
If you have any questions about PhysVis or its capabilities, please email
physvis@kenyon.edu.
The use of PhysFit is also described in the above referenced TPT article.
PhysFit is now available in two versions, one for Win 3.1 and above and one for
Win95 and WinNT. PhysFit is available by anonymous ftp at: