Past Programs
Nanomachines
Saturday, October 29, 2005
You and two of your students are invited
to attend the CIPT Fall Workshop.
There is no charge for the workshop.
Some classroom equipment for implementing activities will be provided.
Five and one-half contact hours will be awarded for participation.
Teacher Schedule
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
9:00 - 10:00 a.m. |
Prof. Sunil Bhave, “Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS)” |
10:15 - 11:30 a.m. |
MEMS/NEMS Lab Tour |
11:30 - 12:30 p.m. |
Lunch |
12:30 - 1:45 p.m. |
Hands-on Activity 1 (see below) |
2:00 - 3:15 p.m. |
Hands-on Activity 2 (see below) |
3:15 - 3:30 p.m. |
Closing and Evaluation |
Teacher Activities
- “Physics of Rock Climbing” – When rock climbing, anchors are used to guide ropes so that in the event of a fall, climbers will not experience dangerous forces. Students design and optimize various anchor systems to support a “climber” represented by a 10 N weight. This activity is an opportunity for students to practice vector addition skills in an engaging context.
- “Mousetraps and Ping Pong Balls” – Using spring balances, students find force as a function of elongation for standard mousetraps and calculate the elastic potential energy stored in the bale. Students then use the mousetraps to shoot ping pong balls as high as possible. They calculate the potential energy gained by the ping pong balls against gravity and compare this number to the original elastic potential energy.
Student Schedule
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
9:00 - 10:00 a.m. |
Prof. Sunil Bhave, “Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS)” |
10:15 - 11:15 a.m. |
Activity I (see below) |
11:15 - 1:00 p.m. |
Informal campus tour and lunch |
2:15 - 3:15 p.m. |
College Admissions Panel |
3:15 - 3:30 p.m. |
Closing, Evaluation and Meet Teachers |
Possible Student Activities
Tour the Cornell Center for NanoScale Science & Technology Facility.
Image atoms with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
Experience a three-dimensional, stereo virtual reality environment (the CAVE).
Visit a Cornell high tech physics lab.
Sign-up for student activities will take place at registration on a first come first-served basis.
Registration is limited to 40 teachers and 40 students.
Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all participants.
CIPT will provide lodging to the first 8 teachers and 16 students who request it.
