V. 3, N 2, 1997

Some results from a number of years of teaching a fundamental physics course at the Moscow State Forest University, known as "Sukhanov's course", are presented. The main conclusion is that this type of course should not be a weak copy of a university course in physics for physics majors, and is obliged to fulfill four main functions: educational, ideological, developmental, and training. Possibilities for realizing these requirements in the frameworks of a fundamental physics course are discussed, as well as the conditions that must be imposed on the administration of institutions of higher education for this to occur.

THE CONCEPT OF PHYSICS TEACHING IN ENGINEERING UNIVERSITIES OF THE

DEFENSE MINISTRY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

K.L. Rzhepetskii

A number of positions presented in the earlier article of A. M. Vasil'eva et al. (Journal of the Moscow Physics Society, Series B, vol. 1, 1995) that are applicable to teaching physics in military institutions of higher education are discussed. A number of proposals for modernizing physics teaching concepts and improving the level of teaching are formulated, with emphasis placed on the basic knowledge in a physics course relative to specialized technical disciplines. The importance of preserving the integrity of the physics course and the unacceptability of transferring isolated sections to other disciplines is noted.

CORRELATION OF PHYSICS EDUCATION WITH THE PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION IN

UNIVERSITIES WITH A NON-PHYSICS PROFILE

V.V. Fomenko

The interconnection between general (fundamental) physics courses and the specialized disciplines determining the professional orientation of graduates of technical universities is examined. A number of possibilities for realization of these interconnections based on existing methods and program documents are formulated and proposed. The concept of "physical-axiomatic" provision for general engineering and specialized disciplines is introduced, and possibilities for its realization are discussed. A number of useful specific examples are considered.

PHYSICS AND UNIVERSITY PROFILES

A.E. Aizentson

The problem of the interconnection between physics as one discipline of a fundamental education and the profile of institutions of higher education is discussed. The most effective path to teaching physics in universities not specializing in physics is maintaining its fundamental character and using specific examples from the area of engineering in practical exercises and laboratory work.

PHYSICS AS A BASIS FOR TECHNICAL CREATIVITY

Yu.V. Sokolov

Physics education in technical universities today is undergoing a crisis due to the inadequate presentation of physics knowledge to engineers and a decrease in the exact sciences among young people. Some pedagogical approaches to solving the problem of modernizing the educational aspect linking science and technology in order to make physics accessible and impression-forming are discussed. These include reconstruction of the educational program in systems analysis logic, creation of a systematized base of physics effects and phenomena, conscious encouragement of motivated behavior and creative activity in students, instruction in methods of engineering creativity and systems thinking, and transformation of the teacher into a knowledgeable engineer.

THE PATH TO ECOLOGIZING PHYSICS KNOWLEDGE IN UNIVERSITIES (EXPERIENCE OF THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT OF THE URAL STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY IN THE FORMATION OF AN ECOLOGICAL STUDENT CULTURE)

V.V. Litovskii

Optimal paths for using physics knowledge to form an ecological student culture at institutions of higher education are proposed. Starting from physical principles, the hierarchy of the culture ecosystems determining the "near order" for a person is estimated. The results of experiments on ecologizing traditional university-level physics courses and forming an ecological student culture are presented. The direct introduction of new physics-based ecological courses is also discussed. The effectiveness of a combined approach to ecologizing physics knowledge among university-level students and its positive role in strengthening general physics preparation are emphasized.

PHYSICS ANALOGIES IN ECONOMICS

E.V. Aleshina, R.A. Brazhe, and A.A. Greshnova

A new economic quantity is introduced -- the potential function of a market, determined by the differential properties of supply and demand curves. Specifying this function using the results of preliminary market transactions makes it possible to investigate price dynamics for goods using a phase density method and construct a plot of price oscillations relative to their clearing values. Market models with independent goods and two mutually competing goods are described.

PRESSURE IN IDEAL GASES IN THE PRESENCE OF STRONG FIELDS

A.S. Kondrat'ev and A.D. Sukhanov

The pressures of degenerate gases and gases possessing internal degrees of freedom under the action of electric and magnetic fields can not be calculated using the traditional method of Bernoulli. In these cases, using a large thermodynamic potential W makes it possible to calculate these pressures, leading to results that coincide with the result of Bernoulli. This provides evidence that the pressure of any of the ideal gases in all these cases is determined only by the mean kinetic energy of the translational motion of the particles.

THE GYROSCOPE IN GENERAL PHYSICS COURSES

E.S. Rybin

A relatively simple explanation for the behavior of a gyroscope is presented. The exact vector equations for the motion of a symmetrical top with a fixed point are used. The simplification of the problem is primarily achieved by operating with the equations directly in vector form. A simple model for a symmetrical top is proposed, making it possible to avoid such complicated concepts as the ellipsoid of inertia, the main axis of inertia, etc..

A SPECIALIZED PHYSICS LECTURE AUDITORIUM

V.N. Kunin and L.V. Grunskaya

A specialized physics auditorium has been built in the Vladimir State University, in which lectures on physics are given using a wide range of modern lecture experiments. The auditorium is completely mechanized and outfitted with the modern physics equipment needed to conduct the lecture experiments, and is intended for up to 200 listeners.

VISUAL METHODS FOR THE PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION OF DISPERSION PHENOMENA OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

V.P. Samarin

A demonstration experiment to illustrate on an oscilloscope screen the relation between the phase and group velocities of electromagnetic waves and the distortion of the shape of a signal during its propagation in a disperse medium is described.

APPLICATION OF SPECTRAL RELATIONS IN A LABORATORY ON THERMAL EMISSION

A.M. Pogorel'skii and V.V. Khristoforov

A scheme for a laboratory setup intended for student experiments on thermal emission in a general physics course is proposed. The special feature of the scheme is the use of two narrow wavelength intervals for contactless measurement of the temperature of an emitting body. This brings to the students' attention the spectral energy distribution of thermal emission and the possibility of using it for such measurements.

AN ULTRAVIOLET PHOTORECEIVER IN A PHYSICS LABORATORY COURSE

M. I. Fedorov

An ultraviolet photoreceiver based on n-type gallium arsenide and p-type copper phtalocianin has been developed, studied, and patented, and is used in the second level of a physics laboratory course. The students study the behavior of the photoelectric dynamical force and the short-circuit current, and the digression of these parameters as functions of the intensity of the radiation from a DRT-240 lamp through a UFS-2 filter.

AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR PREPARING PHYSICS STUDENTS IN MILITARY

UNIVERSITIES DURING THE TRANSITION TO STATE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

A.A. Chervova and V.P. Samarin

Experience in creating a student working physics program is related. The program corresponds to the new governmental educational standards, and is optimally matched to the requirements of fundamental physics education with the specific orientation of military institutions of higher education.

A PROGRAM FOR AN ELECTIVE COURSE ON THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF MICROELECTRONICS

G.K. Ippolitova and Yu.G. Rudoi

A program for an elective course intended for 34 hours of lectures acquainting students (after they have had a general physics course) with some aspects of semi-conductor physics and quantum electronics is proposed. The course was given to third-year students at the Moscow Automobile and Roads Institute in 1994-1995.

INVESTIGATIONS OF ANISOTROPY IN THE ELECTRIC AND OPTICAL

PROPERTIES OF A SINGLE-AXIS CRYSTAL

N.Ya. Molotkov, A.V. Postul'gin

The student laboratory exercise developed by the authors uses a structure made up of dielectric layers as a model for a single-axis crystal. The experiment is conducted in the cm-wavelength range. The theory of the proposed student experiment, as well as the techniques and methods used to realize it, are described in detail.