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Simon Poliakoff

@simonpoliakoff.bsky.social

400 followers 380 following 470 posts

Physics Teacher who loves demonstrations and practicals. Makes YouTube videos and free creative commons lesson resources. Website: www.teachphysics.org YouTube: www.youtube.com/@SimonPoliakoff

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Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Nov 14

I made this google slides of nearly 100 ideas for teaching magnetism and electromagnetism in the Summer term with help from @hookean.bsky.social If you haven’t seen it then it is worth a look: www.teachphysics.org/home/magneti...

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Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 3d

I have that book on my shelf. It has some good ideas in it.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 11d

After 20 years of teaching I finally built a working flame probe for measuring electric potential and used it with my students earlier in the week. It really is good for bringing alive the electric fields topic. I made this video about it:

#SciTeachUK
#ITeachPhysics

youtu.be/f0YWO2PfBVU

Using the flame probe to its full potential

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

youtu.be

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 15d

Perfect setup! I don’t know how I could work in a school without lots of old kit as most of it is now too expensive to get bought with modern science budget. Thought our EHT had died last week but luckily it was just an internal fuse…

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 19d

It was hard to get them in the UK and the postage from www.zerotoys.com/Tumble-Buggy... was much more affordable when I ordered eight earlier in the year and they kindly sent me 4 of each colour. Used them on Monday and they were popular #SciTeachUK

Tumble Buggy

The Original Tumble Buggy Car is nearly unstoppable! Our cute 1960’s classic beach dune buggy hits a wall or barrier and then does a back flip, spins, rolls and runs away in another direction. The Ant...

www.zerotoys.com

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 19d

Did this in my A-level lesson today which I think was interesting for the students.

#IteachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

Measuring the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor by discharging it through an oscilloscope
youtu.be/-4JNebKmJEU

Measuring the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor by discharging it through an oscilloscope

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

youtu.be

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 22d

What set up do you use to measure the decay of radon?

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 25d

Thanks for the suggestion. I will put it on my to do list to play with the acoustic stopwatch.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · 26d

It was good to get A-level students doing some calculations with the shuttling ball demo yesterday:

#SciTeachUK
#ITeachPhysics

youtu.be/usP5YtWQh6c

Calculations with the shuttling ball demonstration

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

youtu.be

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Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Sep 13

Set up this old Nuffield demonstration for the first time yesterday afternoon ready for my first A-Level lesson of the electric fields topic on Monday. Simple but effective I think.

#SciTeachUK
#ITeachPhysics

Paper indicator to show the direction of a uniform electric field:
youtu.be/oAVDkdi7nb8

Paper indicator to show the direction of a uniform electric field

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

youtu.be

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Sep 13

Added another nice rainbow photo to my collection yesterday when the low evening sun combined with a sudden rain shower.

#ITeachPhysics

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Sep 10

I extended GUESS to GUESS SUn adding Significant figures and Units at the end.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Sep 6

Yes they are also great for conservation of momentum in two dimensions.

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Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Aug 31

I like letting students see it with a polarising filter and asking them to try to explain what they observe.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=3E-R...

Refraction of light by a calcite crystal

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

m.youtube.com

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Aug 10

Madeira is lovely too but does it have a sea pool fed by a natural thermal spring where you can float in bath temperature warm water watching shoals of fish swimming amongst the bubbles rising from vents? And if you force your teenagers to get up v early you can have it to yourself?

Black lava surrounding semi enclosed sea pool with cliffs behind. Single swimmer snorkelling in the middle.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Aug 10

Praia do Corpo Santo in Vila Franco do Campo on Sao Miguel island

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Aug 10

I was trying to have a break from thinking about physics teaching in the Azores but this beach got in the way:

youtu.be/lj-ZZTG0ddU

#ITeachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

Giant natural ripple tank demonstrates wave diffraction on a beach

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

youtu.be

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Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Aug 7

When my children still had toys I sometimes set myself a challenge of getting a toy into every physics lesson in a day. Had to be legitimately linked to the topic of the lesson. Now my cupboard of physics bits has quite a few old toys like their marble rollercoasters etc in it.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Aug 3

Definitely worth adding into the radioactivity topic. The BBC news story has a short video clip:

www.bbc.com/news/article...

South African rhino horns turned radioactive to fight poachers - BBC News

The scheme is the latest innovation in decades of work aiming to protect South Africa’s rhinos.

www.bbc.com

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jul 18

Having the magnet on an upturned tray improves the bass response as the tray also vibrates.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jul 18

Finished two days of loudspeaker making with year 8. Key to making them loud is to ensure the coil is securely attached to the cup so that the cup vibrates along with the coil.

#ITeachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

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Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jul 14

Another interesting use of the very useful @phyphox.org

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jul 11

Got the few students who were actually in my lesson this afternoon to test out the tumble buggies / constant velocity buggies ready for next year.

#ITeachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

One of the many activities in my forces and motion sets of ideas

www.teachphysics.org/home/forces-...

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jul 2

What do you use as the tube? What material is it made from? Glass tubes can help to reduce friction. I use those covered with rubber tubing which finishes just before the end of the glass which reduces risk from broken glass.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jul 1

Useful and inspiring day at the @ogdentrust.bsky.social senior teacher fellowship induction today in Stratford upon Avon. Found time for an early morning river walk. Looking forward to making more sets of physics teaching ideas next year.

#SciTeachUK

Photo of reflection in River Avon early this morning.

Simon Poliakoff @simonpoliakoff.bsky.social · Jun 29

Inspired by Arbor Scientific’s 10 ideas with a plasma globe I set out to see if you could verify V is proportional to 1/r. After failing because I used a metal clamp stand it then worked perfectly. Full details of the setup at the end of the video:

youtu.be/crW7pMdZxUc

#ITeachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

Investigating if potential is proportional to 1/r around a plasma globe

YouTube video by Physics with Simon Poliakoff

youtu.be

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