MIT Department of Physics Technical Services Group
The Technical Services Group at MIT's Department of Physics provides technical and teaching support for undergraduate courses at MIT. Our many rooms of physics demos, accumulated over the past century, display subtle physics concepts ranging from electromagnetism, to kinematics, to optics.
The undergraduate physics courses at MIT include lecture courses, as well as the Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) studio classroom courses. Click here for more information on the MIT Physics Department, or see MIT OpenCourseWare to download free course materials.
Collection videos
Exploding Wire
Added 19 days ago | 00:01:14 | 293 views
A 100uF capacitor is charged to 3kV (450 joules) and then discharged through a thin iron wire, causing it to explode.
A Heat Gun
Added 29 days ago | 00:01:17 | 265 views
A small amount of water is placed inside an airtight copper tube, with the end sealed by a rubber stopper. The tube is heated using a blowtorch, causing the water inside to boil. As the water changes from a liquid to a gas the pressure i...
DC Motor
Added 3 months ago | 00:01:17 | 426 views
A DC current is sent around a wire loop that is free to rotate. The current causes the loop to feel a torque in the presence of a magnetic field. Switching the current when the loop flips over allows it to continue accelerating, demonstr...
Refraction & Total Internal Reflection
Added 11 months ago | 00:01:53 | 2947 views
A beam of light from a helium-neon laser is directed at a tank of water and is refracted as it enters the water. The outgoing angle of refraction is smaller than the incident angle. Next, the laser is directed from below the ...
Change in Frequency of Voice with H...
Added 11 months ago | 00:02:52 | 2685 views
Helium introduced into a resonant cavity, including the lungs of the demonstrator, will increase the frequency of all pitches originating in the cavity. This is because the speed of sound in helium is greater than the speed of soun...
Collection details
- Category
- Science
- Language
- English
- Website
- TSG @ MIT (web.mit.edu/tsg)
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