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The American Journal of Physics publishes papers that will support, inform, and delight a diverse audience of college and university physics teachers. Contents include novel approaches to classroom and laboratory instruction, insightful articles on topics in classical and modern physics, apparatus notes, historical or cultural topics, book reviews, resource letters, and award talks.
Featured Articles
February 01 2025
Christopher Ong, Shaun Quek
Carnot's theorem guarantees the most efficient cycle to be the Carnot cycle provided that the state space is constrained between two isotherms. This paper considers what the most efficient cycle ...
February 01 2025
I. L. Tregillis, George R. R. Martin
We present a fictional scenario that, while undeniably whimsical, provides the foundation for a unique exercise in extended problem solving, physics analysis, and quantitative model development. ...
February 01 2025
Martin Luttmann, Michel Luttmann
The notched stick, also known as the Gee-Haw-Whammy-Diddle, is a wooden toy able to convert linear vibration into rotational motion, whose behavior has been intriguing both children and physicists ...
Editor's Picks
February 01 2025
Samuel Bernard-Bernardet, Emily Dumas et al.
In quantum physics lectures, half-integer spins are generally introduced as “objects that do not come back to their original state after one full turn but that do after two.” As a consequence, ...
February 01 2025
David Syphers
This paper presents two thematically linked activities focused on temperature, climate, and climate change that can be used as engaging ways to introduce students to computational techniques. The ...
December 01 2024
M. Pössel
A challenge in teaching special relativity is that a number of the theory's effects are at odds with the intuition of classical physics as well as students' everyday experience. The relativity of ...
Ergodic Lagrangian dynamics in a superhero universe
I. L. Tregillis, George R. R. Martin
All objects and some questions
Charles H. Lineweaver, Vihan M. Patel
The most efficient thermodynamic cycle under general engine constraints
Christopher Ong, Shaun Quek
The spinorial ball: A macroscopic object of spin-1/2
Samuel Bernard-Bernardet, Emily Dumas, et al.
A story with twists and turns: How to control the rotation of the notched stick
Martin Luttmann, Michel Luttmann

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