Recent content by ZapperZ

  1. ZapperZ

    Admissions Applying for PhD despite very weak undergraduate GPA

    @EsbMtrx : What exactly is your career goal? So far in this thread, the end-game seems to be getting into an PhD program, which is not a career goal. If the intention here is to become a practicing physics, either as a university faculty member or research scientist, then as Vanadium has...
  2. ZapperZ

    Stephen Wolfram explains how ChatGPT works

    The difference between a "calculator" and ChatGPT is that the calculator does not do the "thinking" for you, while ChatGPT often tries (and in many cases, fail) to do just that. What I mean in doing the thinking is that it tries to make correlations and THEN tries to establish the causation...
  3. ZapperZ

    Interactive lessons using PhET Sims and quizzes

    I'm sorry that I'm responding to this more than a month late. I use a lot of online apps and simulation as part of my "in-class activities" and problem-solving exercises. One of the PhET simulations that I often use is the projectile motion simulation (the "Lab" option)...
  4. ZapperZ

    My Photos Of The Year - So Far

    These two will be the strong contenders for my photos of the year. There's our cruise ship, the Disney Wonder. And in the background, Dawes Glacier at Endicott Arm, Alaska. We got even closer to the glacier on an excursion when we got onto a catamaran. Photos were taken on May 25, 2022. Zz.
  5. ZapperZ

    I What were the real results of the photoelectric effect experiment?

    Actually, even that is not as clear-cut. The nature of what a "work function" is is more complicated than such a simple answer. For example, in many instances, it is treated as simply the image charge potential of an electron emitted very near the surface of the material, thus creating an image...
  6. ZapperZ

    Asking the student to use a tablet in online tutoring

    The major problem here is that you are asking a student to possibly get something that he/she does not already own. This can easily be a financial burden, and it is only for one single purpose, which is for his/her interaction with you. What I suggest you do is first of all, check what the...
  7. ZapperZ

    Particle Accelerator concentration

    To answer your original question, even though it is a month too late, is the area of electromagnetic fields. RF fields and RF system design are part of this huge area. Many physicists and electrical engineers in this field work on waveguides, RF cavity designs, charged-beam physics, etc. I...
  8. ZapperZ

    Who's tried Ungrading in STEM courses?

    vela, Like you, I too had to adjust quite a bit of my assessment while conducting online or remote classes. The problem of "cheating" is certainly an issue with online exams. As with you, I had to de-emphasize exams, making them less than 50% of the total grade. My assessment comes in...
  9. ZapperZ

    VOTE Photo Contest - Dawn to Dusk

    {Administrative Note: This was the last PF Photo Contest that I administered. It has been a great run since I started this contest more than 10 years ago on this forum. Thank you to everyone who had participated in it. It was fun (most of the time). Special thanks to long-time participants...
  10. ZapperZ

    Photo Contest - Dawn To Dusk (8/22-8/28)

    Technically, that's correct. But I'm not going to pull hairs about that. It's bad enough that some people think "dusk" or "dawn" is defined by the color of the sky. Anything with the sun close enough to the horizon will be fine for this contest. It will be a judgement call. Zz.
  11. ZapperZ

    Other Small grant to fund undergraduates

    There are two issues here: It will take time for you to get such funding, assuming that you're successful. For example, you have already past by most of the DOE/NSF/NIST/etc. funding proposal cycle. So the earliest you can submit your proposal is middle of next year, and you won't see any...
  12. ZapperZ

    Photo Contest - Dawn To Dusk (8/22-8/28)

    OK. A few things. First of all, we have a dedicated contests for panorama photos. So I was hoping that we all get that out of our system in those contests. Secondly, I think when I changed the rules to remove the size limitations on the photos, the rule against photo post-processing and image...
  13. ZapperZ

    Photo Contest - Dawn To Dusk (8/22-8/28)

    docnet: similar question to you. Was this a single-shot photo that you crop, or using a wide lens, to end up having this pano shot? Zz.
  14. ZapperZ

    Photo Contest - Dawn To Dusk (8/22-8/28)

    Can you explain a bit about this photo? Did you crop it to end up with what appears as a panoramic shot? Zz.
  15. ZapperZ

    Photo Contest - Dawn To Dusk (8/22-8/28)

    Unfortunately, this photo looks like it was taken in the afternoon. The sun is still high above the horizon, which means that it was not at dawn or at dusk. Zz.
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