Development of Physics Lecture Demonstrations For Undersea Warfare

Abstract

The importance of educational research is evidenced by many STEM programs (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), including those by the U.S. Navy. This thesis focuses on the development of new physics lecture demonstrations that are especially relevant for the Undersea Warfare curriculum at the Naval Postgraduate School. Three different phenomena are investigated: (i) reciprocity in linear passive electrical networks, (ii) a Cartesian diver including neutral buoyancy, and (iii) neckless Helmholtz resonators. In (i), we investigate reciprocity in a large two-dimensional resistor grid and a randomly-generated network of resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Reciprocity is important in underwater acoustics transduction. In (ii), we investigate the sinking of a floating body and the instability of a neutrally buoyant body, which are important in the motion of submarines. In (iii), we investigate a resonator consisting of a thin plastic sphere with a hole, and describe an experiment with a precision cylindrical resonator. Helmholtz resonators can be used for the generation of underwater sound, and can unintentionally occur on submarine surfaces. The pursuit of physics demonstrations can contribute to forefront research. In our case, this occurred for the parametric stabilization of a neutrally-buoyant body and for the resonance frequency and quality factor of neckless Helmholtz resonators.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2015
Accession Number
AD1185908

Entities

People

  • Faisal A. Khan

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Propagation
  • Acoustics
  • Boundary Layer
  • Buoyancy
  • California
  • Computer Simulations
  • Divers
  • Electrical Circuits
  • Energy Harvesting
  • Engineering
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Geometry
  • Instructors
  • Measurement
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Two Dimensional
  • Undersea Warfare
  • Underwater Acoustics

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • STEM Education