Research Articles

Contemporary Issues and Resources

• See ProCon.org, which provides pros and cons for several issues.
• evolution vs. creation science debate (dating and species to species evolution)
• cloning
• use of pesticides, chemicals or plastics
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
  • The Hoax Slayer
  • The Food and Drug Administration
• alternate fuels (nuclear, fusion, etc.)
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
• fields associated with high power transmission lines or cell phones
  • Powerlines, cell phones and cancer (Rick Matthews (professor of physics, Wake Forest University)
  • APS policy statement (on power lines)
• use of solar energy
• use of smart grids
• use of nonvented heaters
• use of microwaves (for communication and cooking)
• public monetary support of science (or specific science activities, like the SSC, space missions, etc.)
• global warming
  • The Science & Environmental Policy Project
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
  • New Scientist Environment (click on Special Reports and then Climate Change) and the article on Climate Myths
  • Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (paper by Robinson, Robinson and Soon, published in J. of Amer. Physicians and Surgeons, 2007, arguing that "there are no experimental data to support the hypothesis that increases in human hydrocarbon use or in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing or can be expected to cause unfavorable changes in global temperatures, weather, or landscape."
  • Comments on "Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide" by Frank Murley (Roanoke College)
  • Skepticism.Net (according to the site, they provide "links to resources skeptical of [...] doomsday scenarios.")
  • The Changing Debate on Global Warming by Eric J. Barron (Jackson School of Geosciences; University of Texas at Austin)
  • How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic (grist; environmental news and commentary)
  • RealClimate (climate science from climate scientists)
  • The Manpollo Project (a risk-management perspective to global warming action)
  • The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism
  • Classic Articles on Global Warming
  • 2010 Kavli Prize Science Forum Keynote Address by John P. Holdren, US Presidential Science Advisor
  • Increases due to human activities? (one of the frequently asked questions series put together by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
  • Junk Science (anti-global warming site)
  • Sheep Albedo Hypothesis
• ozone depletion
  • The Science & Environmental Policy Project
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
• recycling
  • The Heartland Institute (click on Environment)
• uses of animals in research
• whether cars are relatively safe during a tornado
• whether oil is produced from organic matter (fossil fuels) or inorganic matter (abiogenic processes)
• irradiation of food
  • Center for Disease Control
  • Cancer Prevention Coalition (they have page about irradiation risks)
  • Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (they have excerpts from a U.S. Congressional meeting)
• whether oil is produced from organic matter (fossil fuels) or inorganic matter (abiogenic processes)
• You can investigate something being sold on the market that may have questionable or debatable benefits. Examples include:
  • homeopathic medicines
  • copper or magnetic bracelets
  • energy drinks and bars
  • shoes that burn calories
• Whether there is a standard scientific method.
• Geocentrism
• Comments on many of these issues can be found at SoundScience.info
• How drier sheets work
• Salt lamps (health benefits of ion therapy)

Writing Hints

• How to Paraphrase (from Purdue U.)

Experiments

• The Effect of Material of Wire on the Speed Passing Through a Block of Ice (by Mikko Valjus, Kuopion Lyseon Lukio, Finland)
• Power of a Light bulb
• Measuring the size of the Earth
  • Dennis Rawlins, "Doubling Your Sunsets or How Anyone Can Measure the Earth's Size with Wristwatch and Meterstick," American Journal of Physics, 47, No. 2, p. 126 (Feb 1979).
  • Zachary H. Levine , "How to Measure the Radius of the Earth on Your Beach Vacation," Phys. Teach. 31, No. 7, P. 440 (Oct. 1993).
• Find mass of the Earth by tracking satellites .
• Find rotation rate of the Earth by observing the time a star rises or sets on consecutive nights (see, for comparison, astronomy simulations) and compare with how long it takes for a shadow to return to a particular position.
• Determine the density of the sun by measuring the angular size of the Sun (set gravitational force on Earth due to Sun equal to the centripetal force on Earth needed to orbit the sun; solve for the mass of the sun then divide by the volume of the sun to get the density)
• Measuring the Moon's orbit using a hand-held camera: Am. J. Phys. 82, 317 (2014)

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