Physics on sale – Brazilian style

Abstract

Some years ago I visited the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge and was astonished by the simplicity of the devices that Maxwell and Thomson had used to make their fundamental discoveries. Back in Brazil, I decided to start a project to present physics to laypeople through demonstrations using simple materials that had been thrown away as refuse. I also encouraged the undergraduates on my introductory university physics courses – the maths, physics and chemistry teachers of the future – to produce simple demonstrations to explain the physics of everyday life.