Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics

400 Pages·2007·10.24 MB·English

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Santa Barbara

Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics:
An Experiment in Interdisciplinary
Physics and Fine Arts Education

A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the

requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in Education

by

Janet Krause van der Veen

Committee in charge:

Professor Jenny Cook-Gumperz, Chair

Professor Philip M. Lubin

Doctor Jason Duque Raley, Lecturer

Professor Eric Mazur, Harvard University

September 2007
The dissertation of Janet Krause van der Veen is approved.

________________________________________________

Eric Mazur

________________________________________________

Jason Duque Raley

________________________________________________

Philip M. Lubin

________________________________________________

Jenny Cook-Gumperz, Committee Chair

September 2007
Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics:
An Experiment in Interdisciplinary
Physics and Fine Arts Education

Copyright 2007

by

Janet Krause van der Veen

iii
Dedication

To:
My father, Robert Krause,
who taught me that with hard work, anything is possible
*~*
My son, Devananda Rupa van der Veen,
who began teaching me before he was born
*~*
My husband, Dr. Steve Davis,
who is still trying to teach me not to take life so seriously
*~*~*~*

One dark, moonless night, Nasruddin Hoja was frantically
searching, on his hands and knees, under a street lamp. One of his
students happened to ride by on his horse, and asked, “Hoja, what are you
doing on your hands and knees?” to which the Hoja replied, “I have lost
my purse and I am searching for it.”
The student asked, “Hoja, why are you only searching next to the
lamp post? You could have dropped it anywhere!” to which the Hoja
replied, “This is true, but on a moonless night, the only place I may hope
to find it is under the light!” – Traditional Ottoman Folktale

You never know what you might be missing
if you only search under the light!

iv
Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I wish to thank my dissertation committee, an incredible
team of scholars from both disciplines of Education and Physics.
I wish to thank my committee chair, Professor Jenny Cook-Gumperz, of the
Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, for abundant guidance, support, and
encouragement throughout my sojourn in the GGSE, from my studies of gender and
discourse, through advancement exams, and dissertation. It has truly been an honor to
work with you.
I wish to thank my Physics co-chair, Professor Philip Lubin of the UCSB
Physics Department for encouraging me to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics Education in the
first place. I am fortunate to have had the Lubin Lab as my intellectual home for
eighteen years, from the early days of the Remote Access Astronomy Project, to
COBE, and now Planck!
I wish to thank Professor Jason D. Raley of the Gevirtz Graduate School of
Education at UCSB, who also provided many valuable insights over this entire
process, from course work to qualifying exams to dissertation. I have learned so
much from you over these past four years.
I wish to thank Professor Eric Mazur of Harvard, for graciously agreeing to
be on my committee long distance. You have provided me with much needed advice
regarding the physics education research aspects of this project, and much
appreciated advice regarding the symmetry-based model for introductory physics.
Others at UCSB who were not directly involved with this project, but whom I
wish to thank for support, encouragement, and valuable discussions are Professor
Naftaly Glasman and Ms. Jeanne Chambers of the Gevirtz Graduate School of
Education, and my colleagues in the Lubin Cosmology Lab, Dr.’s Peter Meinhold and
Rodrigo Leonardi, and Ms. Simcha Udwin.
Acknowledgements would not be complete without thanking those who
provided the funds to conduct this research. I wish to thank Dr. Charles Lawrence of
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Planck Explorer Mission for funding this
v
research under NASA Grant #20070268. I also wish to thank the Gevirtz Graduate
School of Education for the generous dissertation grant.
A number of other people provided valuable discussions during the planning
of my course and the writing of this dissertation. My heartfelt thanks to:
Professor Lawrence Krauss of Case-Western Reserve University, who
provided many valuable comments, an abundance of healthy skepticism as well as
humor, and for providing me with pre-prints of the revisions of Fear of Physics,
which served as the textbook for my course.
Professors Leon Lederman and Christopher Hill of Fermilab, for
encouragement and valuable email conversations on teaching a symmetry-first
curriculum. I especially wish to thank Professor Hill for providing me with his lecture
notes on “All of Special Relativity in Ten Easy Steps.”
I wish especially to thank Professor David Gross, director of the Kavli
Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) at UCSB, for encouragement in developing a
symmetry-based introductory curriculum, for graciously providing me with articles
on symmetry, and conversations in his office at the KITP, and for inspiring my
students (and myself) with a fascinating lecture on symmetry.
I wish to also thank Dr. Jean-Pierre Hebert, Artist in Residence at the KITP,
for several insightful conversations regarding physics and art during the planning
phase of my course, and for participating in the course as an unofficial mentor for
myself and my students. Thank you also for providing an inspiring lecture, and for
supporting my students’ physics works of art by coming to their installations, and for
graciously inviting us to your studio.
I wish to thank composer Steven Travis Pope, Professor of Contemporary and
Computer Music in the UCSB Departments of Music and Engineering, for providing
an inspiring lecture for my students on algorithmic music.
I offer most heartfelt thanks to the College of Creative Studies and Geology
Department, under whose auspices I was able to teach my class. I wish to thank
Professor Bruce Tiffney, Dean of the College of Creative Studies (CCS), who
welcomed my course in Winter Quarter, 2007 under the auspices of his College, and
vi
also Ms. Leslie Campbell and Ms. Leslie Edgerton, administrators of CCS and the
Geology Department, respectively, who facilitated the administrative aspects of
arranging for me to teach this course. Without all of your help, this course would not
have taken place.
I wish to thank my brother, Frederic Krause, for valuable discussions and
insights from the viewpoint of a non-physicist, for the writer’s perspective that a
well-designed course should be like a good novel, always keeping students on the
edge of their seats, wanting to find out what comes next.
I want to thank my son Devananda, for endless inspiration, and for always
challenging the limits of my knowledge by posing difficult questions, thus forcing me
to expand my own horizons!
I especially want to thank my husband Steve, who stood by patiently while I
finished this dissertation, and most especially for all the help at the last minute,
staying up late to help me with the formatting! I am grateful for your perpetual
understanding, and for your tolerance on those occasions when I spontaneously
brought students home for dinner and hot tub.
Last, and most importantly, I wish to thank my students in CCS-120, Winter
Quarter, 2007: “Al,” “AT,” “Beatrice,” “Charlie,” “Frank,” “Juno,” “Manny,”
“MKS,” “Sam,” “SS,” and “Victor Eremita,” from the College of Creative Studies at
UCSB, for participating in this adventure in interdisciplinary education. I am
encouraged by your tremendous success, and astounded by your incredible works of
physics art, which far exceeded my expectations. Without your participation, I would
have no dissertation.
vii
Curriculum Vitae

Janet Krause van der Veen

Education

2007 Ph.D. Physics Education, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of
California, Santa Barbara 4.0 GPA.

M.S., M. Phil., Geophysics, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia
University.

B.A., Geology, with honors, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York.

Most Recent Awards and Honors

2007 Gevirtz Dissertation Scholar Fellowship
2006 Fellowship NASA Grant #20070268 and the Planck Explorer
Mission
2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science, Pacific
Division, First Place Award for Excellence in General and
Interdisciplinary Sessions
2005 Scholarship Grant, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University
of California, Santa Barbara,
2004 Scholarship Grant, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University
of California, Santa Barbara,
2004 Myra Sadker Curriculum Award, American University
2002 UCSB Instructional Improvement Grant
1999 First Place, NASA International Competition to name Chandra X-ray
Observatory
1986 Smithsonian Institute/American Institute of Indian Studies grant for
travel and advanced study of classical dance in India for nine months

Publications

van der Veen, J. (2006) Physicists and Firewalkers: The co-construction of
community identity through narratives in ritual performances, invited paper,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, June, 2006.

van der Veen, J. and Lubin, P. ,Labs for a Lambda-Dominated Universe, in press

van der Veen, J., Lubin, P., Natoli, P., Seiffert, M., (1998). Small Scale Anisotropies:
The Final Frontier, invited feature article in The Physics Teacher , 36 (9), Dec., 1998
viii
van der Veen, J., and Lubin, P. (1993). Spotlight on the Sun, The Physics Teacher,
May, 1993, 31 (5).

van der Veen, J., and Lubin, P. (1992) The Remote Access Astronomy Project at
UCSB: An Example of a University/High School Cooperative Educational Effort;
Education & Computing: Proceedings Of The International Conference On
Informatics In Education, August, 1992, Elsevier, Inc.

van der Veen, J., and Lubin, P. (1991).The UCSB Remote Access Astronomy Project
Robotic Telescopes In The 90's, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Laramie,
Wyoming, June, 1991

W. McCann, S. Nishenko, L. Sykes, and Krause, J. (1979). Seismic Gaps and Plate
Tectonics: Seismic Potential for Major Plate Boundaries; Pure And Applied
Geophysics, vol. 117,

Invited Colloquium

Symmetry and Aesthetics in Physics Education, October 27, 2006, Physics
Department, Fresno State University, invited speaker

Invited Talks With Published Abstracts

Physicists and Firewalkers: The role of narratives in the co-construction of
community identity. Amer. Assoc. for Adv. Science, June 19, 2006, San Diego.

Constraining Fundamental Cosmological Parameters by Understanding the Spectrum
of Anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background with P. Lubin and M.
Seiffert, in THE ANNOUNCER, American Association of Physics Teachers, v. 24,
no.4, January, 1998

The Remote Access Astronomy Project: A Research-Oriented Approach to Physics
and Astronomy Teaching for Undergraduate and High School Students with P. Lubin
in THE ANNOUNCER, American Association of Physics Teachers, v. 24, No.2,
July, 1994

Community Service

Member, UCSB MIDDLE EAST ENSEMBLE Dance Troupe, 2000 - Present:
Numerous free public performances for campus, local schools, and community
events.

Professional Societies

American Association of Physics Teachers, 1989 – present.
ix
Abstract

Symmetry and Aesthetics in Introductory Physics:
An Experiment in Interdisciplinary
Physics and Fine Arts Education

by

Janet (Jatila) Krause van der Veen

In a recent editorial in Physics Today (July, 2006, p. 10) the ability of
physicists to “imagine new realities” was correlated with what have been traditionally
considered non-scientific qualities of imagination and creativity, which are usually
associated with fine arts. In view of the current developments in physics of the 21st
Century, including the searches for cosmic dark energy and evidence from the Large
Hadron Collider which, it is hoped, will verify or refute the proposals of String
Theory, the importance of developing creativity and imagination through education
is gaining recognition.
Two questions are addressed by this study: First, How can we bring the sense
of aesthetics and creativity, which are important in the practice of physics, into the
teaching and learning of physics at the introductory college level, without sacrificing
the mathematical rigor which is necessary for proper understanding of physics?
Second, How can we provide access to physics for a diverse population of students
x