In a knowledge-based society, research into fundamental physics plays a vital role not only in the enhancement of human knowledge but also in the development of new technology that affects everyday life.The international symposium series Frontiers of Fundamental Physics (FFP) regularly brings together eminent scholars and researchers working in various areas in physics to exchange expertise, ideas, results, and new research perspectives. The twelfth such symposium, FFP12, took place at the University of Udine, Italy, and covered diverse fields of research: astrophysics, high energy physics and particle physics, theoretical physics, gravitation and cosmology, condensed matter physics, statistical physics, computational physics, and mathematical physics. Importantly, it also devoted a great deal of attention to physics education research, teacher training in modern physics, and popularization of physics. The high scientific level of FFP12 was guaranteed by the careful selection made by scientific coordinators from among 250 submissions from 28 countries across the world. During the three days of the conference, nine general talks were delivered in plenary sessions, 29 invited talks were given in specific topic areas, and 59 oral presentations were made. This book presents a selection of the best contributions at FFP12 with the aim of acquainting readers with the most important recent advances in fundamental physics and in physics education and teacher development.

This book highlights selected contributions presented at the 15th annual international symposium Frontiers of Fundamental Physics (FFP15), with the aim of informing readers about the most important recent advances in fundamental physics and physics education research. The FFP series offers a platform for physicists from around the world to present their latest theories and findings. The latest symposium was held in Orihuela, Spain and covered diverse fields of research, including gravitation, astronomy and astrophysics, physics of complex systems, high-energy physics, and mathematical physics. Considerable attention was also paid to physics education research, teacher education in physics, and the popularization of physics. In a knowledge-based society, research into fundamental physics plays a vital role in both the advancement of human knowledge and the development of new technologies. Presenting valuable new peer-reviewed contributions submitted from 15 countries, this book will appeal to a broad audience of scholars and researchers.

This book describes novel approaches designed to enhance the professional training of physics teachers, and explores innovations in the teaching and learning of physics in the classroom and laboratory. It features selected contributions from the International Research Group on Physics Teaching (GIREP) and Multimedia in Physics Teaching and Learning (MPTL) Conference, held in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, in July 2018, which brought together two communities: researchers in physics education and physics teachers. The book covers a broad range of topics, highlighting important aspects of the relationship between research and innovation in the teaching of physics, and presenting fresh insights to help improve learning processes and instruction. Offering a contemporary vision of physics teaching and the learning process, the book is of interest to all teachers and researchers committed to teaching and learning physics on the basis of good evidence.

This book explores in detail the role of laboratory work in physics teaching and learning. Compelling recent research work is presented on the value of experimentation in the learning process, with description of important research-based proposals on how to achieve improvements in both teaching and learning. The book comprises a rigorously chosen selection of papers from a conference organized by the International Research Group on Physics Teaching (GIREP), an organization that promotes enhancement of the quality of physics teaching and learning at all educational levels and in all contexts. The topics covered are wide ranging. Examples include the roles of open inquiry experiments and advanced lab experiments, the value of computer modeling in physics teaching, the use of web-based interactive video activities and smartphones in the lab, the effectiveness of low-cost experiments, and assessment for learning through experimentation. The presented research-based proposals will be of interest to all who seek to improve physics teaching and learning.

This book focuses on some important aspects of Physics Education: the role of metaphors in Physics teaching and learning, the connections between Physics and Mathematics, the interaction of young children with Physics at the primary level, and recent developments in teacher education in the USA. Contributors present their research related to: • Preparing teachers for TPACK (technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge) and laboratory work. • Developing and evaluating teacher PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) in Quantum Mechanics. • In-service Physics teacher education for early childhood and primary levels. • Pre-service Physics teacher education at all levels. • In-service Physics teacher professional learning for second and higher-level education. Chapters in this book inevitably look into how Physics teacher education is organized in different countries. Suggestions are offered for possible ways of supporting Physics teachers’ learning. An emphasis is made on the much-needed measurements of the effectiveness of different teaching strategies that improve teaching for learning. All this should help professionals, researchers, and pre-service, as well as in-service teachers to get acquainted with the most recent research contributions in the field.

This book presents research contributions focussing on the introduction of contemporary physics topics – mainly, but not exclusively, quantum physics – into high school currciula. Despite the important advances and discoveries in quantum physics and relativity which have revolutionized our views of nature and our everyday lives, the presence of these topics in high school physics education is still lacking. In this book physics education researchers report on the teaching and learning of quantum physics from different perspectives and discuss the design and use of different pedagogical approaches and educational pathways. There is still much debate as to what content is appropriate at high school level as well what pedagogical approaches and strategies should be adopted to support student learning. Currently there is a greater focus on how to teach modern physics at the high school level rather than classical physics. However, teachers still lack experience and availability of appropriate teaching and learning materials to support the coherent integration of Quantum Physics in high school curricula. All of the 19 papers presented in this book discuss innovative approaches for enhancing physics education in schools.

Scientific concepts are abstract human constructions, invented to make sense of complex natural phenomena. Scientists use specialised languages, diagrams, and mathematical representations of various kinds to convey these abstract constructions. This book uses the perspectives of embodied cognition and conceptual metaphor to explore how learners make sense of these concepts. That is, it is assumed that human cognition – including scientific cognition – is grounded in the body and in the material and social contexts in which it is embedded. Understanding abstract concepts is therefore grounded, via metaphor, in knowledge derived from sensory and motor experiences arising from interaction with the physical world. The volume consists of nine chapters that examine a number of intertwined themes: how systematic metaphorical mappings are implicit in scientific language, diagrams, mathematical representations, and the gestures used by scientists; how scientific modelling relies fundamentally on metaphor and can be seen as a form of narrative cognition; how implicit metaphors can be the sources of learner misconceptions; how conceptual change and the acquisition of scientific expertise involve learning to coordinate the use of multiple implicit metaphors; and how effective instruction can build on recognising the embodied nature of scientific cognition and the role of metaphor in scientific thought and learning. The volume also includes three extended commentaries from leading researchers in the fields of cognitive linguistics, the learning sciences, and science education, in which they reflect on theoretical, methodological and pedagogical issues raised in the book. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Science Education.

Physics at the beginning of the twenty-first century has reached new levels of accomplishment and impact in a society and nation that are changing rapidly. Accomplishments have led us into the information age and fueled broad technological and economic development. The pace of discovery is quickening and stronger links with other fields such as the biological sciences are being developed. The intellectual reach has never been greater, and the questions being asked are more ambitious than ever before. Physics in a New Era is the final report of the NRC's six-volume decadal physics survey. The book reviews the frontiers of physics research, examines the role of physics in our society, and makes recommendations designed to strengthen physics and its ability to serve important needs such as national security, the economy, information technology, and education.

Current students of philosophy or armchair philosophers... Want the answer to the Primordial Existential Question: Why is there something rather than nothing? While history has produced no shortage of attempted answers, clearly none is the answer. Now comes the unique perspective of acosmism to provide a complete and plausible answer. After a lifetime of reflection, acosmist Sherman O'Brien offers this analysis of the issues and a thoughtful, reasoned answer to philosophy's most vexing question. The acosmic answer requires no faith whatsoever, either in supernatural or unexplained causes; in fact, it discourages it. Acosmism rejects both traditional religion and philosophically neglectful science. As a metaphysical system, it is based on an epistemological insight, with implications for immortality, determinism, ethics, and ultimate purpose. Reasoned wholly from the ground up, its conclusion is the very meaning of existence. The solution to the Omniscience Riddle becomes the key to understanding how the question is best stated and understood. This book represents one person's effort to make sense of what is true and what only seems to be so. Why is there something rather than nothing? What is your potential role in the entirety of experience? This foray into acosmism offers a path to the genuine understanding of both existence and reality. Note: the main text constitutes roughly two-thirds of the total pages, the remainder being mostly endnotes.