Smart physics with an oscillating beverage can

Abstract

Abstract A digital learning-teaching environment is introduced in which undergraduate students are challenged to connect the basic physical concepts of oscillation, buoyancy and data analysis via an authentic experiment. The damped oscillation of a cylindrical body swimming upright in water is measured via the MEMS acceleration sensor of a wireless MCU SensorTag. The data are recorded with the app phyphox on a smartphone or tablet. The theoretical oscillation period and the experimentally determined periods obtained via different data analysis roots are found to agree showing an excellent theory-experiment interplay. The proposed experiment is suited for the physics home lab e.g. under the current pandemic situation or for open university courses as well as for physics lab courses.