The International System of Units was originally based on the seven fundamental physical quantities. On May 20, 2019, the Conférence générale des poids et mesures (CGPM) officially adopted four physical constants as new measurement standards: the Planck constant, elementary charge, Boltzmann constant, and Avogadro constant. Obtaining these physical constants requires sophisticated instruments, and their historical background and physical meanings are not well organized in senior high school. How to conduct simple and safe experiments for these physical constants in high school and college courses is an important and urgent issue. In this study, the measurements of Planck's and Boltzmann's constants were conducted using the energy equation and the surface current model, respectively. The measurements were performed using an ESP32 single-chip microcontroller with a 16-bit ADC on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and transistors. Due to the advantages of the Internet of Things, the experimental data can be accessed by a smartphone and used in a typical classroom. About one hundred high school students in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan participated in a semiconductor course where they studied basic concepts such as pn junctions and transistor semiconductor physics, based on the aforementioned fundamental physical constants. Through the above experiments, you can understand the nonlinear effects of diodes, photovoltaic effects, transistor amplification, and learn about the application of physical constants in physical measurements.

Authors:
Chin-Chung Yu, National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Yi-Hung Hsu, National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Chin-Chung Yu is currently an Associate Professor and the Director of Center for Science Education, National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He also serves as the chairman of the Physical Education Society of the Republic of China.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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