Available to order now
New SchulPool case: laser experiments for schools
The new SchulPool "experimental laser" case was presented to interested physics teachers in the region in mid-June. // Photo Sven Forst
There are many reasons why laser experiments have so far been lacking in schools: the complexity of the topic, high costs, but also the fear of hazards and the resulting need for elaborate protective measures. "Many teachers therefore don't even use a laser pointer as a radiation source in simple optical experiments," says Prof Dr Johannes Grebe-Ellis, head of the working group and its didactics.
Experiments with the laser now possible
The class 1 solid-state laser developed by physicists Ilja Rückmann and Walter Luhs in 2024 offers a safe solution here. It allows all relevant experiments on how a laser works to be carried out in the upper secondary school and also experiments with the laser. This solid-state laser is now part of the new "Experimental Laser" school pool case - realised by the Physics and its Didactics working group with funding from the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation.
The case was presented to interested physics teachers in the region in mid-June. "Being able to teach pupils about the physics of lasers with a setup like this is a dream come true," says Dr Ulrich Rasbach, physics teacher at the Erzbischöfliche Marienschule Opladen. He has been booking the Wuppertal SchoolPool cases (more on this in the info box) for his physics lessons for years and was the driving force behind the procurement of the solid-state laser.
Innovative new developments in physics didactics
Johannes Grebe-Ellis was happy to take up this suggestion and acquired the funds to realise the case. He calls the collaboration with Ulrich Rasbach "a stroke of luck": "The SchulPool suitcases are an opportunity for us to introduce innovative new developments in physics didactics into physics lessons. It is particularly pleasing when this happens in dialogue with committed teachers."
The "experimental laser" case, which can be ordered via an online booking system, consists of a main case with the solid-state laser as well as two secondary cases with accessories (digital oscilloscope and spectrometer) and a laptop. The experiments that can be carried out with this equipment include measuring the fluorescence of the ruby crystal, the fluorescence lifetime and the laser power in comparison to the pump power. "You can see with your own eyes how irradiating a ruby crystal with blue light can excite it to glow red. Offering such an experiment to schools in the region is our contribution to the 100th anniversary of quantum physics in 2025," says Grebe-Ellis about the potential uses of the laser in physics lessons.
School POOL
Physics experiments that can be booked online and come free of charge with the suitcase - a successful model that has now proven itself for over ten years, is constantly gaining new users and is being continuously developed by the physics working group and its didactics.
SchulPOOL is aimed at schools in the Bergisch city-triangle. The centrally stored pool consists of over 70 interesting demonstration and student experiments, many of which are relevant to examinations and are designed for use in regular school lessons. They are stored at the BUW in sturdy cases ready for demonstration and transported by a transport service.
The costs for this have been borne by the BUW's physics department for years, which in this way contributes to the experimental support of physics lessons in the Bergisch region.
The experiments can be ordered on the SchulPOOL homepage.
