Teacher gets creative with physics theories
Print Edition
You don鈥檛 have to be a kung fu master to smash a brick using your bare hands.
All you need is a basic grasp of the impulse-momentum theorem, according to a Chinese high school physics teacher.
Zhang Hui, a physics teacher from a high school in the city of Mi鈥檒e, southwest China鈥檚 Yunnan Province, has become an online sensation after several videos of him hand-shattering a brick surfaced on the internet.
In a recent viral video, the sturdy-looking Zhang is seen placing a concrete brick on the edge of a table and splitting the brick in half with his right hand during a physics class. The students surrounding Zhang let out cries of amazement after he performs the stunt.
鈥淚f I had had a teacher like Zhang, I would鈥檝e done a much better job at my high school physics,鈥 said a comment on Weibo, which has garnered many likes from netizens.
鈥淭he stunt was actually a lead-in for the class. I was about to introduce my students to the impulse-momentum theorem after it,鈥 said Zhang, who has been surprised by the online attention.
Zhang explained that during the performance, he raised the brick at one end and thrust it against the edge of the table as his right hand 鈥渃hopped it up.鈥 Thus, the brick was split more by the impact between the brick and the table than by the strength of his hand, he said.
The brick-breaking stunt is one of the many creative ways that Zhang has introduced his students to abstract physics theories.
鈥淗igh school physics is difficult, so I often use more visual ways to teach the theories and attract my students鈥 interest,鈥 said Zhang, who has been teaching physics in high school for 14 years.
To teach the concept of momentum, he has also brought skateboards into his class, besides the brick-smashing performance.
Zhang said his creative ideas usually come up during his daily workout routines, which include running and body-building. 鈥淲hen I work out each day, I always think about ways to let my students participate in class and make them interested in physics,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 believe physics principles underlie every sport. That鈥檚 why I try to bring elements of sports into my class,鈥 the teacher added.
Besides teaching physics, Zhang is also an instructor at the school fitness club, which advises students on how to get fit. 鈥淚 teach my students proper training methods so that they can fully enjoy sports,鈥 he revealed.
Regarding the ongoing online attention, Zhang said more attention should be given to teachers working in China鈥檚 remote and mountainous regions than himself.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
