The author(s) assume no responsibility or liability for the use of information contained on this site. See, for example, the demonstration that the acceleration of a falling stick, hinged at one end, can be greater than g.ĭisclaimer: All demonstrations are posted for the convenience and benefit of faculty and staff in the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University and are not intended for outside use. Some of these demos illustrate the importance of ensuring that the audience can see clearly the effect that is being demonstrated and the importance of having apparatus that works properly. crush can with T-tube hand cranked generator.friction in rope wrapped around a cylinder.temperature and heat - thought expt with potatoes, steel balls in paraffin.monkey and hunter intro to temperature and heat.independence of horizontal and vertical motion.ball falling into cup, a greater than g.connected soap bubbles (cont), candle burning at both ends.Thermal Expansion - ball and ring, bimetallic strip (brass and iron).It is useful to see how Professor Miller, a vocal exponent of demonstrations with many thought provoking ideas on the teaching of physics, presents these demos. The show featured a variety of characters such as The Librarian, Grizelda the Ghastly Gourmet, The Oracle, Dr Pet Vet and so on, all played by Billy Van, and The Professor portrayed by Julius Sumner Miller. The Hilarious House of Frightenstein was a show produced in the early 1970s, in Canada I believe. In 1993 the Australian Science Foundation for Physics established a fellowship in his memory.From the television show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. He left his body to the school of dentistry, University of Southern California. Survived by his wife, he died on 14 April 1987 at his home at Torrance, Los Angeles, California. His publications were numerous: they included scores of articles in the American Journal of Physics Demonstrations in Physics (1969) a series of books based on his television and radio shows, among them Why It Is So (1971) and The Kitchen Professor (1972) Enchanting Questions for Enquiring Minds (1982) and his autobiography, The Days of My Life (1989). He also appeared on television advertisements for non-stick saucepans, Ampol petroleum and Cadbury’s chocolate. He set traps to keep people on their toes he would ask members of the audience to verify that a glass was empty and then berate them for not noticing that it was full of air.Īustralian newspapers published a daily question posed by Miller, a ‘Millergram’, and also an answer to the previous day’s question. Each session had a strong element of drama and was punctuated loudly with phrases such as ‘Watch it now! Watch it!’ or ‘He who is not stirred by the beauty of it is already dead!’. Bubbling with infectious enthusiasm not normally associated with the serious scientist, he brought each presentation to life with details of the history of the subject and the origins and meanings of the words used to describe it. He preferred to encourage his audience to seek the answers. Delighting in showing ‘how Nature worked its wondrous ways’, he rarely offered any detailed explanations. He also presented a television program entitled ‘Why Is It So?’ for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. In addition to recording science shows in the USA, he appeared on popular television programs, including ‘The Groucho Marx Show’, Walt Disney’s ‘Mickey Mouse Club’ and Johnny Carson’s ‘The Tonight Show’.įrom 1962 to 1986 Miller made twenty-seven visits to Australia, primarily to give demonstrations and lectures at the annual science school for high-school students in the physics department at the University of Sydney, organised by Professor Harry Messel. He was a visiting lecturer (1965-85) at the US Air Force Academy. He earned his living as a butler for two years.Įmployed by Dillard University, New Orleans (1937-38, 1941-52) and El Camino College, California (1953-74), Miller worked in their physics departments. On 21 April 1934 at Brookline, Massachusetts, he married Alice Marion Brown, a maid they had no children. Julius was educated at local schools and at Boston University (BS, 1932 MA, 1933) and the University of Idaho (MS, 1940). He was named Julius Simon but later took the name Sumner. His father had come to the USA from Latvia and his mother from Lithuania. Julius Sumner Miller (1909-1987), physicist, science educator and television performer, was born on at Billerica, Massachusetts, United States of America, youngest of nine children of Samuel Miller, farmer, and his wife Sarah, née Newmark. National Library of Australia, nla.pic-vn3086852 Julius Sumner Miller, by John Milligan, 1968
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