Projects

The aim of the “Eduard-Job-Foundation for Thermo- and Matterdynamics” is to support education and research in the fields of thermo- and matterdynamics with particular consideration of the new concept.

Education
In a project managed by Dr. Rüffler the textbook “Physical Chemistry?an Introduction with New Concept and Numerous Experiments” (in German) was written and published in October 2010 by Vieweg+Teubner (now Springer). In December 2015 the textbook was published in English with the title “Physical Chemistry from a Different Angle” by Springer; a translations into Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese is in preparation. The book imparts the main ideas of chemical dynamics in three parts: basic concepts and chemical equilibria (statics), progressions of transformations of substances in time (kinetics) and influence of electric fields (electrochemistry). It is addressed to undergraduate students in courses where physical chemistry is required in support but also to beginners in mainstream courses.

An important aspect of the textbook is the integration of more than hundred simple but nevertheless impressive demonstration experiments. All experiments will be tested carefully under laboratory conditions, and detailed instructions (including safety aspects according the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) and disposal procedures) are prepared. In a further subproject first videoclips of the experiments are produced.

In the most recent subproject a student´s manual was prepared in addition to the textbook with exercises with detailed and commented solutions. These exercises offer the possibility to practice the different topics by working with concrete problems and help in this way to deepen the understanding.

Prof. Fuchs of the Zurich University of Applied Science, Prof. Ecoffey and Dipl.-Ing. Schütz have developed an extensive virtual learning environment for „Physics as a Systems Science“. This project has been supported by the Job Foundation. The course of studies addresses those who want to learn physics as a system science and to be able to apply physics in their own disciplines. These would include engineers as well as researchers working in medicine, ecology, etc. Understanding dynamical systems is essential in many different areas so this course combines learning dynamical systems with the principles of physical processes. The materials presented let the students approach physics through active and inquiry based learning. One can work on experiments, analyze data, and create system dynamics models. The subjects chosen reflect the desire to view physics from a systems perspective. Fluids, electricity, heat, substances, and motion constitute the backbone. In each field, dynamical processes are stressed. Last but not least, the interaction of different processes plays an important role in some more demanding case studies. The main structure of the Web version and the first chapter „Storage und Flow of Fluids“ that are now available on the internet give an impression of the entire project.