MrG Physics
rgill-1.bsky.social
MrG Physics
@rgill-1.bsky.social
Physics teacher in the South West, UK. Tinkering with electronics to use in the science classroom.
Putting it together with a 3d printed body and webcam tripod made for an interesting build. Can put RGB LEDs in front to show the difference in light quality as well as filament light bulbs. #iteachphysics
November 14, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Would love to have said that my DIY 3d print enclosed light gate could be the solution but robustness and ease of making (and maintaining) 16 of them it's hard to compete. Still a good demo piece, particularly as it records acceleration directly (and very customisable output in @phyphox.org )
September 18, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Our train was through the Brenner Pass so we didn't have to contend with that fortunately.
August 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
That final point would almost certainly have meant it would have worked out cheaper. The return to and from London (from the South West) was one of the more expensive legs of the whole circuit.
August 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Tying back to Physics - struck me en route we would be passing through @phyphox.org HQ in Aachen, sadly at the wrong time of night (and year) to visit.

Also forgot to hit 'go' on the Phyphox elevator experiment when on the glass elevator in Turin. Opportunities missed!
August 23, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Keeping an eye out for when tickets became available on the various providers to get cheapest fares was the only challenge - they all did summer release at slightly different times.
Might have worked out marginally cheaper if we'd gone down the interrail pass route - something to try next time! 2/
August 23, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Parkrun with the 8 yo. She wanted sub26 so pacing hat firmly on - not the easiest on the undulating Chelt summer course. Meant to be a recovery run for me so legs not happy with her rapid sprint finish.

Was a busy one this morning, made for lots of nice hello's from students past and present tho.
August 16, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Big fan of their work, and they have stuck with it longer than I did. I've now uploaded my code and bill of parts for the light gate which will give a sense of how I did it github.com/RGill-1/Blue... . @phyphox.org . Our light gates are on their last legs at school so should revisit!
May 8, 2025 at 7:20 PM
This is the closest I'd got. Never published because it is jankier than other sensors I've done (needs soldering, code iffy). It is double break beam light gate able to do velocity and accel where it is agnostic to object length. Esp32 pings the data to @phyphox.org via ble so no onboard screen.
May 8, 2025 at 6:11 PM
#yarrbooty pi r sq h fudge fudge fudge = 361 pieces (don't ask to see working)
November 29, 2024 at 5:23 PM
#yarrbooty teaching polarisation of light to students. Asked if anyone could create a model for rotating polarising filters - student came back in 24hrs with a motorised Lego frame. Put in front of a esp32 based DIY light sensor and hey presto, polarisation by angle graphed.
November 29, 2024 at 9:47 AM
BLE really handy for getting it to Phyphox which makes the GUI side of things (graphing, simple analysis) so easy, students can then focus on the work involved with collecting data (selecting sensor/experimental setup etc) rather than the coding required to view data
November 28, 2024 at 8:21 PM