Colour and temperature of the stars: a demonstration using Arduino

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2024

Authors

Hahn, MD (Author) Other; Carvalho, PS (Author) FCUP; Cruz, FADO (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Physics Education

Vol. 59

ISSN: 0031-9120

Publisher: Institute of Physics Publishing

Indexing

Scopus - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-010-D28

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/ad3c89

Abstract (EN): Teaching the colour of stars is not as trivial as one might think. It can be challenging for students to grasp that the colour of stars follows a temperature sequence. This paper introduces a simple experimental setup for instructing the correlation between a star¿s colour and its temperature. Furthermore, the experimental setup facilitates the exploration of the topic of colour addition, demonstrating to students how to replicate the colour of a star¿a spectrum colour¿by employing an RGB LED that emits only primary colours (red, green, and blue). The experiment utilised an Arduino microcontroller board in conjunction with RGB LEDs and an LCD display. The activity was conducted with 53 7th-grade students from a private school in Portugal results suggest a positive reception, indicating success in both motivational and cognitive aspects. The overall outcomes underscore the effectiveness of the activity in imparting new knowledge to students. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific