A Level Physics: diverse role models for women in forces and motion content
04 December 2024
Mike Jackson, Physics Subject Advisor
Following on from my blog on diverse role models for women in astrophysics, I spotlight four women pioneers relating to the forces and motion content in A Level Physics. I include suggestions of where you could link their work to both Physics A and Physics B specifications.
Henrietta Vansittart designed ship propulsion
Henrietta Vansittart was born in Surrey in 1833 and grew up in poor conditions. Her father, James Lowe, was a machinist for ship’s propellers and had his own patent on a new screw propeller, though it led to no significant financial gain.
James Lowe died in 1866 after being hit by a carriage and Henrietta continued to improve his work. In 1868 Henrietta was awarded a patent. Her improvements included the development of a curved design. There is no record of Vansittart having a formal education and she was likely self-taught through her father’s work, as was common for women at that time. The propeller design allowed ships to move faster and smoother, using less fuel and able to manoeuvre better in reverse. It was fitted to various ships including HMS Druid, SS Lusitania and SS Scandinavian.
The Lowe-Vansittart propeller won many awards through the 1870s and 1880s, with it being exhibited across the world. Vansittart went on to be the first woman to write, read, and illustrate her own diagrams and drawings for a scientific article presented at the Association of Foreman Engineers and Draughtsmen.
Henrietta Vansittart and propellers could be linked ideas around motion and equilibrium in Physics A (H556/H156) topic 3.2. In Physics B (H557/H157) they could be linked to motion in topic 4.2.
Katherine Johnson and the space race
Katherine Johnson is now well known from the film and earlier book ‘Hidden Figures’. Born in West Virginia, USA, in 1918, she showed a strong ability at maths from an early age. Johnson excelled in education with the support of her parents, graduating at the age of 18 in mathematics and French. She went on to become a teacher.
In 1952 she applied to NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), which became NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). They were hiring African American women as computers, who checked calculations. She recalled that "The women did what they were told to do, they didn’t ask questions or take the task any further. I asked questions; I wanted to know why."
Johnson went on to work for NASA in calculating trajectories for the first orbits and to make John Glenn the first American to orbit the Earth. She was tasked with checking the electronic computers which were in use by that time. As electronic computers became more important for calculations, Johnson still went on to help the infamous Apollo 13 mission return safely to Earth and in development of both the space shuttle program and the Earth Resource Satellite project. She passed away in 2020 at the age of 101.
In Physics A (H556/H156) Katherine Johnson could be linked to projectiles in the specification through topic 3.1.3. Gravitational fields offer another link in topic 5.4. In Physics B (H557/H157) the link could be to motion in topic 4.2 or gravitation fields in topic 5.1.2.
Mária Telkes and solar technology
Mária Telkes was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1900. She studied physical chemistry at the University of Budapest before moving to America to become a biophysicist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. While there she helped to create a photoelectric device that recorded brainwaves, with George Washington Crile. In 1937 she became a research engineer at Westinghouse Electric, developing instruments that transferred heat into electric energy.
Telkes later worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was nicknamed the “Sun Queen”. She registered more than 20 patents, nearly all relating to the harnessing of energy from the sun. Here she developed a device that could vaporise seawater and condense it into drinkable water. This was carried on life rafts during the war and used in the Virgin Islands to support demands for water. By 1948 Telkes had designed a house which was constructed to be the world’s first modern residence to use solar energy for heating. She went on to design solar stoves, ovens and heaters. She also worked on materials designed to endure the temperature extremities of space.
In Physics A (H556/H156) Mária Telkes could be linked to energy transfers, through specification point 3.3.1 (d). In Physics B (H557/H157) she could be linked to energy in topic 4.2 (a).
Athene Donald and materials science
Dame Athene Donald is Professor Emerita of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge and Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. She was born in London in 1953 and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Science (Theoretical Physics) and a PhD on electron microscopy of grain boundary embrittled systems (which relates to the structure of materials).
Donald’s area of expertise is soft matter, which means matter that is easily deformed by thermal fluctuations (heat) and mechanical forces. This category of matter can include ice cream, butter, paint, blood and biological tissue. Her career has led to more recent work in biological physics, including linking properties of matter to disease and treatment. She has made imaginative use of various scanning techniques, including electron microscopy, neutron scanning, X-ray scattering, optical microscopy and infrared spectroscopy.
Alongside her research, Donald is a champion of women in science. She is the author of Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science, published in 2023. Athene Donald can be heard in interview with Benjamin Thompson in this Nature podcast.
In Physics A (H556/H156) Dame Athene and her research could be linked to materials, which is topic 3.4 and in Physics B (H557/H157) to mechanical properties of materials is topic 3.2.
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About the author
Mike joined OCR in January 2024 and is a subject advisor for A Level Physics. Mike completed an MA in Education at the University of Birmingham in 2014. Before joining OCR, he was a teacher for over 15 years, with roles included Acting Assistant Head, Head of Science, Physics Network Lead for a trust, a STEM Learning Facilitator and an SLE for Science. Mike is passionate about inclusion in education, environment and sustainability.
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