Zombies in Physics Education—How Teaching Demonstrations Based on Historical Experiments Can Be Misleading in Teaching the Nature of Science

Abstract Some experiments from the history of physics are considered so significant that they are not only included in almost all textbooks but are also regularly present as teaching demonstrations or used in student teaching laboratories. These teaching set-ups are meant to demonstrate the scientific knowledge that had been produced in the historical experiment. While the corresponding apparatuses may at first glance appear similar to their historical counterparts, a closer analysis reveals that there are significant differences both in the devices themselves and in the way they are used, and this is where the problem roots: When it comes to developing an understanding of scientific knowledge production in research, these apparatuses and the related demonstrations create an image that is extremely misleading. In order to illustrate this, this contribution compares the relationship between teaching devices and the practice of using them with the practice and instruments in the historical experiments. In doing so, it becomes particularly clear that there are fundamental differences between the practices. And it is due to these differences that can lead the corresponding teaching devices contributing to a flawed understanding of the scientific knowledge production process, particularly when followed the accompanying manuals. It requires intentional modification to use these devices for a science education that enables learners to develop an adequate understanding of the nature of science.