The Asian Physics Olympiad (abbreviated to APhO) is currently the premier
physics competition held annually for Asian pre-university or senior high school
students. It is modeled after the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), and
demands a similar level of intellectual capability from the participants. The only
difference between APhO and IPhO is that each participating country can send
eight students at most to compete in APhO instead of five in IPhO. The age of
the participants should not exceed twenty on June 30th of the year of the
competition.
The idea of creating the Asian Physics Olympiad was first proposed in
August 1995 by Dr. Waldemar Gorzkowski, then the President of International
Physics Olympiads who regretfully passed away in 2007 during the 38th IPhO
held in Isfahhan, Iran. The proposal aimed to promote the quality of science
education and attract students to study physics that was much needed in
increasing science manpower for developing the new century information
economy in Asia region. Technically, APhO was proposed to be held two
months before IPhO and it would act as a warm-up competition for the worldwide
IPhO. The idea of APhO was welcomed by many Asian countries.
Unfortunately, the implement of the proposal was deferred by the Asian financial
crisis happened in 1997 through 1998. In 1999, Professor Yohanes Surya with
full support from Indonesia government announced to inaugurate the First APhO
during the 30th IPhO in Italy. Right after this announcement, Chinese Taipei
declared to host the Second APhO in 2001 and was soon followed by Singapore
as the host of the Third APhO in 2002 and Thailand as the host of the Fourth
APhO in 2003. In the ensuing years, the Fifth to the Ninth APhO were organized
smoothly in turn by Vietnam, Indonesia (twice), Kazakhstan, China, and
Mongolia from 2004 to 2008, respectively. The number of participating countries
has grown from original ten to around twenty. The effect of APhO is very fruitful
and conspicuous. The statistical grade data of the past eight years of the global
competition of IPhO shows that close to one half of gold medals were won by the
students from APhO participating countries.
I am pleased to see the publication of the collection of the APhO problems
ASIAN PHYSICS OLYMPIAD (1ST-8TH) - Problems and Solutions
© World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
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viii Asian Physics Olympiad Problems and Solutions
and solutions. These problems were deliberately formulated by each of the
organizing countries. Normally, it had to group together about a dozen of
physics professors to form an academic committee and took about one to two
years to accomplish the demanding task. Reading and comprehending these
problems and solutions can greatly help readers in understanding physics laws
deeper and strengthening their analytical and reasoning capability in solving
problems. This book is filled with many good wishes and efforts devoted to
nourishing our new generations.
Professor Ming-Juey Lin, Ph. D.
Secretary of Asian Physics Olympiads
Asian Physics Olympiad Problems and Solutions (318 Pages)