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The Magnus Effect

The Magnus effect happens to a spinning object that drags air faster on one side, which causes the object to move in the direction of the lower-pressure side. Here’s a video showing the Magnus effect in action:   Newton’s third law helps to prove the Magnus effect because the object pushes the air in one direction and the air pushes the body in the other direction, an action-reaction force. With a ball spinning through the air, some of the air spins around the ball with

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Physics of Golf

Since The Masters seems to be the only TV program on in my house these past few days, it seems fit to talk about the physics of golf. The angle of the golf club head helps to determine the distance the ball travels in the air and once it hits the ground. The greater the club speed hitting the ball, the lower you want the club face loft angle. This is because you want the golf ball to go farther and not higher. When you are closer to the green, you are more likely to use a higher numbered ir

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Newton's Cradle

Newton’s cradle is a device demonstrating the conservation of energy and momentum. In an ideal Newton’s cradle, only the two balls on the end will move and there will be no energy loss, resulting in the cradle going on for an infinite amount of time. However, in a real Newton’s cradle, the fourth ball does have some movement and there is slight reverse movement as seen in the picture above. The equations p=mv and KE=½mv2 can be used to help find the velocities of the two end balls on a

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Fuse vs. Circuit Breaker

If you live in a house like mine, blowing fuses and circuit breakers is a common occurrence because of all the things we have plugged in at once. A fuse is a small, thin conductor that is designed to separate whenever there is excessive current flowing through the circuit. Fuses are connected in series so that when the fuse blows it will stop current flow throughout the entire circuit. If fuses were connected in parallel, they would not affect the current through any of the other branches.

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Spaceships & EmDrive

Space rockets use thrust in order to get them up into space. Thrust is the sudden, propulsive force of a jet engine, and is based on Newton’s third law. In the rocket, thrust is created from the solid rocket boosters and the main engines. The solid rocket boosters and the external fuel tank are eventually dropped from the rocket in order to reduce mass once in space. The rocket is slowed down a little because of the force due to gravity and the drag force when in the Earth’s atmosphere. NAS

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