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About this blog

I enjoy being a student at IHS and being able to take a lot of classes in the STEM areas. I like to problem solve and create solutions, following them through from design phase to hands on building. Encountering a challenge is rewarding to me, and I believe that is the main reason I picked this class. I also have always been fascinated by concept of putting numbers to nature since I was a kid. To me, physics is like taking a big mess and then breaking it up piece by piece to understand it and bring some order to natural behaviors. That is not to say everything can be, with 100% certainty, explained in the present. After all, there is still theoretical physics and these points of points of possibility can be just as, if not more, exciting.

I look forward to reading all the other posts on here and the topics you guys choose.

-ThePeculiarParticle

Entries in this blog

What is Onix Made Of?

I was a fan of Pokémon for a very brief time as a kid, but it stopped the same summer it started.  So, when a recent post went around about an Onix’s size compared to a Pokéball, courtesy of etracey99, I was a little interested in the subject.  I began wondering, what exactly is this rock monster made out of? The answer shocked me. In order to do this, we need the density of the Pokémon. The first step is to find the volume of this behemoth.  To do this, I gathered information such as
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

3

Physics Behind a Fly Fishing Cast

Anyone who is friends with me knows I love fishing of any kind. The one which I feel is the most labor intensive per cast is most certainly fly fishing, and know any of the friends I’ve taught even the most basic casts will agree. For those who aren't familiar with fly fishing, it separates itself from any other kind with the type of rod, reel, and cats the user makes. Regular fishing uses a reel where the user casts out in one fluid motion where they wish to go. In fly fishing, the flies, or ba
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

3

What Do Heinrich Gustav Magnus, Volleyball, and KFC Have in Common?

The holy grail of serves in volleyball is the jump spin serve. A serve going over a 2.43 m (7' 11 5/8”) can be understandably difficult for many, but higher level players are constantly trying to deliver more speed and directional movement to the ball in order to make it harder for the opposing team to return. The jump spin’s first benefit is, that by jumping, added height is given to the point at which the ball is contacted.  By doing this, the difference in height between the ball and the top
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

2

What Is This and Why Is It Important?

What is this? Over the summer I participated in Photon Camp at  the University of Rochester with a few classmates. It was an awesome experience by the way! The main reason I’m here is to talk about the project I worked on in a group of 4. Each student had a different project. So, if you need an idea for a blog post, there you go. My group was studying photolithography which is the process of creating patterns using light. We worked with Professor Bryan McIntire and were able to go into
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

2

How a Rock and a Hyperdrive Could Defeat the Empire and the First Order

STAR WARS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!   It's never a good idea to go to a science fiction film and look for scientific inaccuracies. That being said, a lot of things from episode VIII a lot of things left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I'm here to talk about one scientific inaccuracy which leaves a Death Star sized hole in the story’s plot for all movies.   The one scene I am referring to occurs near the middle of the film when a large resistance ship, called the Raddus, aims itself
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

2

How Different Pitches "Break"’

Inspired by AaronSwims’s blog post title, I wanted to make my own post on a completely different topic. I wanted to focus on resonance and, while we briefly touched upon it last year, I feel the need to write about it. Resonance, in its most basic definition, is “the condition in which an object or system is subjected to an oscillating force having a frequency close to its own natural frequency”. So how do we see this every day? Bang a pot, pan, glass, even sheet metal and you will find that a n
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

2

Public Service Broadcasting "The Race For Space" Essay

The Space Race between both the USSR and the United States is by far one of my favorite eras of history to study. They say competition is the perfect motivation, and I truly believe, from a technological standpoint, this is era is a prime example of that motto in its purest form. Some of the biggest strides in human history were made in a time where computers were still the size of rooms all due to fear, curiosity, and drive. Public Service Broadcasting’s album, “The Race For Space”, tries to ca

Who I Am

I enjoy being a student at IHS and being able to take a lot of classes in the STEM areas. I like to problem solve and create solutions, following them through from design phase to hands on building. Encountering a challenge is rewarding to me, and I believe that is the main reason I picked this class. I also have always been fascinated by concept of putting numbers to nature since I was a kid. To me, physics is like taking a big mess and then breaking it up piece by piece to understand it and br
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

A Sonic Boom of Light

That standard blue glow associated with radiation has much more behind it than meets the eye. This phenomenon is called Cherenkov radiation. The blue glow is a result of particles moving faster than the speed of light. “WAIT THEY CAN’T DO THAT! STOP LYING! OH THE HUMANITY!” I hear off in the distance. Yes, in certain circumstances it is possible. We learned last year about the refractive index which is a ratio of velocity of light in a vacuum ( c ) which is 3x10^8m/s over how fast it can tr
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

A Quarter in Review

To sum up this quarter, it has had ups and downs, but gladly a majority of it was ups. The biggest lesson I learned is that, while this is an applied calculus class, it is more of a learned calculus class because so much calculus is used in physics before it is learned in the classroom. The best thing to compare it to is a special kind of road trip. You know where you are starting and the final destination and, most importantly, why you need to get there, but the second you look down at your roa
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

The Sport of Pumpkin Chucking

When I look back to past Thanksgivings, I remember the smell of turkey baking, my sister leaving after the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and clicking over to the Science Channel to watch one of the most prestigious competitions of the year: Pumpkin Chunkin. The goal of the competition is to use a variety of heavy machines to blast pumpkins as far as possible. The different divisions consisted of air cannons,  trebuchets,  torsion, and “centrifugal” machines. While the trebuchets and torsion divisions
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

A Quarter in Review (The Sequel)

Second quarter was a much different quarter than last quarter, specifically the last half. Mechanics ended, giving way to the electricity and magnetism units, and in turn giving me a solid kick in the rear. All other classes are managing to heat up as well, in fact, they have been for a while. I tried doing something different by writing my blogs in a word document, separately from just posting them, to see if I want to add anything. This only resulted I'm me scrapping a few ideas which were mos
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

ICE ICE BABY!

“Alright stop, collaborate and listen Ice is back with my brand new invention Something grabs a hold of me tightly Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly Will it ever stop yo I don't know Turn off the lights and I'll glow.”                          Why would I start this blog up with Vanilla Ice’s song “Ice Ice Baby”? Well Ice is the subject of today’s blog. “BUT TPP, HOW MUCH CAN YOU TALK ABOUT ICE?” I hear you ask off in the distance from behind your computer… well, honestl
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

Circuit Software in the Classroom

Shown above is an example of a simple circuit designed using circuits.io through Tinkercad.   During class this quarter, I began thinking how a software I once used could be integrated into a lab for students to be able to experiment with electrical components inside, and outside the classroom. The one I specifically have in mind is circuits.io. I began using this for a digital electronics class in 10th grade and it soon became a valuable tool when tinkering. The only thing that has ch
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

Crash Course on Logic Gates

Have you ever wondered how systems around you function? Like a passing glance at the thermostat and wonder how it maintains the temperature in your house. Well, just like any other system dealing with variables, there has to be logic to tell how other systems should work. In electrical systems, one of the most basic forms of logic comes through chips known as logic gates.   These gates appear on chips, like the one below, where each prong serves a certain purpose. These chips can vary
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

1

Getting the Most Out of Studying

1. A.) There are several misconceptions about studying that can hurt you in the long run which include: Learning is fast Knowledge is composed of isolated facts Being good is a born talent I can multitask B.) The misconception which resonates with me the most is that “knowledge is composed of isolated facts”. It seems that many teachers, when focusing on studying, believe that vocabulary is the best way to digest informati
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

Gravitational Waves 2017

Besides acting as an eye catching graphic, this animation shows the interaction between two bodies which causes gravitational waves. Amidst increasing international and domestic tensions, it is hard to find any news agencies talking about 1.8 billion year old news anymore. This week, LIGO observatories announced the detection of gravitational waves back in August caused by two colliding black holes. It is estimated that both black holes had the mass of 53 suns. As for what gravitation
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

How Do Pickups Work?

Yes, there has been some delay between posts, I apologize, but life is busy as usual. This week I wanted to cover the topic of pickups for string instruments. So I play electric bass and wondered the other day how different pickups get different tones and sounds out of them. You can have warm, mellow, fuzzy, even screechy tones all based on the different models.   To answer this, we need to see how a pickup actually “picks up” the string vibrations, and it does so through Faraday’s La
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

What Causes Friction?

So, we always talk about the coefficient of friction in dynamics, but we don’t talk about what causes it. The truth is there are multiple factors. The one most people think of is based upon how rough a surface is.  Coarse grit sandpaper requires more force, and takes more material off an object, than fine grit. The same idea applies to smooth objects on a much smaller scale. Even something as smooth as the surface of a polished table, on a much smaller scale, has ridges and valleys. These imperf
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

A Summary of Our Top-notch Design

The objective of the lab TheNightKing and I performed this week was to create a functioning top with the given materials of a pencil, 2 paper plates, 6 pennies, and tape. In relation to the engineering design process this would be the problem or objective we need to focus our ideas around. Our next step would be research, but , due to our lack of time, we pulled from our knowledge gained throughout this past unit and our previous year physics. One of the main principles to keep a top up is
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

The Oh My God Particle

On October 15th 1991, an event which challenged our scientific understanding of our universe occurred.   The particle that was registered is now referred to as the “Oh My God Particle” after the statement blurted out upon detecting it. Under the night sky of Utah’s Cosmic Ray Detector, a particle was recorded going 99.99999999999999999999951% the speed of light. To put that in perspective, that is faster than even the highest recorded speed of a proton recorded in the Large Hadron
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

Oscilloscope Art

If you have ever seen a black and white horror movie with a mad scientist in his lab chances are that in the background you saw one of these: Well, this machine is called an oscilloscope and its primary function is to measure signals of voltages in relation to time. By visualizing signals in the X and Y planes, values such as amplitude, frequency, rise time, and distortion can all be measured from the visual representations of waves displayed on the screen. Its applications range from
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

Two Cool Physics Sources

So, as a recap for mid year, I wanted to talk about two types of physics related media . These two  sources have inspired ideas for blog posts, and are things I listen or watch for enjoyment. So without further adieu, here they are:   1. Twenty Thousand Hertz - What is it? Well, it is a podcast about sound. Wait don’t leave just yet... It is a lot better than it sounds, I swear. This labor of love connects the sounds we hear everyday to physics, psychology, ecology, and even history. T
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

Go With the Flow

Ever add too much food coloring or dye to water and wish there was a way to separate it out? “Yea it happens all the time TPP what about it?” I hear you say. Well I just wanted to show a phenomenon where the mixing of different fluids can be reversed, but it only occurs under certain circumstances.  Laminar flows only occur in situations depending on the viscosity or velocity of a fluid. When fluids mix slower,  there is less chance of a turbulent flow where the creation of eddies. E
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

What is with the Hype Surrounding Hyperloop?

It is a known fact that the United States is lagging behind in the area of infrastructure. The true problem with this question is how far forward should we upgrade in a world where other countries have passenger bullet trains. A solution to this may come from of a new era of transportation technology referred to as Hyperloops.   The open sourced design was released by a joint team working with SpaceX and Tesla to be modified by the public and worked into a functioning design. The overa
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

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