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Horse Jumping
Most horses have four gaits that they commonly use. The first, the walk, is a slow, tame, four beat gait. The trot, slightly faster, is a two beat gait. The canter, a three beat gait, has a rocking feel to it. Last but not least is the gallop, which is a fast four beat gait, averaging about 25 mph.
The most comfortable gait for a horse to jump from is the canter. This is a consistent gait that allows the horse enough momentum as well as an even pacing so that an adequate amount of force can be used during the takeoff.
My trainer has told me that there are five components to a jump, all important in making sure that you complete it safely and well, gracefully.
The first is the approach. Approaching the jump means that you must prepare at the correct angle, make sure you have enough room to count out the proper stride length, and give yourself time to think about whether you need the horse to go a little faster (a small nudge with your calves), or slower (a half-halt, pulling slightly with both reins and then releasing), in order to glide into phase two safely.
Phase two is the actual jump itself. When jumping, the horse exerts a force on the ground in order to push itself upwards. This can be represented by Newton's second law or F=ma. Horses can carry up to 30% of their body weight. While this is impressive, it is also a limit. When the horse exerts all of that force on the ground, the ground exerts the same force back. This can seriously damage their back legs if the rider is not careful.
Phase three of the jump is the air time. While the horse is in the air, it is the rider's job to not only sit up, releasing the pressure on their back, but make sure that their landing will be comfortable and set them up correctly to continue the course. During their time in the air, the horse has only potential energy, compared to it's kinetic energy during the approach. At the horse's maximum height, the velocity is zero, meaning the only force acting upon horse and rider is gravity: 9.81 m/s^2.
Phase four is probably the most dangerous phase of the jump, not only because there is a large force between the horse's front legs and the ground, but also due to the fact that all of the rider's weight is put onto the horse's front legs as well, causing a large strain. Again, if the rider does not properly care for the horse, all of this weight and force could potentially damage it's legs.
Phase five, or finale, is after the jump is completed. The velocity of the horse should return to that of the velocity during the approach, meaning the sum of the forces during the entire jump should be equal to zero. The rider should check to make sure the horse is on the correct lead, and proceed to evaluate their next jump, repeating step 1.
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WoP #29: Why a Church Doesn't Make a Good Auditorium
This Thursday, the Irondequoit High School Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs will be performing their major works concert at the St. Mary's Church, right next to the Geva theater. It's quite the interesting concert to perform, in that we're all playing in an unfamiliar venue, and have had only a single day where we ALL got together to practice. Oh, and it doesn't help that the acoustics in the church are terrible, arguably only a little better than the IHS gymnasium.
Why are they terrible, you ask? Let me tell you. In a real theater or concert hall, the entire venue is designed with the acoustics in mind. For simplicity's sake, imagine sound waves as transverse instead of longitudinal. As Physics 1 taught us, if there's more than one source of sound, the sound will be amplified where peak meets peak and trough meets trough, and nullified where trough meets peak. Because the architects who designed the building know, in general, where the performers will be, they'll have a good idea of where the sound will be loudest (likes meet), and quietest (opposites meet), and will thus place the aisles at quiet points and the seats in louder areas, to maximize the enjoy-ability of the performance. Churches, however, (like St. Mary's) are not designed with acoustics in mind. Churches are designed for masses in which they generally have only a single person speaking, meaning that even if sound reflects off the walls, there's generally going to be a pretty similar listening experience everywhere. As such, the seats are organized in straight rows which are evenly spaced, meaning that when the orchestra starts playing, there's going to be some odd spots in which the sound dwindles more. Add to that the cramped feel of squeezing an ~20 person orchestra and ~50 person choir onto and in front of an altar, and it makes for a really interesting performance.
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Physics in Music
We all listen to music daily and share a large appreciation for it however we don't necessarily stop to think about how music travels in sound waves or how they work. We all know that waves transfer energy but sound waves are considered mechanical waves because they require a medium in which they travel through which could be any substance or material that carries the wave along from one location to another and in this case, air would be the medium for sound waves. They travel through the air and our ears pick up the energy from these waves which vibrates against our eardrum and is converted to a nerve impulse which sends that signal to our brain. Sound waves are also considered longitudinal because the wave compression move left or right and the vibrating air particles as well move parallel to the direction the sound wave is travelling. Most of us listen to our music extremely loudly with our headphones blaring, and that means that the sound waves travelling have a high amplitude while when we listen to music as we're trying to fall asleep, its at a much lower volume to form a tranquil setting and those waves have a low amplitude, producing sound at a quieter volume. Also when listening to songs we notice that some singers have higher pitched tones than others and some lower. Having a high pitch indicates a higher frequency of a wave and those singing with a lower pitch indicate a lower frequency of a sound wave.
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The Physics of Moving On :(
Well its been real Physics C. Here I am, sitting here, writing my last blog post of high school (and maybe forever). This class has been a huge undertaking, but also something that I am glad I attempted. Although the work has been hard and I am far from even coming close to mastering some of these complex concepts, my time with Physics has been amazing and enlightening. It has opened me up to a totally new way of seeing things, and I cant wait until I can put what I've learned into use while I study to become an Architect. Without a doubt I will be taking Physics in College, but anything past mechanics I can just leave to the engineers (hey Skylor and Justin ;)) With that said, I know the knowledge I have gained in all aspects of Physics will forever help me through all professional (and maybe some personal) challenges.
I just hope and pray that whatever physics god may be out there will here these last few simple requests:
1. May the downward force of all of my dorm supplies be much less than the maximum possible opposing force of that ratty box I dug out of my garage.
2. Also, when all that crap does come falling out of the bottom of the box, please make sure I'm not halfway up the stairs in front of a group of upperclassmen.
3. And if both of those things do end up happening, please oh please make sure the friction provided by that shirt that got under my feet from the box is enough to keep my feet static on the step.
4. And lastly, please keep any torque on my UCL below 70 ft-lbs - that would be great.
But for real, I am so excited to see what the rest of this year of physics has in store for me and for the adventures that are bound to follow.
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Direction of Magnetism
A tool that provides direction by the use of magnetism is based on the basis of physics. This tool, the compass, has been used for many centuries and helped guide history through various explorations. Today, this tool is not used as much as it had been in the past but if you are ever lost it is a great instrument to help you find your way.
Magnetism is one of the first bits of science students learn about in school and just about the first thing we discover is that like poles repel opposite poles attract. If you hold two bar magnets so their north poles are almost touching, they will push away from one another; if you turn one of the magnets around so one magnet's north pole is near the other magnet's south pole, the magnets will pull toward one another. That's all there is to a compass: the red pointer in a compass - the magnetized needle - is a magnet and it's being attracted by Earth's own magnetism called the geomagnetic field. Earth behaves like a giant bar magnet with one pole up in the Arctic and another pole down in Antarctica. Now if the needle in your compass is pointing north, that means it is being attracted to the Earth's north pole. Since unlike poles attract, the compass is being attracted to must be a magnetic south pole. Furthermore, the thing we call Earth's magnetic north pole is actually the south pole of the magnet inside Earth. Originally this concept was a little challenging to grasp but then I realized all I need to remember is that opposites attract. Earth's magnetic field is actually quite weak compared to forces like gravity and friction. For a compass to be able to show up the relatively small effects of Earth's magnetism, the effects of these other forces must be minimized. That is why compass needles are lightweight and mounted on frictionless bearings.
Compasses provide direction to our destination which in the end can be more useful than most other instruments we use in our daily lives.
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Late night in Kauai
It's like 10:30 at night and I am so tired and don't want to do this. But since I only have one left (I think) and it's very trivial if I want to pass, I will do it. The only problem is, I don't know what to write about. I could write about how we were wearing power rangers t-shirts. You wore one but so did I, a different color. And so was Moey, and his brother. I have already talked about everything that I do. All I ever do is play hockey and video games because I'm lame, so lets see what else there is.
Let's talk about circular motion. I have this friend of mine who can be a really good driver sometimes, but when he gets too energetic, can be very wreckless. He likes to drift in parking lots with FEMALES in the car and putting their lives in danger. When drifting your car can hydroplane or just lose traction on your back tires, and then you begin to spin. When I last drifted (yes, it has happened multiple times. Sometimes on purpose some) we flew around a pole in a parking lot in a circular motion. Since we were spinning in a circle, the centripetal force will always be pointing to the center or in this case the pole. Also if we were to lose traction of the front tires too, our velocity would continue tangent to the circle. So if your friend ever decides to drift, or you egg him on by saying things like "you won't push 80 on this main road", just know that your velocity will go tangent to the circle.
That's all I got for y'all now I'll be back next quarter to do 5 in one sitting, last minute. Goodbye
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Instrument sound waves
When I was playing the trumpet the other day in band, I realized that I was using physics. As I blow into the trumpet it creates vibrations that move through the air ways of the instrument. The waves come out through the other end of the trumpet and generate a sound. if I apply more force when I create the vibrations then I would be increasing the amplitude. If I press down certain keys then I can change the path that the air waves take and change the pitch of the wave which would change the frequency.
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Discussing Waves with WAVY_boyDJ
There are many different types of waves. Mechanical Waves, Sound Waves, Electromagnetic Waves and even waves people get in their hair. Today I am here to discuss the term wavy in context of style and fashion. Coming from Urban Dictionary wavy can be defined as the new futuristic way of describing something in a positive connotation, popularized by rapper Max B. Another definition for wavy is the highest level of smooth/cool/swagger. For those who don't already I know I am known around I-town as the "wavy boy". I brought this name to myself because I feel that I am "wavy". I take pride in the way I dress and I like passion. I could go on and on about the term "wavy" but I am going to end it here. Thank you for time and stay tuned for more!
@Wavy_boyDJ
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
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Warm Weather!
Finally the weather begins to warm up which mean it's time for flip flops! As I walked through the commons the other day wearing my flip flops, I noticed how slippery the tile floor was... luckily I did not fall! Then I thought about wearing flip flops in the winter and how often I would fall due to the slippery ice, not to mention my feet would be very cold. I came to understand just how important friction is in the winter because, without it, we would be sliding and falling all over the place. The soles of winter shoes, for example, tend to be very grippy and have lots of ridges in them. These ridges provide the shoes with a less likely chance to fall over on the ice because they create more friction. Also, there are snow tires many people buy for their cars during the winter because the roads get very icy and these tires provide more friction between the car wheels and the ices, which will prevent the car from potentially getting into an accident. Good thing car tires manufacturers as well as shoe companies took into consideration all the physics that goes into creating more friction because otherwise people would be falling and getting into car accidents more frequently. And on the bright side, we don't need to worry about this for a while since spring has finally arrived!
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Physics of Hot Air Balloons
Hot air balloons are very fascinating mechanisms in that they allow humans to fly without physically flying. Hot air balloons consists of a basket used to carry people, an envelope (the top piece), and a burner which consists of several megawatts is also present. When heat is released from the burner, it creates buoyancy. This is because the hot air is less dense than the cooler air that surrounds it. This is known as Archimedes' principle, which states that any object regardless of its shape that is suspended in a fluid, is acted upon by an upward buoyant force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.
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If You Are Lost In A Forest, Use Magnetism
Most people know that the compass is used to navigate yourself around. However most don't know how it works. A compass is a magnet that is free to line up with magnetic field lines. The earth is basically a giant magnet with a north and south pole. However, the north pole of a compass is attracted to the geographic north pole of the earth.. therefore the geographic north pole of the earth is a magnetic south pole. The compass is able to navigate you around earth when you are lost because of magnetic field lines which run from north to south outside of the magnet. A north point of a compass will point towards wherever the magnetic field lines point. A compass is a good thing to bring with you when you travel or hike because it doesn't require electricity and the poles on earth will most likely never change, making the compass a consistent tool to have for an emergency. A compass is polarized which means it has two distinct and opposite ends. Regardless of where you are on earth, if you have a compass you can use magnetism to help you find your way back home!
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AED
When saving someones life using an AED is a good idea but only if you do it right. You put the pads on the upper right and lower left. You do this because the shock wants to go the ground. The shock comes out of both pads and wants to travel to the other pad. The heart can only take so much current before it shorts out and cannot be revived. The current that passes through the heart of an AED is just enough to get anyones heart going as long as you get there in time. After the shock is administered then the AED monitors the body to see if there are any vibrations and to check the frequency of the waves to see if they are in rhythm, it they are you saved there life, if not do it again.
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Magnets
In magnets, there are many rules to need to know. First magnets run from north to south outside the magnet and south to north inside the magnet. Also, magnetic field lines show the flow of these electrons and how they interact with other magnets around. When two magnets are close to each other with both of their closest sides the same, the magnets repel each other and magnet field lines shown in between the magnets are seen repelling away from each other. Also, when two magnets are close to each other with their closest sides being opposite, they attract, which is shown with magnetic field lines. Overall, by using these need to knows, you can determine many question with magnets.
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Physics in MINECRAFT
The fun 3D game that we all love has 3 basic components that rule over it and make up the PHYSICS OF MINECRAFT. We had talked before about the game during class and after my recent Star Wars post I decided to go in and explore not only a classic but one of our old school favorite games and how the game runs. In order to then satisfy Mr. Fullerton I went through the internet and found all the information I needed to tell you about the Physics behind the game. We can see in the game three basic kinds of physics that are implemented in the everyday game play: the movement of objects (land, weapons), the movement of fluids, and the electrical signals of Redstone which can than create circuits and electrical devices.
1. Movement of Land, weapons, people, objects....etc
For this first component you can describe the overall category as the movement of entities. As we search and break down the information we find that entities are labeled to be players, vehicles (boats, minecarts..), dropped items(weapons, food...), projectiles(snowballs, eggs, arrows, fireballs...), and than the classic falling sand and gravel.
This category describes to us how gravity and other forces move about solid objects within the world. Just by playing the game it is obvious to us that gravity has been implemented within the game and we can see from the falling of leaves, players jumping, the arc on arrows, the dropping of items, the falling of sand/gravel, and from all of this we have a sense of gravity but as this is a classic game we can see some obvious flaws that occur. One such phenomenon that occurs is how blocks can float in space without blocks under them. If you build a block on top of two other blocks, than destroy those two other blocks, that top block will not fall but it will stay as you can see as you cut down trees. If you cut away at a tree from the bottom the entire tree will not fall, but instead it will float in space as you continue to chop away at it. Also only sand and gravel are affected by gravity. We can see that while underground mining for goods that if you hit away at coal or at stone nothing but the minerals will fall down and you can collect them, but if you break some rock and there is sand above the sand will drop like water and smash into you.
So the properties held by these solid objects which do apply to physical laws, include that all of these objects have a volume. Whether it be a block of leaves, bark, stone, or an arrow or sheep these solid objects have a volume that no other object can than take a hold of. It is shown that most objects are made by 3D blocks and that two solid objects cannot occupy the same space at one time. Also these solid objects have positions, velocities, and rotations. Positions constitute the same principles as these solids having specific volumes and thus specific locations in the world. The moving objects such as people, arrows, sand and gravel follow gravity in their motion. We can see that there is a gravity effect on all of these objects which pulls them to the ground, that from this force there is an arc on an arrow or how you can't jump up and than fly. Also we see how objects in the game stay in motion until opposed. An arrow won't stop moving till it hits the target or the ground, such as a the sand won't stop falling until it hits the solid ground.
We can see that solid objects can not pass through other solid objects because of the ideas behind volume and position, and also water moves objects around. We can see that any of these solid objects are affected by the flow and current of fluids such as water or lava. In the game when you fall into a river, waterfall, or a flow of lava(on peaceful) you will be pushed along and carried with the stream and current due to the unbalanced force pushing against you. Obviously though we can see some flaws within this though. If you are at the bottom of a waterfall than your character can defy gravity and swim vertically up the waterfall, traveling up steam, against the current, and vertically upward all things which are not only hard but some impossible to do.
2. Movement of Fluids
For the most part fluids follow the basic laws of reality but in some circumstances we can see that fluids in the game go against the natural laws we have in place. Fluid like the solid substances is affected by gravity and will flow downstream and pick up velocity the steeper the slope is. It can be walked through and you can occupy the same space as a box of water or lava occupies, and there is a flow and current in the water based on to where the water flow that affects the character and pushes them into a certain direction.
With water we can also see the flaws. As shown earlier you can swim upstream even when the water is flowing straight down vertically. Also water and lava do not have definite volumes that at some point can max out. Water and lava can continuously grow and expand through empty space to no end. If one block of water is placed than its initial volume can grow continuously, say 19 blocks, that one block of water than has a volume 19x its original and under certain conditions can still grow and expand out word. Unfortunately in the real world this isn't possible at some point water can not grow anymore and its original volume can not just grow and change. Also if there is a waterfall you can use solids to block the water. If you place a rock in a space of water the rock will than take up that volume of space in the game and the water either adapts out word or it just disappears decreasing the volume (which is itself not possible) if you keep doing this process for a waterfall in a cave eventually you can block off all water. If you than though break that last block you placed water will again not flow out but the water has in fact completely disappeared. Instead of condensing the water where the volume would remain constant just stuffed in a smaller space, the volume of that cube of water disappears from the world and when you block all of it off that entire water source is than gone forever.
3.Redstone
Redstone is the mineral in the game used to create wires, circuits, and thus power in the world. Through redstone dedicated players (with no lives) can create large complex circuits that can open doors, turn on lights, activate mine carts, even create computers. Through the use of redstone circuits electricity is created in Minecraft and with that the possibilities within the world are expanded. Redstone is a mineral that is unique to the world and it has properties that are thus unique and allows it to create circuits and the flow of electricity which allows you to than do whatever you would like whether it be complex activities or simple lever mechanisms.
Physics can be found in any game and by diving in and exploring the world of Minecraft we can find the physics which control the world, and also how the world disobeys the concepts of reality as well.
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It's All Over
Well, this has been one year that I will never forget.
At first i was really nervous to start physics, not knowing what to expect, if i could handle it or if it would just go over my head.
Im not a huge math person but i have always enjoyed science and having a better understanding of the world around us. Luckily, this class became the perfect fit for me.
Regents Physics quickly opened my eyes to a new world where EVERYTHING has an explanation and most things you cant understand on the first try.
This class has taught me skills i can use in the future, from taking responsibility for my work, working in a group, studying and asking questions to better my understanding.
Mr. Fullerton has been so incredibly helpful the whole year. I never felt uneasy having to ask lots of questions. He treated me as an adult and allowed me to learn my own lessons. He shaped me into a person that i am happy to be. After i studied really hard for the midterm and still felt discouraged about my performance, Mr. Fullerton gave me a call to tell me that i passed and how proud he was of me. It really brought up my confidence in this class and excited me for the second half of the year. His constant support and motivation are super helpful in a class like this. Also, his access to review tools and organization allow anyone to understand. Plus his books are awesome!
My favorite project of the year was the Ipod Speakers. This is mainly because i learned so much about how sound waves work and it challenged me to push myself and not give up if i didnt understand right away.
I am also glad that my eyes were open to the origins of the universe in video format, its quite entertaining.
I am so glad that i had the confidence to make it through the year, to meet new people and to discover a new understanding of myself. Thank you for the lessons and for the memories. Good luck on finals!
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Speakers!
Speakers can cost hundreds of dollars to go with an awesome sound system but you can make your own as well. In order to do so you just need to learn the physics behind doing so. First electrical energy from the ipod tranfers and converts into magnetic energy which then converts to sound waves and hit against our ear drums which then converts again so we can understand them. A simple speaker can be made using a business card, wire, aux cord, a bowl and a magnet. Once you set everything up the cup in the bowl creates a louder noise and the cylindrical paper makes the noise clearer. Vibration moves up throufh the cords to the paper dishes and helps create sounds. To make everything sound better its usually better to put it on a very solid object for something to vibrate against. So next time you need a quick fix for a speaker, just use household objects.
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Physics of Dodgeball
Physics is in dodgeball no matter what you may think. There is kinematics along with work and energy. This is almost all in the throw of the dodgeball and how you hard and fast you can throw the dodgeball.
The energy is used for the ball through the air. if you throw the ball it has a certain kinetic energy as it flies towards its target. The energy of this is based on how fast you can get the ball with the initial velocity and the kinetic will remain the same if you neglect air resistance. the work is shown through how much you move your arm and how far the ball has to fly. the ball is displaced and the force you throw with is the amount of work the ball made. there is also kinematics because you can use it to determine the distance that the ball will travel after you release it from your hand.
this all shows that there is more physics in dodgeball than most people realized. the kinematics will show distance and velocity. the work will show how much was done by the person and the ball through the air. and finally there was energy because that there was kinetic and potential along with internal.
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Time to go to the Movies
Physics is used in many movies! Movies are something that I constantly watch in my life. A movie that is one of my favorites is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! Physics is constantly used in this movie when Augustus the fat German kid starts to drink the chocolate fountain and then gets sucked in the chocolate machine. If you watch the rest of the video you can see the physics in the movie!
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Calculus
This blog post is going to be slightly different than other posts. Most have to do with activities that people do but for this blog post, I wanted to connect physics not with an activity that I, or someone I know, do but with a class I take. More likely than I would like to admit, taking physics has allowed me to better understand my AP calc class. We frequently do problems that have to do with finding the speed/velocity of an object, then the acceleration, or the derivative of the speed/velocity, However, occasionally in calculus, we are giving the problem, but not an equation to plug the problem into. Thanks to physics, I have been able to know how to tackle a calc problem because of what I have learned in physics. I know that a=v/t and v=d/t and typically, enough of those values are given to me so that I can finish the problem. Also, we have learned about Newton's method in calc, which was just crazy weird because as we were discuss Newton's laws in physics, the same guy's method popped up the class right before. So while most people can find the physics in their sport of choosing, I can say that I have seen physics reappear in my Calculus homework.
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Physics in Bowling
There is a lot of physics involved in the game of bowling. Potential energy is one component of physics that is involved in bowling. Depending on the height from where the bowler releases the ball, the ball has some potential energy. Bowlers who bowl straight balls have to make sure that the ball stays as close to the lane as possible upon release because, if the bowler bowls a straight ball the potential energy will not affect the game a lot but it will draw attention to the bowler when they drop the ball very high for others to laugh at.
Bowlers who bowl with a hook ball are more at risk than straight ball bowlers. The more potential energy the ball has upon release, the longer it will bounce as it travels down the lane. This makes the ball less likely to catch friction in the lane.
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YOU CAN BE A WALKING HYDROGEN BOMB
The first law of Thermodynamics holds that in any situation the total amount of energy with in is equal to the total amount of energy out. This also means that you can't create energy or destroy it. So well what happened to all the energy we have put in our bodies? The long story short, most of the energy is stored in your body, and on average a human carries around 7*10^18 joules of energy on average. If all that energy were to release all at once, it would have the same effect as setting OFF 30 HYDROGEN BONDS AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!
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prisms
I used to own a prism which split light into different colors. The prism works via Snells law. A ray of light enters the prism and it is refracted inside and seperated into the various different colors that are released from the other side of the prism. The prisms were used to show that regular light was not colorless but simply required a tool to demonstrate the various colors. There are several different types of prisms triangular, abbe, pellin-broca, amici, and compound. I hope we get to use prisms in an experiment later in the year
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Game theory: DNA memories?
If there is any question the assassin's creed games poses its: Is it possible to pass down memories through DNA? How would such a thing be possible even with our years of evolution? The science behind DNA coding and current experiments may surprise you.
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WHAT A LOVELY SOUND YOUR SWORD MAKES
Everyone knows what a sword is, whether it be a katana, claymore, or even the famed Excalibur of Arthurian tales. Sure when you swing a sword it cuts, but what about the sound it makes? This came to mind as I thought of one of my favorite movies, The Last Samurai. At first I related it to the sounds produced by whips or arrows, but I wanted to look into the matter to find out what is really behind the cause of a sword's sound.
To go with the theme from The Last Samurai, I researched a lot about the ideas the Japanese associate with their swords. in Japan in order to have a proper sound, or hasuji, the blade must create the proper sword wind, or tachikaze. When a sword slices through the air, it must push away air molecules and creates what is called a thickness noise. This works in conjunction with loading noise, which is the blade having a direct effect on the air, generating forces to move it about. Since the blade of a katana is tapered, this allows it to cut the air more aerodynamically, and forms a vortex of air behind it, What you hear is the tone of the blade cutting through and pushing molecules out of the way, much like an arrow piercing the air as it flies by.
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