Have you ever wondered how trampolines work? Anything fun or worthwhile has physics behind it, so let’s take a peek at the gymnast’s best friend:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]497[/ATTACH]
I hope you all enjoy my art skills. Read it and weep. :victorious:
The magic behind a trampoline can be explained in terms of energy. Let’s say that a child is bouncing up and down on the trampoline. When the child is at a maximum height, his/her potential energy due to gravity is at a maximum. Because PE= mgh, wit
How to become an autodidact (defn: self-directed learner) :einstein)
Monday, we were given a few packets of work, some written directions and a "finish this before the test next week." Weird. A class with no teacher? A few groups popped up to grab a computer, others buried their noses in the textbook, and some started chatting leisurely with friends. It's not that we don't have a teacher, it's just that for the next few days, we're our own teachers.
For a few of us (including myself), th
Infrasound is sound with a frequency lower than 20 Hz. Human hearing registers sounds from roughly 20 to Hz 20,000, though under certain circumstances the body will hear/feel sound at a lower frequency than 20Hz. Though the human ear does not normally register infrasound, these inaudible waves effect our everyday lives.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]530[/ATTACH]
In Nature:
Infrasound is produced naturally by severe weather and other forms of nature. Storms, thunder, volcanic activity, earthquakes,
How would I determine the drag coefficient of an organic shape, such as a blob of pudding or a chicken or a Looney Tunes character?
I wanted to do a blog post on the terminal velocity of Wile E. Coyote falling off of a cliff. I went back into my notes and found the following equations:
Air resistance = Fdrag = bv = cv2
VT= (mg)/b
V = VT ( 1 - e(-b/m) )
Notice the constants, b and c. I turned to google, thinking that the constants would be relatively easy to find.
It turns out, the
Credit to Mr. Powlin (who read this last year about the same time) and Snopes.com, where I found this humorous commentary once again. For those of you who did not hear this last Christmas or those who want to get into the spirit of the physics-filled holiday season, I thought I'd post this up for a few giggles. Happy Holidays, all! :snowman:
No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these areinsects and germs
SO, because everyone else decided to take a break, my brain also decided to go off on holiday for a while. In that case, I've decided to make this blog post 100% fun (yet still on topic), and what's more fun and physics related than comics? Hope these tickle your funny bone, have a great break everyone!!!
...And finally, a comic that Mr. Fullerton would enjoy:
Have a great break! Make sure to relax (and pretend that midterms aren't coming up)!
--Alphageek
Hi everyone! I thought this would be applicable since we're in the electricity and magnetism portion of the year
In electric fish, such as an eel or a ray, there is a body part called an "electric organ." This mass of muscle and/or nerve cells produce an electric current when the fish sees fit. It is used for protection, navigation, communication and sometimes (but not often) against prey. The organ itself consists of a group of connected electrocytes, through which the current passes throug
...With all of this electricity and magnetism boggling our minds, it's nice to be reminded of the importance of mechanics once in a while. And by that I mean the force of friction: Ff = (normal force)(mu). Believe it or not, this commonly viewed as weak force can add up. Take the above myth busters clip for example, when the friction in between the sheets of a phone book in between the pages of a second phone book make them extremely difficult to separate. Try 8,000lb of force and two tank's wor
After watching all of Walter Lewin's videos as well as Mr. Fullerton's, I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Fullerton's videos are more straightforward and earlier to understand that Lewin's. For those of you who swear Lewin isn't speaking English, here's a summary of the video content. I will be listing content in order of the A Plus Phys. video titles, so that if anyone needs elaboration they can refer to the corresponding video. :star: If even that doesn't work, the textbook & practice p
More electricity-themed blog posts!
Neurons are cells in the nervous system. This cell transfers information via chemical and electrical signals. The long, stem-like part of a nerve cell is called the axon. In the human body, the axons that run from your spinal chord to your feet can be over a meter long. Electrical pulses are transferred through the axon down to the neurotransmitter molecules. The membrane potential of the average neuron cell is between -60 and -80 mV when the cell is not t
I'm not sure if this is cliche, but I saw this on television once and thought it deserved a physics-rundown (It was a future weapons episode).
This bulletproof vest, called "Dragon Skin," is manufactured by Pinnacle Armor. It was designed for military use, though it failed Army inspection (the heat test: the vest was heated up to 170 degrees F and was shot at afterward. The clay material backing couldn't withstand the heat, and the design lost its overlapping shape. The integrity of the vest
I'll set the scene: It's a dark night and the fog is thick as soup. You drive along in your pink jeep, hoping to get home in time for dinner (your favorite!), when a white mass appears in the road.
A COW!:eek:
You thrust the break pedal to the ground, and your wrangler just stops short of the bovine J-walker. What is the only thing that came between you and a pile of ground beef? Physics is the hero of this story-- specifically friction.
A car's breaking system is usually one of t
Part 2 of the equation posts: E&M. Again, if you see any mistakes or have a few equations to add, make sure to utilize the comment section! I'll add it in right away.
Electrostatics
E= Fe/q = kq/r
λ = Q/L
ρ = Q/V
σ = Q/A
Electric potential
Ue = kq1q2/r
F = -dU/dl
V = k ∑ qi/ri = W/q
∆V= Vb - Va = ∫ab E dl = ∆U/q
Gauss's Law:
Conductors
Esurface=
Vinside =
Einside =
Capacitor
C=Q/V =
Uc =
Ue = field energy density =
Energy = V/d
C=
Do you find your blogs boring, drab and in need of fanciness? Do you think that int(x^2) is an acceptable substitute for ? Because the APlusphysics site has undergone improvements, I think that our blogs' equation quality should improve as well. ;D
A little birdie (Mr. Fullerton) told me about this great tool called a latex editor. One site to go to is http://www.codecogs.com/latex/eqneditor.php , which you don't have to download and it's not blocked by the school. It's a site where you can
Anybody else having trouble with orbiting other planets? Docking? Space planes even? I was on youtube the other night and came across a user who developed a number of Kerbal Space Program tutorials. They're long, but are thorough and walk you through processes step by step. He trouble shoots often, so you can clearn from his mistakes to address your own issues. Plus, he has an accent. Strangely enough that makes him fun to listen to.
Here's the link to his Kerbal Space Program Playlist:
