When an adventuresome IHS student ventures out of the school building to the turf field, he or she passes the WindTamer and solar-powered lights. I do not know how much energy the turbine actually harnesses, but it is cool nevertheless. How does the WindTamer work? The WindTamer turbines create two vacuums which suck air through the blades, and the blades rotate (creating rotational kinetic energy). One of the vacuums is behind the blades, and the other is behind the turbine. The blades used in
While I was dutifully studying physics today, because we are in our independent unit, I remembered the experiment Mr. Powlin did last year with the forks and toothpick. This experiment shows the concept of center of mass quite nicely. First of all, center of mass is the point on a system that moves as if all the mass of the system were concentrated at that point, and all external forces acted only on that point. In the magical experiment Mr. Powlin did last year, he shoved two forks together, so
Opening a fresh jar of pickles can be challenging. If you are somebody who struggles opening jars, don't be discouraged, physics can help. If you run the jar under hot water, the lid will become easier to turn. But, why? Metal has a higher coefficient of expansion than glass does. So, as the jar stays under the hot water, the metal expands a tiny bit, and the glass stays the same. There is no longer a need to workout, just run your tricky jars under the faucet, wait a minute, and let physi
As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, retail stores are bombarding consumers with Black Friday ads. The ads show glittery, appealing products at low-prices. But, what the ads do not show--crowded parking lots, irritated customers, and stampedes-- you must watch out for. To minimize your risk of injury, here is some physics advice if you are one of the bold buyers who battles Black Friday crowds.
1) Attempt to maximize your power (force dotted with velocity) beforehand. A balance of
As we are in our second independent unit, I thought I little review picture couldn't hurt. Remember:
1.) Max acceleration is achieved when the spring is at -amplitude or +amplitude.
2.) Max velocity is achieved at equilibrium.
And, along with this, we must know:
KE= (1/2)kA2sin2(wt) w= angular frequency, k= spring constant, A= amplitude, t= time
PE= (1/2)kA2cos2(wt)
These equations are useful when finding the Potential or Kinetic Energy at time, t, in the oscillation.
Around the holidays, people typically gain weight as cookies, candy canes, and other treats are around every corner. But, this Christmas, you can lose weight! Without a diet, and without exercise, there is one answer to the essential question: "How can I lose weight?" Simple. Go to the moon.
Here is the calculation to prove this solution really works!
1) Find g:
g=[G(mass of moon)]/[(radius of moon)^2]
g=[6.67x10^(-11) x 7.35x10^22]/[(1737000 m)^2]
g=1.62 m/s^2
2) Conver
What are oscillations equations without gravitation equations?
Gravitation:
T12/R13=T22/R23
G= 6.67x10-11
g=Gm/r2
Fg= -Gm1m2/r2
Potential Energy= -Gm1m2/r
Vorbit= [Gm1/R]1/2
Vescape= [2Gm1/R]1/2
T=(2(pi)R)/v
Total energy for a circular orbit= (-Gm1m2)/(2R)
Total energy for elliptical orbit= (-Gm1m2)/(2a) ; a= major axis radius
Velocity/Radius relationship for elliptical orbits: vprp=vara
Overall, there aren't too many equations to remember for this topic. But, all of the equatio
Faraday cages shield their contents from Electric fields. How does this work? Charge is distributed on the exterior of the cage, so that the Faraday cage acts as a hollow conductor. Therefore, since charge is only around the outside, the net charge inside the cage is zero; and, the E-field is zero inside the Faraday cage.
But, what use is a Faraday cage? Well, this video excerpt from National Geographic's television show "Doomsday Preppers" will give you a whole new perspective on the value o
The Law of Conservation of Energy: Energy may neither be created nor destroyed.
One of the most simple transformations of energy occurs when a ball is dropped from height, h. Before being released, the ball possesses potential energy equal to mgh with m=mass, g=gravitational constant, h=height. While the ball is in motion, before it reaches the ground, its kinetic energy= (1/2)mv2 increases and potential energy decreases. When the ball hits the ground, some energy is converted to friction. So
After laying low for awhile, cross products have suddenly became very important in our current independent unit on Magnetism. For those who may have forgotten how to find a cross product, here are some reminders.
1. Cross products are needed when the multiplication of vectors is involved in the problem
2. To find cross product of a x b [where a is (ax,ay,az) and b is (bx,by,bz)]
cx=(aybz-azby)i
cy=(azbx-axbz)j
cz=(axby-aybx)k
3. The cross product is then written:
a x
In college, I plan to major in biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering combines biology, chemistry, physics, and math into one field of study. The field is very broad; so a biomedical engineer usually focuses on one specialization, some of which include medical imaging, biomechanics, bioinstrumentation, genomics, robotics, clinical engineering, tissue engineering... I am not sure which specialization I will follow yet; however, I think that tissue engineering is extremely fascinating. Tis
If you ever find yourself in Las Vegas with nothing to do, $100 to burn, and gambling isn't your forte, head over to the Stratosphere Casino/tower.
At the Stratosphere, you can experience the thrill of free fall as you descend 108 floors to the ground. After taking the elevator to the top of the building, you receive a brief "safety lesson." Then you saddle into the harness, say a prayer, and jump! (Ok, this isn't true free fall. A long cord is attached to your back which slows you down for th
Even though we launched our bottle rockets a few weeks ago, I thought I would reflect upon team Brazanah's rocket performance.
With prior knowledge in the field of building bottle rockets, team Brazanah was determined to succeed in the bottle rocket competition this year. We mainly focused on constructing a well-made parachute. We knew that especially on a windy day, a parachute can greatly slow down the rocket during its fall. Just as we put parachutes on rockets for the Kerbal Space Program
Pale people of the world, beware of the shining, warm sunlight! UV radiation, with a shorter wavelength than visible light, is absorbed by skin causing a sunburn and long-term skin damage. The Earth's atmosphere filters the majority of UV rays before they reach pasty humans; however, UV rays still penetrate the atmosphere. Exposure to UV radiation changes based upon altitude, distance from the equator, time of day, season and amount of cloud cover. At noon, with the sun high in the sky, sunscree
Population concerns on Earth are leading scientists to inquire whether colonizing Mars is possible. As of now, over 78,000 people have applied to leave Earth forever and live on Mars. Mars One, a nonprofit organization, is sponsoring the colonization with a take-off date sometime in 2023. Out of the applicant pool, four will be chosen to send first to Mars. The first four will lay the groundwork for a permanent colony. Two years after the first four land, Mars One would send up more people to th
