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A Blog Post about Blog Posts

For my final trick, a blog post about blog posts! The assignment of blog posts, 10 a quarter for four quarters, has been a great way to make us think. It seems fitting to reflect on the blog post process itself with this fortieth post. I really think this is a good idea, whenever I sit down to do a post I enjoy the creativity involved, and reflecting on what I've learned makes me appreciate the scope of the class all the more. I definitely recommend that the blog posts remain as an assignmen

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Car Crashes

Car crashes happen thousands of time every year, and while they can be horrific they also offer an excellent look at momentum and impulse. Cars are extremely massive, and therefore have very large momentum's even at very low speeds. This is why innovations such as seat belts and air bags are so vital, they increase impulse to help the human body cope as huge amounts of kinetic energy that the vehicles possessed is transferred to them though extreme force. So if you ever think about ignoring t

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denverbroncos

3 Keys to Rotational Motion

1) Use the parallels to linear motion: x and theta, v and omega, a and alpha, mass and moment of inertia, torque and force. 2) The many forms of torque: Torque = r x f, I times alpha, and net torque = rfsintheta 3) Angular momentum! L = r x p = r x mv and Net L = mrv times sintheta. Also the rate of change of L = torque

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

The New Years Ball Drop

The times square ball is dropped from a height of 43 m every year at the start of the new year. However, I feel the ball drop should be timed so the ball lands at the turn from one year to the next. Thanks to kinematics, we know the time it takes the ball to fall (neglecting air resistance) is = radical ((2h)/g), or radical ((2*43)/9.8). This means the ball should drop 2.962 seconds prior to midnight to land at the start of the new year. Happy 2013 everybody.

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

AP-C Post 1

Hello, internet (on the off chance everyone in the world reads this). I just started Physics C, mostly because I found AP-B to be entertaining and challenging. I'm an English oriented person so this is going to be a tough year, especially electricity and magnetism, which were very tough last year. I want to take Physics C because I find it to be an interesting science that also offers college credit. I hope Physics C helps me get ready for college math and science classes, and ma

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denverbroncos

People are Awesome

People truly are incredible. Take a simple act like throwing a baseball, something anyone can be taught to do quite easily. Yet this simple action involves two dimensional motion, rotational velocity, UCM torque and energy. From making sure your arm is fully extended to create more torque, which produces more velocity on the ball, to releasing the ball at an optimal 45 degree launch angle to get maximum distance. Not to mention the transfer of energy, from kinetic to potential as well as non

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Halloween Ideas

Halloween has come and gone, and I did absolutely nothing as usual. But if I could go back and participate how would I dress up? If you are a physics student in need of a costume for next year try some of these: Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, whenever someone asks you a question, you aren't sure of the answer; An electron, simply run in circles around the "nucleus" of normal people at the party; or perhaps an isochoric process. If anyone asks you to do something, simply reply that you do

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Self Teaching

In AP-C right now, we are doing an independent unit for impulse and momentum. I love this idea, and it is going very well. Being able to do things in the order which works best for me, first reading and watching the course material, then starting with a practice test to see where I am and then moving on to a lab, before doing practice problems is great and makes the unit feel more interesting and engaging.

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denverbroncos

Mechanics Reflection

We just finished all of Mechanics for AP physics C, and I want to reflect on the highs and lows of the semester. I most enjoyed learning about rotational motion, specifically angular momentum, as it was so unlike anything from last year. Finally learning to deal with rolling objects felt like a real step forward from last year. I found oscillation to be the most challenging unit, and cross products to be the most confusing new concept. I really enjoyed independent units and hope we do anothe

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denverbroncos

Here comes Electricity and Magnetism

I have long feared the start of Electricity and Magnetism in Physics C, and following the introduction to this semester with a hard unit on E fields and forces, I know that this will be as hard as I thought. I didn't realize that it would be fun however, as I am finding myself enjoying the new elements of electricity such as Gauss' law and the fact that the calculus isn't as bad as I envisioned. There is still a long way to go but hopefully E and M won't be the nightmare I envisioned on day on

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denverbroncos

CERN Are At It Again

The scientists at CERN in Switzerland have apparently seen a rare tau neutrino for only the third time. These subatomic particles have been some of the most elusive to observe for scientists. This finding is critical, as the more we find out about subatomic particles the more we are able to improve our understanding of particle physics and begin to understand our universe. There is a good article summing up the sighting of the tau neutrino here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/tau-

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

The Catapults!

Irondequoit High School physics students recently finished making catapults, and it was a blast. It was also an excellent way to look at how interconnected physics truly is. In our catapult, we used spring potential energy to create torque on the catapult arm, which generated angular velocity and kinetic energy, which in turn was transferred to the softball and sent it moving out over the football field. Seeing how the many topics of physics can come together to create a fun and practical (If

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Video Game Physics

As a fan of sports and video games, and a student of physics, it is very interesting to see the two try and merge. Every year Madden is boasting about how its new game will better incorporate momentum into creating authentic collisions between players, and yet every year the ball floats through the air like it is filled with helium. Also, the NBA games talk about incorporating momentum and weight into player movement while enabling players to make unrealistic changes in direction. Game compan

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

The Higgs What?

Ever since the announcement of a possible discovery of the Higgs-Boson by the scientists at CERN, I have been trying to understand just what it is. Scientists believe it is what transfers mass to objects as they pass through the Higgs field. Also theoretical, this field is what explains mass under the Standard Model of the atom and its use in particle physics. So, without the tandem of the Higgs field and Higgs Boson, there would be no mass. If they are real. I find this all very confusing,

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denverbroncos

Science fiction or reality?

Science fiction novels are all about projecting the wildest possibilities for future technology to entertain readers, which is why it is so astounding how often what is written comes true and so interesting to think what will come true next. Robert Heinlein wrote of mechanical hands controlled by a human, a technology now used in medicine, which was only imaginary at the time he thought of it. He also is credited with the idea for the water bed. So, what will be the next technology to become

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy has long been, and likely always will be controversial. Its supporters cite the massive amounts of energy it can produce, while its detractors point to the radioactive byproducts of the fission method used now. And while events such as Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and the failing nuclear plants during the Japan crisis are all reasons to fear nuclear energy, it cannot be dismissed. That is because of Cold Fusion, the work being done to create energy by fusing hydrogen atoms at a

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denverbroncos

Simple Harmonic Motion: Uh Oh

Simple harmonic motion has long been one of the hardest units for me to conceptualize and use in problems. This year, with the addition of calculus and the many new applications that came with it, I was quite nervous. However, while things looked confusing the calculus actually made things easier, just simple deriving and integrating to express the same things in new ways. Also, I have begun to see that all of the equations come from a few core rules and concepts this second time through SHM,

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Driving on Ice

Winter is here, and so is the snow. Many people fear driving on wet icy roads, and for good reason. The coefficient of kinetic friction between rubber and ice is 0.15, while the kinetic coefficient between rubber and dry asphalt is 0.72. Since the force of friction is directly related to these coefficients, the force of friction helping a car stop is nearly 5 times less when driving on icy roads, and therefore the net force is drastically reduced. All of this means less acceleration, meaning

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Gravity at the ISS

Following our study of gravitation, I decided to calculate what the value of g would be if the Earth's gravitational field extended to the International Space Station's orbital height, with the equation g = (GM)/r^2. With the radius = the radius of the earth (6,370,000 m) plus the ISS's distance above Earth (240 miles or 386,243 M), r = a total of 6,756,243 m. Therefore g at the ISS's height would be 8.767 m/s^2.

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denverbroncos

The Mars Rover

With all of the recent gravitation problems involving foreign planets, I investigated the other planets. I found out Mars has gravity only 38% of Earth's gravity, and its moons Phobos orbits the planet twice in a martian day. Mostly I wanted to take the opportunity to share this awesome story about the Mars rover Curiosity I found. http://news.yahoo.com/road-trip-tap-nasas-mars-rover-134636007.html. Apparently Curiosity will be visiting a Martian mountain in 2013, and will continue to investi

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denverbroncos

Hockey is back

Hockey is back, so I decided to calculate the max speed a skater can take around a level circular turn on ice with a radius of 20 meters using the algorithm v = radical(urg). With the coefficient of kinetic friction between the skates and the ice being approximately .15, the max speed is radical(.15*20*9.8) or 5.42 m/s.

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

Angular Momentum of the Earth

What is the Earth's angular momentum? Since L = Iw, we need to know the Earth's moment of inertia and angular momentum. For moment of inertia I will assume Earth is a solid sphere with I = (2/5)MR^2 or (2/5)(6x10^24)(6.3x10^6)^2. This comes out to I = roughly 9.53x10^37. w = (2 pi)/T, and the earth's period is 86400 seconds, so the earths angular velocity is 7.27x10^-5. So, L = Iw = (9.53x10^37)(7.27x10^-5) = 6.93x10^33 (kg*m^2)/s

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

3rd Quarter Reflection

Since it seems so popular to do, here is my take on last quarter. It was dominated by independent units for circuits and magnetism, which brought about some interesting revelations. First, read the book! I didn't do that for circuits, and it made understanding the theory behind all of the material very difficult. I actually used the book on the magnetism unit, and it made a huge difference in understanding the origins of Biot Savart's and Ampere's laws. Also, I need to learn to budget my time

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denverbroncos

Dresden Files Physics: Part 1

The wonderful series of books by Jim Butcher, the Dresden Files, has an awful lot of physics in many of the magical activities that occur. This is the first of several examinations of the science behind the magic, about Harry Dresden's magic rings. These rings store up kinetic energy slowly over time, and he can unleash it all at once on the bad guys. Lets say every time he moves his arm, one ring picks up just 2 joules of energy. Lets also say that he moves his arm 5,000 times in one day. T

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denverbroncos

Dresden Files Physics: Part 2

Here is another exploration of the science behind Jim Butcher's popular Dresden Files books. Harry Dresden has a magical shield bracelet, which obeys several concepts of physics rather well. Caution, tiny spoilers ahead. At first, Harry's bracelet enables him to block incoming kinetic energy only, which causes him some problems when exposed to heat. He later expands it to also block heat energy, light and sound as well. The fact that each type of energy needs to be addressed separately, combin

denverbroncos

denverbroncos

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