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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

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

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

The Physics in Album Covers

Physics is all around us, and sometimes it is so visually awesome that it can make for great album covers. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon   One of the highest selling albums of all time, and having one of the most identifiable covers of all time, Pink Floyd should rightfully start up this list. The phenomenon shown is called dispersion of light. This occurs when white light hits an optically permeable surface. In this case, white light is hitting a prism.
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

0

Third Quarter in Review

No doubt the course has gotten much harder in the transition to electricity and magnetism. The result is that I've needed to adapt a new approach to the course. I have tried watching videos then filling in my notes with information from the book and vice versa. For me watching the videos first worked much better. So, if anyone finds this blog, I'll certainly recommend that. But one of the most important things I can do is look back at the course and experience as a whole, despite having inductio
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

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What Is The Deal With Theremins?

Anyone remotely into science fiction has heard the sound of a Theremin at least once, from its use in most 50’s movie to a variety of later Star Trek and Doctor Who sounds. It has been the sound of the future since its creator Leon Theremin unveiled it in 1928.   Before I explain, what it is it is important you see what it looks like in use. For reference the Theremin playing begins at 1:00. So how does this machine work? Well, this connects back to our unit on capacitan
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

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THE SECRET BEHIND WIRELESS CHARGING THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW!!!!

Sorry for the clickbait, I’m just trying to beat The Night King at his own game. The truth is I am just going to tell you what wireless charging is. Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t have a global conspiracy. I won't do it again. An emerging technology, which every company Samsung to Tesla are trying to jump on board with, is wireless charging, but believe it or not, this technology has been around since the 1960s. It’s called induction charging, and, as given by the name, is works
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

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On The Topic of Pole Reversals

Based on a variety of evidence, the last time the Earth's magnetic poles flipped was 750,000 years ago. Going off of this, many sources say we could face another flip at any point. Now, before you panic and begin blasting REM out of the nearest speakers, I just wanted to fill you in on what the process looks like. The process is much longer than most people think when first visualizing it. It is actually a process which is estimated to take 1000-10000 years. To explain why, the main factor
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

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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

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The Physics Behind Transition Lenses

Well, before that snowy and cold winter break, one of the cloudiest cities in the nation was beginning to see the sun. It was while walking around I realized how beneficial my old transition lenses were. Then it hit me, how exactly do they work over and over again. As it turns out, the answer is a simple chemical reaction.  Each transition lens has millions of silver chloride particles. These particles only react when exposed to UV light hence transition lenses do not work when driving. Nat
ThePeculiarParticle

ThePeculiarParticle

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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

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

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

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

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

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