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ncharles
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Nearly every person in the world will, at one point in their life, use a pen to record, solve of draw something on paper. However, no one stops to think how and why this luxury occurs. How does ink come out of the pen when writing but not while just sitting there? A few main factors determine the flow rate of the ink: the pulling power of the pores of the paper, the pulling power of the pen and the surface tension of the ink. The pores of the paper act like little mini hands that grab on to the surface of the ink at the tip of the pen; rougher paper will pull out ink more quickly, while smooth surfaces struggle to pull out ink. Then, due to the surface tension of the ink, as some of the ink is pulled out, more comes with it. When the pen is not writing, there is nothing to pull the ink out so no ink flows out of the tip of the pen. Also, when the pen is moving, another factor that contributes to ink flow is the speed of the pen: when its moving faster, ink flows out at a faster rate. Now, when ever you write something, you will think about how you are actually making words.
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Here in the North East, skiing and snowboarding is popular activity that many people participate in. However, most people don't think about the gobs of physics behind gliding or falling down the hill. For the more skilled skiers and snowboarders, the experience of tumbling down the slope is not very present in their time on the mountain. So, the main physics behind their ride is friction and gravity. Obviously, gravity allows them to move and accelerate down the mountain. However, what many people don't think about is friction. Although very small, the friction between the bottom of the board and the snow actually plays a large roll in the speed of the person. The main factor to decreasing the friction is coating the bottom of the board in wax. This makes the board ever smoother and decreases the coefficient of friction between the snow. Without this, the board has a tendency to reach a maximum velocity and not speed up after that, which for people who want to go very fast, is not appealing. So next time you go hit the slopes, make sure you wax you skis or board to go as fast as possible.
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The newest thing these days in the world of sports is artificial grass--or turf. Many professional teams, and even high schools like our own, are installing turf in order to reduce the maitnence required to maintain a sports field. There are two main differences between grass and turf: bounce and friction. First id bounce; Compared to grass, turf has a higher coefficient of restitution which means that, off the bounce, the ball will retain more of its speed ultimately speeding up the game as a whole. This will force players to have better reactions in order to judge the ball at a faster speed. Also, the friction between the ball and turf is less than the friction between the ball and grass. This, also, dramatically increases the speed of play because the ball moves faster as a whole. Players would need to more accurately weigh their passes in order to achieve success as they do on grass. Ultimately, turf increase the speed of play which is part of the reason it is making a revolution in the soccer world.
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At any amusement park, there is always at least one roller coaster; its make makes the park. However when people ride it they don't actually think about how it works and the physics behind it. First of all, the first hill is the biggest in order to accumulate enough energy to get through the whole thing. And after that, gravity and the conversation of energy take the lead. Although present, the friction between the cart and the track is very little and doesn't change much. Because of this, at any point on the ride, the sum of the potential energy and kinetic energy is equal; whether going up, down or even around a loop. So the next time you ride a roller coaster think about how its all gravity after the first hill!
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As you can guess, this is my first blog for the AP Physics C year (one of about 40). In my free time I dabble in the sports of soccer, basketball and tennis and although I am not the best or star player in any of the sports, I would consider my self consistent and fairly talented in them all. During the scarce moments in my life during which I am not playing sports, I am either doing homework, playing FIFA on Xbox, or sitting on my phone using Snapchat, Twitter and/or Instagram. I have four siblings (one brother and 3 step-sisters) of which I am the second youngest (I am also the youngest kid in my grade). My two older step-sisters are a sophomore and freshman in college and my brother is a freshman in college also; my younger step-sister is in 5th grade at Iroquois. Throughout my academic career i have gotten good grades and I will do everything in my power to keep it that way for senior year. I enrolled in the AP Physics C class, because I did well and loved last years Physics with Mr. Powlin. I also wanted to go more in-depth to Physics than we did last year and I hope this class does that. The main thing i hope to get out of this class is to learn how to teach myself and prepare for college. Already I have changed my habits to accommodate for the demands of this class and others. I am very excited to go through this class with all my friends and do well on the AP. On the contrary, i am most anxious about the work load of the class combined with others, however this will only make me a better student and learner.
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