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tjpapaleo

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  1. tjpapaleo

    The Flash

    So, I was watching The Flash awhile ago and they were dealing with particle accelerators. As you know, Flash was created by a particle accelerator explosion that caused him to transform into a man with super speed. I know that doesn't actually but what is in a particle accelerator? What is a particle accelerator? A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to shoot charged particles to almost the speed of light, while containing them in beams. Particle accelerators have made big discovers, especially in medicine. They have been used for finding x-rays as well as the discover of a neutron. As of today, there are 10,000 scientists using particle accelerators for x-rays for research in physics, chemistry, biology, etc. Basically they are used for research purposes. That's all for now on particle accelerators. Tune in next time for more physics.
  2. tjpapaleo

    String Theory

    Going back to theory based physics, we now have to look into what String Theory is now. So, to start off with a general idea of what it is, String Theory is the idea of one-dimensional objects called strings are able to move through space and time and interact with each other. Meaning, the idea of String Theory is the idea of multilevel universes living amongst each other. String Theory can also get into various subject (to solve problems) such as black hole physics, early universe cosmology, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics. A big problem with the theory is that the full theory does not have a full definition for all circumstances. Also, the theory describes multiple universes, which has created problems involving particle physics based on String Theory. So, that's all for now on String Theory. I will address more later (maybe) but for now tune in for more physics on reality.
  3. tjpapaleo

    Steph Curry #2

    Continuing from last post, we covered the footing, jump, and angle of the shot and how all that ties into a perfect shot. But that's not all that goes into a perfect shot. Oh and I forgot to mention about the angle, according to Professor John Fontanella, the ideal angles for a shot by height are here: 5’4"- 52.2 degree angle, 5’8″- 51.5 degree angle, 6’0″- 50.8 degree angle, 6’4″- 50.1 degree angle, 6’8″- 49.4 degree angle, 7’0″- 48.7 degree angle. Ok, so now we'll go into the basketball itself, as well as the spin. So, unlike the seams on a baseball or the ridges on a golf ball, basketballs have a smooth texture and travel through the air at a slow speed. For this reason, shooters can loft (yes, loft) a shot pointing at the basket or pointing on the backboard without the ball changing direction during flight. For example, a jump shot with backspin causes it to bounce off the backboard at a downward angle. Shooters, such as Steph, can put right or left spin when shooting from an angle, causing the ball to bounce off the board into the basket. Just a little more on what goes on during a basketball shot. So, we covered the beginning, middle and release of a shot. I think Steph knows what to do and considers all of this while taking a shot. After all, physics is always right.
  4. Steph Curry moves to the right, plants his feet, jumps, shoots, and it's good! You here that all the time while watching a basketball game, especially while watching Steph Curry. But do you think the players know all the physics into making that perfect shot? Starting off before the shot, the footing, moving to the right or left and planting a foot to make a jump shot is how a player uses the physical forces. As a player moves to one side and plants his feet, the body coils. Springing off the floor to shoot not only is to go over the defender, but also, the upward motion of the shooter’s body transfers into a force in the shooting hand as well. Also, going into the angle, other than a slam-dunk, all shots have an upward angle. The amount of force a shooter applies is proportional to the height of the arc and the distance the ball travels. Experienced shooters, such as Steph, can change the outcome by putting more or less into a shot, by flexing or relaxing. With the footing, the jump, and the angle in mind, do you think Steph (knowing he makes a lot of shots) thinks about that every time he takes a shot? Or does he even know that's what he's doing? Tune in next time for more on the great Steph and how his magic happens.
  5. tjpapaleo

    Speak! -er

    Speak! Speak! I'm not talking to a dog, I'm talking to my speaker. Why won't it work? Maybe if I learn the physics of it, I could probably fix it. So, inside a speaker, an electromagnet is placed in front of a regular magnet. The regular magnet is fixed hard into position where the electromagnet is moveable. As electricity passes through the coil of the electromagnet, the direction of its magnetic field is rapidly changed. Meaning, that it is then attracted and repelled from the regular magnet, vibrating back and forth, creating a frequency. The frequency of the vibrations causes the pitch of the sound produced, and the amplitude affects the volume; turn your stereo up high enough and you might even be able to see the speaker move. Also, a microphone uses the same mechanics as a speaker in reverse to convert sound into an electrical signal. In fact, you can even make a pair of headphones into microphone (off topic but in case you were wondering). So, with that maybe I can fix my speaker finally. Thanks physics.
  6. You rely on an airbag to save your life in a big car crash. But should you trust your airbag to save you life? Does it always help you or does it do more damage? Airbags are controlled by the laws of motion and are activated and fired through a carefully controlled explosion. They are triggered by high velocity and open up at more than 200 mph. According to the NHTSA, these airbags have been responsible for 296 deaths, including 191 children, 92 drivers, an adult passengers. Problems started with early airbags. During crashes, they were inflating with such force that they killed or seriously injured children, small adults, and other people who were too close to the bag when it inflated. So, even though airbags can save your life, not everything is perfect. Airbags as of now are the best option, but do you think we should push for something better or are airbags safe for us? The real question is do you trust your airbag to save your life?
  7. tjpapaleo

    Car Crash

    Bang! You've been in a huge car accident, totaling both cars. But, that's weird. You have no injuries. Why's that? Then, you look at the deflated white sack coming out of the steering wheel and then you're thankful. But, how did the little bag work to save your life? An airbag provides a force over time. This is known as impulse. The more time the force has to act on the passenger to slow them down, the less damage caused to the passenger. About 15 to 20 milliseconds after the collision occurs the crash sensors decide whether or not the crash is serious enough to inflate the airbag. If the crash sensors decide to inflate the airbag, it will be deflated at about 25 milliseconds after the crash. The basic idea is that the airbag inflates as soon as the car starts to slow down in an accident and deflates as your head presses against it. That's important because if the bag didn't deflate, your head would just bounce back off it and you'd be no better off. Advanced airbags are multistage devices capable of adjusting inflation speed and pressure according to the size of the occupant requiring protection. Those determinations are made from information provided by seat-position and occupant-mass sensors. Pretty cool? We'll cover a little more next time, so go to the next post for more.
  8. tjpapaleo

    Superman Scenario 2

    Last blog post, we concluded that Sheldon was right; Superman could not catch Lois Lane because he would not be able to get fast enough. For this post, we will assume he is able to get up to speed without reversing time. But, there is still a problem with the scenario, making Sheldon right again (spoiler again). Using the same distance and same time interval (30,000 miles in 3 seconds) he would then need to have an acceleration equal to 1.787 x 10^10 m/s^2, using the equation v = v0 + at. Next, if we assume that Superman has a relatively low mass, about 7 kilograms, that would still mean he would have to travel with a force equal to 1.2 x 10^11 newtons. That force is about 300,000,000 times the amount of force the body can withstand. Also even if Superman was still strong enough to survive that, there is no way that Lois Lane could. So, to conclude, Sheldon is right; Superman would not be able to come miles away and catch Lois from falling. She would either die by the force or Superman would never be able to get to her in time.
  9. tjpapaleo

    Is Sheldon Right?

    The story of Superman; Superman, hundred of thousands of miles away Lois Lane is falling from a 100-foot building taking 3 seconds to hit the ground(an example). Sheldon says there's no way for Superman to catch her without Lois getting killed. Leonard says the opposite? Who is right? Just to be an arse, I'm going to give it away. If you watch the show, you would know that Sheldon is always right, and in this case, he is right. So, in the scenario above, lets say Superman would have to travel 30,000 miles in a second to catch her. Therefore, he would have to travel about 5*10^10 m/s to catch her, more than the speed of light. In the old comics, when traveling at that speed, time would actually reverse. In order to not reverse time, Superman would have to travel less than the speed of light, and therefore not catch Lois Lane. So, that's one reason of why Superman could not catch Lois Lane. Next time, more physics examples to enrich your life.
  10. tjpapaleo

    3D Glasses

    So how do 3D glasses work? Well basically, your eyes have to see slightly different images. In the real world, since your eyes are spaced apart, each eye gets a different view, therefore the brain puts the two pictures together to make a 3D image. Binocular vision; since our eyes are 2 inches apart, there are two different views. Have you ever looked at a 3D movie without glasses and see fuzziness? Well that's because they took original picture and shifted it like what our brain does. But the shifted image is only made of red and blue. So what the glasses do is the color filters separate the two images and each one enters a different eye. Then your brain the two images back together so it looks like its happening right in front of you. So go buy some 3D glasses.
  11. Looking at the title of this blog, how long can we live without the Sun? And what would happen if there was no sun? In about a week, the global temperature would drop to below 0. Some microorganisms would live, but most life on Earth would die. Plants would die off immediately, but large trees would stay awhile. The top of the oceans would freeze but below would stay insulated and not freezing for many years to come. So, theoretically, we could live in submarines in the lowest part of the oceans. But we could also make a nuclear or geothermal habitat to live on. Looking at if the Sun were to just disappear, since our sun keeps us in revolution, the Earth would literally spin off and just let go of orbit.
  12. tjpapaleo

    Worm/ Dumb holes

    So what is a worm hole? It's a black hole. But with a twist. Literally. A spinning black hole is called a worm hole, which is believed to actually travel across space. But not going against the laws of physics, but by using the dimensions of the universe. So if you wanted to get across the universe, theoretically, a worm hole would bend the universe making where you are and your destination right next to each other, so you could get there instantaneously. Now going to a dumb hole, something that has been created on Earth, rather than trapping light, a dumb hole traps sound. So scientist can create a dumb hole and study the fundamentals of that and apply it to a black hole to learn more from that. Interesting stuff
  13. tjpapaleo

    Black holes 2

    So going back to the idea of watching someone fall into a black hole, looking at all the movies, they do it wrong. In the movies, as you go into a black hole, they show your body getting ducked quickly into the hole, and sometimes they show your body stretching into it. That's not true. Actually as you approach the hole, you go slower and slower until you reach the Event Horizon, when you cross in a black hole, you can't return. Once you reach that point, your body freezes and the light coming off you turn red and then you disappear. Going back to the idea of forming a black hole, when a star goes out, it can't keep itself hot enough, it collapses to a small point called a singularity. When the star reaches a singularity, that's when a black hole is created. That's all on black holes. Tune in next time on worm holes and dumb holes
  14. tjpapaleo

    Black holes

    So I was doing some research and I found a little knowledge about black holes. So basically everything in the world has something known as a Schwarzschild radius, if you we're to collapse anything into a tiny, tiny amount of space, it's density would be so large that it's gravitational pull would be so large that not even light can escape. Therefore, a black hole. If you compressed the entire Earth into the size of a peanut, it would create a black hole. So let's say that your friend was going to fall into one and you were watching. What would it look like? So as he approaches the black hole, the point when he enters the black hole, since there is no light in the hole, his body literally disappears. The light left before he disappears will turn a red shift and then disappear. That's all for today on black holes. I think we'll come to that topic again soon
  15. tjpapaleo

    Denver vs. Patriots

    So while watching the end of the game, the Patriots had a chance to save the game by kicking an onside kick about 20 yards and recovering it. But in order to do that, it requires little amount of force so it goes just 10 yards, close enough so the Patriots can recover. So today we're going to find the force but instead of a football we'll use just a ball. So let's say the ball is kicked with an initial speed of 10 meters per second. And time goes fast here so they need to get it by in 2 seconds. Will it reach 10 yards in 2 seconds ? Well first we have to see what we have; Vi = 10 m/s, Vf =0 m/s, t = 2 s, no acceleration given and we have to find the distance (X). So we use X = .5(Vf + Vi) * t. So that gives us. 5 * 10 * 2 which is 20 meters. And 1 meters is 1.09361 yards. So therefore, 10 meters is 10.9361 yards. So they can make it 10 yards in the given time. But in the end, Denver recovers and win the game.
  16. tjpapaleo

    Lost at Sea

    THIS JUST IN!!! DJ KHALED LOST AT SEA!!! LAST SEEN LOOKING FOR THE KEY TO SUCCESS!!! So DJ Khaled is lost at sea right now. Let's move forward a bit and say that they found him, but he's drowning; he's falling farther and farther down. What force would be required to bring him up by a crane? Ok let's say that he's 235 pounds (and yes I looked it up) and let's say he's already fallen 10 meters down. So what is acting on him right now while he's falling down? He has his weight, mg, down and a drag force from the water up, Fd, and that's it. But when they put a net around him and try to lift him up, there is a force of the net up, Fn, mg down, and the drag force, Fd, down as well. So in order to lift him up, obviously Fn has to be bigger than mg and Fd combined. So the equation would be Net Force =ma, so Fn - (Fb + mg) = ma. Fn = 250a + (.5 * p * v^2 * Cd * A) + 250(9.8), where p = the density of the water, A = the cross sectional area, Cd = the drag coefficient. And there you go, DJ Khaled is saved.
  17. tjpapaleo

    Ending With a Big Bang

    So to end the last blog of this quarter, I would like to talk a major theory in the physics world: the Big Bang Theory. No, we will not be talking about the TV show. But anyways, basically the theory explains the creation of the universe. The theory states how the universe started as a singularity of high density and tempature and eventually over many years expanded to what it is now today. This theory is also explained using a broad range of light elements, cosmic microwave, large scale structures, and many more. The theory goes more in depth on what happened after the initial expansion, how subatomic particles were then forms such as atoms and then how giant clouds moved onward to form the stars and galaxies. So this is the end of the first chapter of blogging. I hope you enjoyed all the physics that was handed to you. Tune in next time for another great quarter of physics.
  18. tjpapaleo

    3D glasses

    Have you ever been sitting in the movie theatre and then all of the sudden a man jumps out of the screen and grabs you, or at least looks like he does? Well thanks to the work of 3D glasses, it's almost too real sitting in a movie theatre. 3D glasses play off the idea of using polarized light waves from one plane and only letting that specific light through. The glasses have little, parallel lines etched into it that only let vibrating polarized light from one particular place through. This means that each lens has a specific picture it sees, capturing two images/perspectives, tricking the brain into thinking the object is coming out of the screen at them. So overall, 3D glasses play with the different aspects of light waves to give you a better experience while watching a movie. There you have it, physics of 3D. Tune in next time for more physics phun.
  19. tjpapaleo

    Old Classic Atwood

    So for this blog, I thought we'd go back or an old classic: the Atwood machine. We've been looking at and studying Atwood's for 2 years now. Let me explain to you what I know. So first, let me tell you what an Atwood machine is. So on each side of the machine, there is a hanging mass of whatever weight, not always equal on both sides. And hanging those weights is one thing that connects one mass, wraps around a circular object, then is connected to the other mass. So, the masses hang from the same string. Virtually, with no friction, the only forces acting on each mass is the gravitational force down and the tension in the string up. With an Atwood machine, you can find an unknown mass of an object, you can find the tension in the string, many things you can find with just two hanging masses. So that's all for today on the Atwood. Now go out and by yourself one today. Tune in next time for more physics phun.
  20. tjpapaleo

    Football 2.0

    So today we will be going back to the topic of football and looking at another aspect in the game. We will be looking at the kinematics of a quarterback throwing a football. So when you see a quarterback throw a football, how fast do you think they need to throw it? You can use kinematics to find that. So being the quarterback, you guesstimate that he will run 50 meters in 6 seconds. You know that halfway, the velocity in the vertical direction is 0 and at the start, it is also 0. So knowing that you can find the horizontal initial velocity with the distance = 50, the acceleration 0, the time 6, and final velocity is not needed. Using the equation Δx = Vo(t) + .5at^2 to get the initial velocity. And also doing the same for the vertical initial velocity, you now have the components of velocity. Set up a right triangle and use Pythagoras thereom to find the velocity of the football the quarterback would need to throw. I don't think a quarterback has enough time to do that all in his head but you never know. That's our second time visiting the physics of football. Tune in next time for more exciting physics work.
  21. tjpapaleo

    Football

    Back in my youth, I was quite the football player. Ok not really; I was light, slow, and short. But even before my time of physics, I was doing physics. Let me explain how I would use physics in football. So, first off there are many components to football. I'll start off with the hitting aspect of football. So basically the object of the lineman is to stop is opposing player, the defensive lineman, to not kill the quarterback. Let's look at the momentum aspect. As you know that momentum = FΔt. So in that little millisecond it takes the lineman and the defensive lineman to make contact, there is a force exerted by the players on the ground, and that force is big. About half a ton worth of force. And which player has the biggest momentum, knocks back there opposer and wins. So next time you look at a big hit by a football player on TV, just know that be got hit with more than 1000 pounds of force. That's all for now on football. Tune in next time for more physics of sports.
  22. tjpapaleo

    Shooting a Gun

    What's everyone's favorite thing to do? Obviously shooting a gun takes the gold. Shall we go into the physics of a marvelous gun? Why not? Ok, let's see if we can find the speed of a gun recoiling using the law of conservation of momentum. So, we know the p =mv, and we know that we have a mass of a bullet and a gun, and then the speed of a bullet but no speed of a gun. And we know that Pi = Pf. So, we use the equation mv of bullet + mv of gun = mv of bullet after it leaves the gun + mv of gun after. So then we do a little algebra to get the velocity of the gun after by itself. The equation would be MbVb/ (MbVb' + Mgun) and then you plug in all the numbers to get the recoil of the gun. That's all for guns today. Tune in next time for more physics.
  23. tjpapaleo

    Wind vs Toupee

    Here's a question for you physics lovers: A man is walking down the with a toupee weighing .05 kg while strong gust of wind are flying right at him. The coefficient of friction from his head to the toupee is .01. Using -10 as acceleration due to gravity, what force is required for the wind to blow the toupee off his head? Well if we were to look at the forces acting on the toupee, there is a gravitational force down of mg = .5 N, a normal force up of. 5 N, some force F acting to the right, and the friction force acting to the left, Ff = .005 N. Using right as the positive direction, Net Force = ma, therefore F - Ff = ma. So, F + .005 = .05(10) and with some basic algebra, you get the force F = 4.995 N. There you have it; physics of a toupee. Tune in next post for more crazy physics concepts.
  24. tjpapaleo

    Phone Dropping

    So let me tell you a story about my girlfriend and her tragic story of her phone. On her way into the house, she had a big load to carry in. Not concerned about her phone, she was walking into the door and her phone slipped from her pile of belongings in her hand and fell right in the floor and now has a big crack across the whole screen. So, as she was walking she had a velocity as whatever let's say Vx. But this doesn't matter since all that matters in a free fall is the vertical velocity, Vy. Using kinematics in the horizontal direction, we know the initial velocity (Vx), the final velocity (Vx), the acceleration (0), and the distance does not matter in order to find the time. We use Vf = Vo * at and solve for t. Once we have t, then we can use that in the vertical direction to find the distance the phone has dropped. With the initial velocity (0), the acceleration (-9.8), the time (t), and finial velocity is not needed, we can use x = Vo(t) + .5at^2 to find the distance the phone dropped. We can also use the mass and the acceleration to find the force that caused the phone to crack. That's all for the cracking of phones. Tune in next time on the wonderful world of physics.
  25. tjpapaleo

    Opening a door

    We all do like 50 times a day. But did you know that there is physics in that? Probably. But I'll talk about it anyways. So when you go to open a door, there is a force at some angle theta. So, if you break that into its components, you have a horizontal towards you and a vertical force down. But only the horizontal force is acting to open the door. With that force, we can find the torque (T = Fdsin(theta)), the rotation of the door as it swings open. We can also find the angular velocity using w = d(theta)/dt. Just remember when someone opens the door for you, to be polite and say thank you. That's all on the physics of opening a door. Tune in next time on the world of physics.
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