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AlphaGeek

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Blog Entries posted by AlphaGeek

  1. AlphaGeek
    Have you ever wondered how trampolines work? Anything fun or worthwhile has physics behind it, so let’s take a peek at the gymnast’s best friend:

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]497[/ATTACH]

    I hope you all enjoy my art skills. Read it and weep. :victorious:

    The magic behind a trampoline can be explained in terms of energy. Let’s say that a child is bouncing up and down on the trampoline. When the child is at a maximum height, his/her potential energy due to gravity is at a maximum. Because PE= mgh, with acceleration due to gravity and mass constant, his/her PE is the greatest because height is at a maximum. However, their kinetic energy is at a minimum of 0 because the child has a velocity of zero and KE= (1/2) m v^2. When the child is in contact with the trampoline and is as low as he/she will travel, his/her PE due to gravity is now at a minimum of zero because the height is zero. However, at this point the child’s kinetic energy is greatest because the velocity at this point is at a maximum. In addition, the potential energy due to the trampoline’s springs is at a maximum. Uspring (potential energy of the spring) is greatest at this point because the displacement x of the spring is greatest at this point and Uspring = (1/2) k x^2. In other words, the spring is at its maximum stretch possible for the child and wants to return to its state of rest, so it sends the child back into the air.

    If that AP B review didn't click, try watching the specimen V. vulpes exploring this bouncy apparatus. (CAUTION: Video has sound. If you're in the school library, please adjust volume level accordingly before proceeding).





    Ah, discovery.

    --'Geek out!
  2. AlphaGeek
    How to become an autodidact (defn: self-directed learner) :einstein)

    Monday, we were given a few packets of work, some written directions and a "finish this before the test next week." Weird. A class with no teacher? A few groups popped up to grab a computer, others buried their noses in the textbook, and some started chatting leisurely with friends. It's not that we don't have a teacher, it's just that for the next few days, we're our own teachers.


    For a few of us (including myself), this whole learning-on-our-own thing is a little bit intimidating. I've scoured the inner depths of google to put together an E2K countdown of ways to survive without teacher supervision. Try reading them over to pick up a helpful hint or two:


    3.) Having trouble? All you need is a little help from your friends. Try forming small groups for support, review, and advice. Not only will confusion be dismissed, but it turns out that people retain information longer after they've taught a peer. It's a win-win situation. However, make sure to refrain from copying or relying on others to teach you. The point of self-directed learning is to learn independently, not to leech off of others.


    2.) Use your resources. Between the textbook, aplusphysics.com, and the unit summary packets from class, you're bound to find an answer to your problem. READ THE TEXTBOOK. Key chapters are listed on the board, but if the answer still isn't there try skimming the glossary for key terms. Google and other internet searches are okay, but sites like Wikipedia often over complicate or give false information. Try the aplusphysics site. The video sections, tutorials, and course notes are great tools to reinforce concepts if the textbook was unclear, or even for review before the test. Don't forget about asking others (and making friends-- you can friend people on aplus, you know ).


    1.) The number one suggestion for learning on one's own is manage your time. Procrastination is our number one enemy when it comes to self-guided learning. In order to avoid doing the web assign, worksheet, problem packet and 8 blog posts the night before they're due, take a few steps of precaution. Try making your own due dates. These are most functional if they're BEFORE the one Mr. Fullerton assigned. Making a calendar is a little over the top, but writing down goal dates to finish certain sections of the work is helpful. At least have mental due dates-- no one should be staying up 'til 1 the night before the test.



    A few of you may ask, "Why is God's name did Mr. Fullerton do this to us? Does he hate us? Was it something we said?" This way of learning will benefit us greatly. For one thing, it's preparing us for college next year. Not all classes will have 20-30 kids. A large intro/lecture class could contain anywhere from 50 to 500 students. In otherwords, the teacher can't tend to hundreds of kids at once, making an independent learning style an essential survival tool. Even if the classes are small, there's no guarantee that the teacher is good at,well, teaching. In the event your teacher is a story teller, a newbie, or just plain unhelpful, knowing how to consult a textbook or another resource means the difference between passing and failing.


    In other words, take a deep breath, plan briefly, and get to work. Have confidence in yourself as a student and don't be afraid to take autodidacticism for a test spin!
  3. AlphaGeek
    Infrasound is sound with a frequency lower than 20 Hz. Human hearing registers sounds from roughly 20 to Hz 20,000, though under certain circumstances the body will hear/feel sound at a lower frequency than 20Hz. Though the human ear does not normally register infrasound, these inaudible waves effect our everyday lives.


    [ATTACH=CONFIG]530[/ATTACH]



    In Nature:

    Infrasound is produced naturally by severe weather and other forms of nature. Storms, thunder, volcanic activity, earthquakes, avalanches, tsunamis, waves, wind, and even the aurora borealis emit these sound waves. (1) Because many animals can detect sounds of lower frequencies than humans, they are able to sense oncoming natural phenomenon. This explains why many animals move to higher ground or act oddly before a storm.

    Animals also use infrasound to communicate. Whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, elephants and alligators are among the group that do so. These animals are able to send messages over thousands of miles in this manner. Homing pidgeons and other birds are also able to sense these sounds. They use infrasound in combination with magnetic fields to create a mental map of their surroundings.

    Human encouters:

    Infrasound is utilized by humans to locate earthquakes, specific types of rock, petroleum, and even artillery/nuclear weaponry. Low frequencies are also created by man-made objects. These noises are theorized to create disturbances for creatures that can register infrasound. The sounds may cause the animals to become disoriented, causing whales to beach themselves or pidgeons to lose their bearings. (2) Infrasound also causes irritation to human beings. In studies such as that of Professor Richard Wiseman, Richard Lord (acoustic scientist), and Vic Tandy, human exposure to infrasound may increase paranoia, physical discomfort and even nausia. (3)(4)
    In Tandy's situation, halucinations and supernatural "sightings" were later found to be linked to low frequency readings in the area. Infrasound is also the factor behind mysterious humming, called "The Hum," in certain areas that are audible to some people yet nonexistent to others. The hums are often emitted by man-made or natural sources. For example in Kokomo, Indiana, the humming was later pinpointed in a local factory. A fan producing a 10 Hz noise was the source of the scare.

    ***Authors note: This post took a little bit more research than usual ^^; It was interesting, though! Enjoy

    Sources:
    1.) http://www-dase.cea.fr/public/dossiers_thematiques/infrasons/description_en.html
    2.) http://web.archive.org/web/20041102004955/http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/educ/science/2000/04-07-00.htm
    3.) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077192/#.UJV9R2-unBY
    4.) http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/page.cfm?objectid=12722447&method=full&siteid=50003
    5.) http://www.theindychannel.com/news/possible-source-found-for-kokomo-hum
  4. AlphaGeek
    How would I determine the drag coefficient of an organic shape, such as a blob of pudding or a chicken or a Looney Tunes character?

    I wanted to do a blog post on the terminal velocity of Wile E. Coyote falling off of a cliff. I went back into my notes and found the following equations:

    Air resistance = Fdrag = bv = cv2
    VT= (mg)/b
    V = VT ( 1 - e(-b/m) )

    Notice the constants, b and c. I turned to google, thinking that the constants would be relatively easy to find.

    It turns out, the equation for Vterminal is a little more complex than I thought.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]532[/ATTACH]

    Finding V terminal involves the mass of the object, acceleration due to gravity, the density of the medium that the object is traveling through, the area effected, and, of course, a drag coefficient. In my quest to find the drag coefficient, I found that the coefficient is related to the shape of the affected surface area. The lower the drag coefficient, the more easily the object can move through the air. The following table helps illustrate this:

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]533[/ATTACH]

    That's fine and well if you're trying to find the terminal velocity of a UPS box falling from a cargo plane in air of know density, although there are a few complications in the Wile E. Coyote situation. My number one probelm is as follows: unless the furry critter assumes a fetal position and magically transforms his body into a perfect sphere, his coefficient is difficult to determine.

    Any suggestions? :dontknow)
  5. AlphaGeek
    Credit to Mr. Powlin (who read this last year about the same time) and Snopes.com, where I found this humorous commentary once again. For those of you who did not hear this last Christmas or those who want to get into the spirit of the physics-filled holiday season, I thought I'd post this up for a few giggles. Happy Holidays, all! :snowman:

    No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these areinsects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which onlySanta has ever seen.
    There are two billion children (persons under 18) in the world.BUT since Santa doesn't appear to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhistchildren, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total — 378 million according to Population ReferenceBureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5children per household,that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at leastone good child in each.
    Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to thedifferent time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east towest (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6visits per second.
    This is to say that for each Christian household with goodchildren, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jumpdown the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents underthe tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get backinto the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed aroundthe earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of ourcalculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75½ million miles, not counting stops to do whatmost of us must do at least once every 31hours, plus feeding andetc.
    This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second,3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastestman-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky27.4miles per second — a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.
    If every one of the 91.8 million homes with good children were toput out a single chocolate chip cookie and an 8ounce glass of 2% milk, the total calories (needless to sayother vitamins and minerals) would be approximately 225 calories (100 for the cookie, give or take, and125 for the milk, give or take). Multiplying the number of calories per houseby the number of homes (225 x 91.8 x 1000000), we get the total number ofcalories Santa consumes that night, which is 20,655,000,000 calories. To breakit down further, 1 pound is equal to 3500 calories. Dividing our total number of caloriesby the number of calories in a pound (20655000000/3500) and we get the numberof pounds Santa gains, 5901428.6, which is 2950.7tons.
    The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element.Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (twopounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who isinvariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull nomore than 300 pounds.Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see above) could pull TEN TIMESthe normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload (not even counting the weight ofthe sleigh) to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison, this is four times theweight of the Queen Elizabeth.353,000 tons traveling at 650miles per second createsenormous air resistance — this willheat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pairof reindeer will absorb 14.3QUINTILLION joules ofenergy. Per second. Each.
    In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously,exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in theirwake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will besubjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back ofhis sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.
    In conclusion: If Santa ever DID deliver presents on ChristmasEve, he's dead now.
  6. AlphaGeek
    SO, because everyone else decided to take a break, my brain also decided to go off on holiday for a while. In that case, I've decided to make this blog post 100% fun (yet still on topic), and what's more fun and physics related than comics? Hope these tickle your funny bone, have a great break everyone!!!












    ...And finally, a comic that Mr. Fullerton would enjoy:



    Have a great break! Make sure to relax (and pretend that midterms aren't coming up)!

    --Alphageek
  7. AlphaGeek
    Hi everyone! I thought this would be applicable since we're in the electricity and magnetism portion of the year

    In electric fish, such as an eel or a ray, there is a body part called an "electric organ." This mass of muscle and/or nerve cells produce an electric current when the fish sees fit. It is used for protection, navigation, communication and sometimes (but not often) against prey. The organ itself consists of a group of connected electrocytes, through which the current passes through.

    An electric catfish AKA a strongly electric fish. He might look like he wants a kiss but believe me, he doesn't.

    In weakly electric fish, the organ is used for navigation as the electricity produced is too little to do harm. However, in strongly electric fish, a discharge of electricity is strong enough to be used for defense. Something interesting to note is the difference in the structures of freshwater electric fish and saltwater electric fish (this difference is also mentioned in pg. 795 of the text). Freshwater has a higher resistivity than salt water, and as a result freshwater fish release a higher amount of voltage than salt water fish in order to be effective. Another cool fact: in order to achieve this difference, the fresh water fish's electrocytes are connected in series, while the saltwater fish's electrocytes are connected in parallel. Awesome, no?

    'Geek out!
  8. AlphaGeek
    ...With all of this electricity and magnetism boggling our minds, it's nice to be reminded of the importance of mechanics once in a while. And by that I mean the force of friction: Ff = (normal force)(mu). Believe it or not, this commonly viewed as weak force can add up. Take the above myth busters clip for example, when the friction in between the sheets of a phone book in between the pages of a second phone book make them extremely difficult to separate. Try 8,000lb of force and two tank's worth of difficult! One of the tricks that creates so much of the friction is that each individual page is interlocked, increasing the surfaces that oppose each other as well as the weight of each page upon the next. Enjoy the clip :3
  9. AlphaGeek
    After watching all of Walter Lewin's videos as well as Mr. Fullerton's, I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Fullerton's videos are more straightforward and earlier to understand that Lewin's. For those of you who swear Lewin isn't speaking English, here's a summary of the video content. I will be listing content in order of the A Plus Phys. video titles, so that if anyone needs elaboration they can refer to the corresponding video. :star: If even that doesn't work, the textbook & practice problems for each chapter might help, too.

    Note: There are some concepts that I can't put in, like RHR and other exercises that require visuals. For these, please reference the vids!

    Magnetism


    Moving Charges in Magnetic Fields
    Forces on Current-Carrying Wires
    Fields due to Current-Carrying Wires

    PSSC Magnet Laboratory

    [*]Biot-Savart Law
    [*]Ampere's Law



    Moving Charges in Magnetic Fields

    -Magnetism= force caused by moving charges
    -Magnets= dipoles (always both N & S; no dipole discovered)
    -like poles repel, opposites attract
    -mag. domains = clusters of atoms
    ~Random domains = no net B (mag. field)
    ~Organized domains = had net B
    -1 tesla (T) = N*s/C*m
    -non-SI unit = 1 Gauss = 10-4 Tesla
    *Bearth = 1/2 Gauss
    -Mag. field lines point noth to south
    -Density B= mag. flux
    -FB= q(vXB)
    -lFBl - qvBsinθ
    For a particle affected by a FB, the radius of its circular path r = mv/qB

    Lorentz Force:Ftot= Fe + FB = q(E + v x
    For a particle traveling perpendicular to the E field, v = E/B

    Current Carrying Wires in Mag. Field

    FB= ∫I dl x B
    **watch video for RHR, elec. motor and examples.

    Mag. field for current carrying wire

    B = μ0 I / 2πr
    μ0 =4π x10-7

    Max's 2nd Eqn AKA Gauss's Law for magnetism:

    Φ (mag flux) ∫ B • dA = 0 ***note: integral over the CLOSED SURFACE

    The Biot- Savart Law

    dB = / 2πr (dl x r)
    ...This one is hard to understand without the vid, because it involves derivation with examples, and the solution changes with each situation.

    Amphere's Law

    You can skip this video if you've seen Walter's video lecture 15, as it's content is the same in both Fullerton & Lewin's versions.

    ∫ B • dl = μ0 Ipenetrating
    Watch the video for elaboration with examples.
    Also see the either video for information on a solenoid (slinky).


    ...I hope that was moderately helpful. If not, maybe I've at least convinced you to watch the videos. Good luck on the independent unit, everyone! Stay on top of things!

    --AlphaGeek

  10. AlphaGeek
    More electricity-themed blog posts!

    Neurons are cells in the nervous system. This cell transfers information via chemical and electrical signals. The long, stem-like part of a nerve cell is called the axon. In the human body, the axons that run from your spinal chord to your feet can be over a meter long. Electrical pulses are transferred through the axon down to the neurotransmitter molecules. The membrane potential of the average neuron cell is between -60 and -80 mV when the cell is not transmitting signals.


    The electrical signal is converted into a chemical one once it reaches the synapse. The synaptic vesicles (containing ligands called neurotransmitters) release small molecules, which flow over to the receptor molecules on the adjacent nerve cell, and the message travels through a net of these cells until it reaches its destination.



    Some interesting facts about the nervous systems of various species:

    -- The electric eel is equip with 8,400 neurons, which can potentially crank out a painful 600 V.
    -- It is estimated that the human brain contains roughly 100 billion nerve cells.
    -- All animals except sponges have a type of nervous system.
    -- The contraction and expansion of a Hydra is controlled by a nerve net, a web-like system of neurons that span the organism's body.

    Shocking, eh? :einstein)

    --Alpha Geek
  11. AlphaGeek
    I'm not sure if this is cliche, but I saw this on television once and thought it deserved a physics-rundown (It was a future weapons episode).

    This bulletproof vest, called "Dragon Skin," is manufactured by Pinnacle Armor. It was designed for military use, though it failed Army inspection (the heat test: the vest was heated up to 170 degrees F and was shot at afterward. The clay material backing couldn't withstand the heat, and the design lost its overlapping shape. The integrity of the vest was lost, thus the vest was deemed unsafe). HOWEVER, despite this subtle detail, the vest's design is truely ingenious.




    The overlapping-disk design distributes the impact of a bullet to multiple plates, whereas on a single plated vest the force is absorbed by only one plate. On the specific epistode of Future weapons where this armor is featured, it withstood a number of tests, including shots from an AK-47 and an M67 grenade. In the case of the grenade, even though the vest itself was ripped to shreds, the armor itself was still intact.

    The vest was officially declared to provide "level 3 protection," which means that it can protect agains 9.6 g bullets traveling at 847 m/s, give or take a few m/s.

    ...For those of you with an interest in physics and no occupation to apply it to, the military is looking for creativity

    --Alpha Geek
  12. AlphaGeek
    I'll set the scene: It's a dark night and the fog is thick as soup. You drive along in your pink jeep, hoping to get home in time for dinner (your favorite!), when a white mass appears in the road.

    A COW!:eek:



    You thrust the break pedal to the ground, and your wrangler just stops short of the bovine J-walker. What is the only thing that came between you and a pile of ground beef? Physics is the hero of this story-- specifically friction.

    A car's breaking system is usually one of two types: a disk break or a drum break. The disc break system is composed of a rotor (or break disk), a caliper, and break pads. The rotor turns with the wheel, and the break pads apply pressure to the sides of the rotor in order to slow the car down. Disk breaks are commonly used in smaller vehicles like cars and minivans, as they produce less heat and are easier to change. If you need to "change your breaks," it's more likely that you have to swap out the worn-down break pads than the rotor.

    Disk break system

    In a drum-break system, the curved break pads, or "break shoes" push up into the sides of a dish-like cylinder, called the break drum. This system of breaks is used in larger vehicles, like semi trucks. While the drum break system produces a larger amount of heat energy than the disk breaks, it is much more effective. For very large vehicles (ie. busses) air breaks are used, but we won't get into that.


    Drum break system

    So here's the pure physics of it all: break pads are made of steel with ceramic or another friction-inducing substance. When pressing up against the rotor/drum, the pads convert kinetic energy into heat energy due to the high pressure and friction of the interaction. The larger surface area of the break shoe for the drum model causes there to be more heat released in the drum model than the disk model, which is why the disk model is more common in cars.

    Thank you, consumer auto! I miss Mr. M as our homeroom teacher... Shout out to room 1071!

    --Alphageek
  13. AlphaGeek
    Part 2 of the equation posts: E&M. Again, if you see any mistakes or have a few equations to add, make sure to utilize the comment section! I'll add it in right away.

    Electrostatics


    E= Fe/q = kq/r

    λ = Q/L
    ρ = Q/V
    σ = Q/A

    Electric potential

    Ue = kq1q2/r
    F = -dU/dl
    V = k ∑ qi/ri = W/q
    ∆V= Vb - Va = ∫ab E dl = ∆U/q

    Gauss's Law:


    Conductors

    Esurface=

    Vinside =

    Einside =

    Capacitor

    C=Q/V =

    Uc =

    Ue = field energy density =

    Energy = V/d

    C= w/ = Dielectric constant

    Circuits

    I =

    I = V/R

    I = NqVdA = NeVdA

    Current density (J) = NqVd = I/A

    charging up: w = I2V
    charging down: U = CV2

    = RC
    5 = 99% charged/discharged

    Resistance

    R=
    E=
    P=IV
    E= J
    W= qv

    Series Circuit

    Ceq =

    I= constant
    V=IR
    Req= R1+R2+...
    Q=CV

    Parallel Circuit

    Ceq = C1 + C2 + ...
    I = V/R
    V= constant


    Q=CV

    Batteries:

    Videal = V = mf = VT
    V with resistance = Iri = VT
    Pbattery = W/t = = I
    Pexternal resistor = I2R
    Pinternal resistor = I2ri

    Magnetism

    Gauss's Law: dA = O
    Amphere's Law: Ipen
    ...for a wire of radius R, B =
    Biot-Savart law: dB = (dl X r)
    ...for a loop of wire, B =
    Faraday's Law:
    =
    =

    solenoid: B =
    toroid: B =

    Mag. moment () =NIA =NIR2
    Mag. torque=


    ...sorry that took so long to post up, jeez that code takes a while to type up ^-^ Feel free to add/correct in the comments section!
  14. AlphaGeek
    Do you find your blogs boring, drab and in need of fanciness? Do you think that int(x^2) is an acceptable substitute for ? Because the APlusphysics site has undergone improvements, I think that our blogs' equation quality should improve as well. ;D

    A little birdie (Mr. Fullerton) told me about this great tool called a latex editor. One site to go to is http://www.codecogs.com/latex/eqneditor.php , which you don't have to download and it's not blocked by the school. It's a site where you can choose the symbols that you want in an equation, like sigma or pi, and it spits back a code.
    When you paste that code into your blog post, put [tex] before it and [/tex] after it, then preview the blog, the symbol you chose will be in its place.
    I had to put the information above into the code box or the computer would've read it as part of a code. For example, if I choose the pi button and the latex editor spits back CHERRY, I would write [ tex] CHERRY [ /tex] and the symbol for pi would come up.
    (the code is actually \pi, so if I surround that with [tex] and [/tex] it looks like: [tex] /pi [/tex]


    I hope thats helpful! If you have any questions, Mr. Fullerton or I would be glad to help
  15. AlphaGeek
    Anybody else having trouble with orbiting other planets? Docking? Space planes even? I was on youtube the other night and came across a user who developed a number of Kerbal Space Program tutorials. They're long, but are thorough and walk you through processes step by step. He trouble shoots often, so you can clearn from his mistakes to address your own issues. Plus, he has an accent. Strangely enough that makes him fun to listen to.

    Here's the link to his Kerbal Space Program Playlist:


    There are a few intro videos, but he also has at least three for docking, a handful for orbiting various planets, and a number on space planes. I watched a few on the planes (just for kicks) and jeez they were complicated! The docking videos were loooong but helpful. If Kailzah makes it to the Mun before school ends, I'd really like to give docking another shot.

    Has anyone else found resources/tutorials that they've found helpful? Only three days left! It's Mun or bust for Kalizah ]


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