http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
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lshads
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Just in case any of you were wondering, this is what would happen to a baseball if a pitcher could approach the speed of light!
http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
[ATTACH=CONFIG]479[/ATTACH]
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In the early 1900's, name foreigners came to america, and they had bad english skills, espeicaly with tense and past tense. So, one day, a german who just entered the country lost track of the time, as he needed to catch a train , so he asked a physicists "What is time". The physics replied "You will have to ask a philosopher that question, I'm only a scientist".
Your mother is so fat, men are actually attrracted to her, according to General Relativity
Many people espouse the works of Renee DesCartes without reference to the pioneering works of the Dutch naturalist Evander DeHoorst. As such, they tend to put DesCartes before DeHoorst.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Einstein on Divorce: "All things are relative. All relatives are things. My relatives took all my things."
Two archaeologists are standing before a gigantic, fallen statue in the desert (See: "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley). One archaeologist says to the other "A great civilization must've made this." His colleague replies "But what brought them down?"
Suddenly, the statue comes to life, rises and replies "I got knocked over."
"Ah," responds the first scientist, "it only stands to reason."
As part of the standard curriculum in a pre-med college, the
students had to take a difficult class in physics. One day, the
professor was discussing a particularly complicated concept. Part
way through the class, a student rudely interrupted to ask, "Why do
we have to learn this stuff?"
"To save lives," the professor responded quickly and continued the
lecture.
A few minutes later, the same student spoke up again. "So how does
physics save lives?" he persisted.
"It usually keeps idiots like you out of medical school,"
replied the professor.
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Okay, here's my thoughts on physics C so far:
Although the tests are challenging, we are more than prepared for them, and maintaining the difficulty will make the AP test at the end of the year That much more accessible. I enjoy the fact that we expand in every direction the fundamentals we developed in physics B. In this way, the concepts are not too challenging , and the calculus application fits into past knowledge quite nicely. In fact, the calculus problems we are given are actually easier in comparison to the other conceptual questions, even if it's still early in the game and I'm sure it could get pretty rigorous. I like the independence we are given in the momentum unit, and I feel very productive and I feel good about the test coming up. I would like to do other units in this fashion, as long as we can prove the effectiveness through our test scores.
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Here are my top 5 tips to performing the best possible:
5) TARGET THE UNITS IN WHICH YOU PERFORMED POORLY ON TESTS. If you aced that rotational motion test or blew through the early dynamics tests, odds are you don't need to prioritize your study sessions around them. Focus on the tough stuff that you know you could use the extra points for. Getting those extra points that few students usually get will boost a 3 to a 4 and a 4 to a 5
4) DO EVERY PRACTICE QUESTION POSSIBLE. Each released AP exam is a gift from those old ladies that make these tests. Use them. Especially the free response, since it will help you develop the ability to work through the problems for maximum points
3) BRUSH UP WITH THE TEXTBOOK. After feeling pretty down about our first electricity test, i felt inclined to pick up my textbook. after blowing the dust off and shooing away the spiders, i opened the book and gained relevant information that genuinely helped me understand the concepts. Don't underestimate the power of the textbook!
2) EAT FOOD BEFORE ENTERING THE TEST ROOM. If for no other reason then avoiding the embarrassing, silence-piercing growl of your stomach, eating a great breakfast and bringing a snack to the test will make you prepared to focus on displaying your knowledge and not your appetite.
1) KEEP YOUR MIND OFF THE TEST BEFORE ENTERING IT. Sometimes, trying to slip in that last minute cram will only hurt your long term memory. Trust that all of your hard work will pay off with the grade you deserve!
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Guys, we have just finished the hardest classes in the school. I think I speak for all of us that senior year was quite stressful, but a great relief as well. We gained knowledge that far surpassed any other year. With Physics and Calculus placed 2nd and 3rd period conveniently, I think we all became morning people! To be honest, I never expected leaving to really effect me the way that it is currently. I am truly going to miss all of my high school friends. We have all toughed out our years, pushing ourselves to new limits, and helping each other along the way. With heavy hearts, we all must say goodbye and move on to our next years of school. We will spread out across the country to take our education beyond that of what we have seen thus far. I will miss my teachers as well, who have helped me reach my potential and helped me to my current grades. I feel ready for college now and whatever life pushes my way. I wish you all the best of luck in your future careers, and I hope we will be able to stay in touch, if we don't see each other in the newspapers making a difference to the world. So long nerds of 2013!!
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Hello, physics students! Lately I have taken an interest in quantum mechanics, in an attempt to improve my grade, but mostly because it is a truely stupefying. It still amazes me that briliant minds like Boltzman, Heisenberg, Euler, among countless others could possibly explain entities that they could "easily" touch but never physically see. Today, I want to give a brief background on the foundation of Quantum Physics: The uncertainty principle. It is this equation that gave Werner Heisenberg credit as the "father of Quantum Mechanics." This equation asserts that there is a fundamental limit to the precision of any measurements taken.
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This assertion is only effective when relating specific pairs, such as momentum and position, energy and time. The concept of this equation is commonly confused with the observer effect, the theory that literally, "a watched pot never boils." The uncertainty principle has been proven to be inherent in all wave-like systems, and the application of it is imperative in superconducting and quantum optics.
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Friction is a pain in the butt when we look at kinematics problems. It is the main non-conservative force, meaning that it changes the total energy in the system. When fining net force or total energy, friction is always a tricky negative sitting in the dark to take points away from innocent physics students. The statement "if friction is negligible" yields an instantaneous sigh of relief, since our job just became that much easier. So why should the universe have friction at all? Well, with no friction, there is no fundamental way, other than air resistance, to reduce a net force. Every object would continually accelerate until it collides with another entity. So unless we all want to accelerate and bump into people forever, friction should probably stay for a while. It would be a pretty nice way to speed date, however.
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As simple as this equation seems, it is a staple in mechanics. It has many different applications. These uses vary from setting up equations to find tensions to simply finding the net force of an object in motion. It is 0 when an object is in constant velocity or when the system is in static equilibrium. Then, when we convert the quantities into rotational motion, and we get net Torque = I(alpha). For an equation that seems very simple and easy to apply, there exist tricky problems that require us to be very careful with our directions of motion. However, with as much practice with them as we've done, they are easy points for our class!
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3)MOMENTS OF INERTIA. These simple equations are a pain in the butt and stop you short of a point or two on a question if you don't know them.
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2)DERIVATIVE RELATIONSHIPS. Enough said. These relationships come in handy on all graphing questions and can pick up points on the questions that are specific to derivatives.
a = dv/dt
v=dx/dt
I = integra(mr^2)
and so on...
1)KINEMATICS EQUATIONS. They are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Those who know when to appropriately use any and all of these equations have control over a good portion of the test.
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1. Keep up with the blog posts!!! DO NOT PROCRASTINATE LIKE I DID, IT IS NOT VERY FUN TO DO. The blog posts are not a large amount of work, and they are a massive grade booster for the class.
2. Read the Textbook!!! The few times I took a look at Tipler, I gained valuable, relevant information on the current topic in class. It is by far the most useful tool Mr. Fullerton will give you when you miss a day. When I was out sick for 3 days, the textbook taught me the entirety of Gauss's law, which would have tanked me if I didnt understand it. I wish I had taken more advantage.
3. If you need help or don't like your grade, talk to Mr. Fullerton!!! He is a very understanding teacher who will go out of his way to make his students happy. You don't have to worry about grades in the class, because if you give your best effort, do you blog posts, and keep up with the lectures, Mr. Fullerton will go out of his way to make sure that you tough out the class and get a grade that you will be proud of.
Hope this helps, class of 2014!!
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Hello world! It is a pleasure to make your aquaintence. I have taken a liking to physics since I took AP physics B. Assuming that we are all nerds, I would guess that this statement would be common (we're all making a blog post on a physics site, arent we?) I am strong in logical reasoning and arithmetic, and would like to improve my test-taking skills throughout the course.
I am taking AP-C to further my experience in the field to prepare for college and future work. I can't wait to use calculus to make physics simpler.
I am excited for the interesting labs and projects such as the catapult and bottle rocket (We need to defend our title). I don't feel any specific anxiety for the class other then a little worry about grades.
EDIT: Had to add a little information and now it finally posts to the blog!
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This summer, I worked under the tutelage of Wade Bittle and Dr Steven Craxton at the university of Rochester. I worked on a project called Dewpoint calculation using flow transducers. The preliminary time at the internship was spent gaining a basic knowledge of integration, and learning about the omega lasers functions and work schedule. Although we never got to see a shot (a single blast would vaporize our corneas) we had a good understanding of the process going on. When fusion occurs, there is still leftover deuterium(a hydrogen isotope) My project took this deuterium and combined it with oxygen in order to reduce the radioactive emission on the town of Brighton. Also, with the code I wrote, we can take in data of the condensate flowing into it, analyze the contents of it, and calculate the mass of the condensate removed in kilograms. Since the container is limited in capacity, this code allows the LLE to figure out when it is time to use the next molecular sieve.
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When I was in the 8th grade, I always dreamt of taking physics in high school. Unfortunately, my motives at the time were somewhat naive; I used to think that a physics background would allow me to never miss-throw a baseball again. With a handy protractor, I believed that I could throw a baseball any distance I desired with little effort as long as I threw it at the perfect angle. Physics has since crushed this dream: the ball will only have a finite amount of time in the air, based on the component of initial velocity in the y direction. I guess I'm just going to have to do more pushups...
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As I am driving my car "55" miles per hour on the highway, I throw a baseball "55" miles per hour in the opposite direction. Amazingly, the creepy man standing on the side of the highway watched the ball fall straight down. Since the velocities are equal and mass doesn't change, there is no net momentum, and therefore no net force in the x direction so the ball will only be affected by gravity acting straight down. Likewise, if I threw the ball 45 mph, the creepy guy would actually see it traveling 10 mph in the same direction of the car. Physics has it's truly stupefying moments
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I have a phun physics problem for you guys to try out!
A 5 kilogram ball is being lifted up. It's potential energy is increasing at a rate of 3.5 Joules per second. What is it's velocity at t = 15 seconds?
(HINT: You might find implicit differentiation helpful... Sorry non-BC kids)
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In Washington DC, there is a building with very interesting sound diffraction patterns and design. Sound travels in waves in straight lines until they reflect , get absorbed by, or refract off of a medium. This room was designed with bipartisanism in mind. The desks were set up so that sound would interfere with itself so that opposite members of congress could not hear what they were saying. However, the architect overlooked basic resonance, since the arches were placed just right so that members, if they were by chance friends, could hold a rather quiet but covert conversation. If only we had this capability during tests!
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There are two categories of snowboarding: Freestyle and Freeride.
I fit more into the freestyle category, but i wasn't always. Two years ago, i started snowboarding recreationally. Seeing all of the kids doing impressive tricks on their boards, I wanted to try my hand at the sport. However, I found rotation to be very difficult for me, and i could see why: with my big feet, I could only rent a large board. In any case, angular momentum is conserved, but with a really large moment of inertia due to both the heavy weight and length of the board, my angular velocity suffered. this year, i am using a board that is 10 centimeters (a very large difference) shorter and half the weight. The reduction of the moment of inertia means that I can spin much faster now, and even show off a little bit! Thank you, conservation of angular momentum!
For added fun, here is Torstein Horgmo, who uses a board almost 10 centimeters shorter than mine! He spins quite fast!
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The other form of snowboarding is called Freeride. It focuses on going fast and carving your own trails out of a mountain. Although I upgraded my board to increase my rotational velocity, I sacrificed my ability to carve at speed. The edges of a snowboard are metal, and allow the snowboarder to apply a resistive force using their legs and friction to slow down their body. In this case, a longer snowboard would provide for a more stable ride because the force is applied over a larger area. This reduces the pressure on both the boarder and the ground. The increased friction with longer boards also makes ice easier to handle.
This video features David Powell, who broke the snowboarding speed record with 202 km/h !
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Super Mario Bros defies many different forms of physics. Assuming his round belly carries some weight, I would be nice to give him a weight around 200 pounds. Since he can jump over 5 times his body weight, his legs would need to lift at least a tonne to come close to the approximate strength to perform such a feat. In addition, kicking the koopa shells would create an equal and opposite force back onto his feet. He would not be that agile if he were wearing steel-toed boots, so it should hurt a regular human. Then again, can you imagine how boring that would be?
Thanks to the beauty of the internet, here is a small physics lecture from mario himself!
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/248844
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Wow has this semester flown by! We breezed through the mechanics course, almost with time to spare, it seems! I believe we have a powerful class of students who like to compete for grades, and in the process push themselves and others around them. As I expected in the beginning, I love the independent units and actually found success on the tests that we took following them. I loved the refresher courses on Mechanics as well as the new material that we have learned more toward the second half. To be honest, I am worried about this midterm, primarily on the free response because it seems like that is still a very challenging section for me. However, I believe that I have adequately prepared myself for this test, and I am ready for what it has in store for me.
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It has come to my memory that equation dumps are a staple to our physics careers. So, as taken from an old sheet from last year, I figured I might as well start memorizing early! The better recall now the better recall later! (Please excuse the really poor table making)
[TABLE="width: 749, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="width: 748"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 226"]
[/TD]
[TD="width: 290"]x = x 0 + v 0 t + 1/2at2[/TD]
[TD="width: 185"]Vƒ = Vo + at[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]f max = μ Ν[/TD]
[TD]μk < μs alway[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Fc = mac = mv2 /r[/TD]
[TD]ac= v2 /r[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]I = F Δt = ΔM[/TD]
[TD]M = mv[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]W = F d cosθ[/TD]
[TD]P = ΔW/Δt[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]ET = Ek + Ep[/TD]
[TD]E = mc2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]F = -kx[/TD]
[TD]W = kx2 /2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]A v = const.[/TD]
[TD]ρAv = const.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]I = Q/t[/TD]
[TD]R = ρl/A[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Req = R1 + R2 . . .[/TD]
[TD]1/ Req = 1/ R1 +1/ R2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]dB = 10 log 10 (I/I0 )[/TD]
[TD]beats = Δ f[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Σi = 0 at a junction[/TD]
[TD]ΣΔV = 0 in a loop[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Q = mc Δ T (MCAT !)[/TD]
[TD]Q = mL[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]L1 = F1× r1 (CCW + ve)[/TD]
[TD]L2 = F2 × r2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]ΣFx = 0 and ΣFy = 0[/TD]
[TD]ΣL = 0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]( sin θ1 )/(sin θ2 ) = v1 /v2 = n2 /n1 = λ1 /λ2[/TD]
[TD]n = c/v[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE="width: 748"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 227"]F = ma[/TD]
[TD="width: 290"]F = qE[/TD]
[TD="width: 193"]Similar Form[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]F = KG ( m1 m2 / r2 )[/TD]
[TD]F = k ( q1 q2 / r2 )[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]V = IR[/TD]
[TD]P = IV[/TD]
[TD]Paired Use[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]vav = Δ d / Δ t[/TD]
[TD]aav = Δ v / Δ t[/TD]
[TD](avg vel, acc)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]v = λ f[/TD]
[TD]E = hf[/TD]
[TD](f = 1/T)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ek = 1/2 mv2[/TD]
[TD]Ep = mgh[/TD]
[TD](kin, pot E)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Ρ = F/A[/TD]
[TD]Δ Ρ = ρgΔh[/TD]
[TD](pressure Ρ)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SG = ρ substance / ρ water[/TD]
[TD]ρ = 1 g/cm3 = 103 kg/m3[/TD]
[TD](Spec Grav)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ρ = mass / volume[/TD]
[TD]Fb = Vρg = mg[/TD]
[TD](buoyant F)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Irms = Imax / √2[/TD]
[TD]Vrms = Vmax / √2[/TD]
[TD]Root Mean Sq[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1/ i + 1/ o = 1/ f = 2/r = Power[/TD]
[TD]M = magnification = - i/o[/TD]
[TD]Optics[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
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The other day, my dad and I were moving a couch for my uncle. For arbitration, let's say the couch weighs 100 N. Because my dad stands 6 cm (.06 m) inches taller than me, it can be assumed that the couch will be offset as well. If the couch is about 4 meters, the angle is about arcsin(.06/4) = .015 degrees from the normal or 89.985 degrees from the x axis. Therefore, if each us lifted an equal amount, we would lift the couch with 50 N each. However, we would be generating a torque equal to the F*distance to center of mass*sin(theta) = (50 N)(2 m)(sin89.985)= 99.9999966 N*m. Although this is just a slight difference due to such a small difference in angle, but it still demonstrates the fact that torque only acknowledges the vertical component, known as a cross product.
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I know all of us have a habit of just getting by in physics, especially on Wednesdays I mean, I'm not going to lie and say I dedicate the full time during these independent units, and sometimes it is honestly difficult to grasp the concept using strictly the materials given. One website that Mr. Fullerton gave us towards the beginning of the year that really helps me get quick and concise information. HyperPhysics allows you to search for specific topic and gives you the facts and diagrams you need without extra wording. It is really helpful, especially while in a jam.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html
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With all of the renowned technological advances made within the last few decades, many people have sought to create a jet pack for commercialized use. However, although prototypes have been seen, it has been met with relative failure. This is due to the materials required to reduce the weight. Gravity creates an acceleration downward, while the thrust of the jet pack would attempt to create a net force upwards large enough to counteract this force. Unfortunatley, the heavy mass of the person prevents the equivalent thrust to be achieved with materials inexpensive enough to mass produce them. Its too bad too; I always wanted to see a real-life Turbo Man.
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I remember the first time we saw the integral was in physics C. It was extremely intimidating because we struggled to make sense of the differential equations, let alone evaluating the integral itself. The very first problem we got, we were spoon-fed the fact that the integral of (du/u) was equal to ln(u)+C, and that made absolutely no sense to me. Now, into the third quarter and after attending the calculus school of hard knocks both 2nd and 3rd period every day, i think its is safe to say that questions that require differentiation and integration are among the easiest and sought after questions. We chomp at the bit when they ask us to differentiate velocity as a function and get acceleration because we are strong at evaluating them now! Props to our teachers and everyone's rigorous efforts to get this new addition to our math vocabulary down!
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