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lshads

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  1. lshads
    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
  2. lshads

    net F = MA

    By lshads,

    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!
  3. lshads
    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.
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]584[/ATTACH]
    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.
  4. lshads
    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 !


  5. lshads
    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!



  6. lshads

    Quarter 1: A Recap

    By lshads,

    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.
  7. lshads

    Friction

    By lshads,

    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.
  8. lshads

    Sound

    By lshads,

    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!
  9. lshads

    Physics Problem

    By lshads,

    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)
  10. lshads

    Physics and Speeding

    By lshads,

    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
  11. lshads
    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...
  12. lshads
    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.
  13. lshads
    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.
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]512[/ATTACH]
    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.
  14. lshads

    My First Blog

    By lshads,

    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!
  15. lshads
    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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