Blog Profile / Dot Physics
| URL : | http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/dotphysics | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Academics / Physics | |
| Posts on Regator: | 304 | |
| Posts / Week: | 3.1 | |
| Archived Since: | July 11, 2011 | |
Blog Post Archive
Do Rubber Bands Act Like Springs?
I blame Destin and his interesting sling shot video. Watch it. In this video, he claims that rubber bands do not act like springs. By “acting like springs” of course he means Hooke’s law. This essentially says that the more you stretch a spring, the greater the force you need to pull it. In fact, [...]
Olympic Physics: Bob Beamon’s Crazy-Awesome Long Jump
Physicist Rhett Allain looks at a long jump so far beyond those that had come before that even now people debate the factors behind it.
Olympic Physics: Swimming, Power and Setting Records
It’s hard to be a champion, and harder still to set a record. Physicist Rhett Allain takes a look at the power behind the 50 meter freestyle.
A 64 inch Box Jump
How could I pass up a video analysis of this video? Here are some reasons to do it. An interesting event. I have never seen a guy jump like this before. Is he Spider-Man? Camera on a tripod. Video shot from a side view. Camera far enough away from the motion to avoid perspective problems. [...]
Mars Curiosity Rover Homework Assignment
Yes. Mars Science Laboratory will have its rover, Curiosity, landing on Mars (the planet, not the candy) on August 5 (10:31 PM PDT) 2012. What better way to celebrate this mission than with homework questions. Note: some of these are rather advanced level and may require looking up some information as well as perhaps some [...]
Fuel Economy vs. Mass
We pulled into the gas station next to a Ford Excursion. I made the off-hand comment that it wouldn’t be fun to fill that sucker up. “Why?” My daughter asked. “Bigger cars don’t get as good gas mileage” I replied. I should have known it wouldn’t stop there. She is my daughter after all. Of [...]
Are Teachers Lazy?
I really enjoyed this video submission to the MTT2K Prize. In the video (presented in the style of a Khan Academy history video), Gary Rubinstein makes several interesting points. The Flipped Class Begins With Gutenberg How could I miss this? Everyone knows that Khan didn’t really start the idea of the flipped classroom, right? What [...]
Is this Nike Platform Jump Real?
A very nice and inspiring commercial from Nike. However, a flag went off when I saw this. What about that kid jumping off the 10 meter platform at the end? Was that real? Did they really let that kid jump? I am sure the insurance company had a fit over this. Well, is it even [...]
Calibration Points in Tracker Video
A long time ago, I made a tutorial on using the calibration points in Tracker Video. Of course many of my older posts are either lost or no longer correct. So, here is my new tutorial on calibration points. What is a calibration point? First, think about a video. Or use this same one that [...]
Forces: Authority vs. Evidence
Think back to Aristotle. He had some ideas about force and motion. These ideas were based on deductive reasoning, and not evidence. For about 2,000 years, scholars referred to the authority of Aristotle when discussing forces. This authority-based approach in physics isn’t what we want students to learn. If the goal of education is to [...]
Can You Run Up a Wall?
The short answer is: Yes, sort of. The guy above takes three steps running up a wall. Of course, he couldn’t do this forever. So, how does this work? Friction Clearly, you need some friction to pull a stunt like a wall flip. In the simplest model for friction, the maximum magnitude of the frictional [...]
DIY Spectrometer
A spectrometer takes light from some source and splits it into its different wavelengths. The simplest way to do this is with some type of diffraction grating. Different wavelengths of light constructively interfere at different angles. The result is this rainbow effect you see with a prism. If you are in a physics lab, you [...]
Should You Go to a Theme Park or a State Park?
So there we were – in Orlando, Florida. Our family had arrived with one free day before our girls had to compete in a gymnastics meet. The question was: what to do? It’s Orlando so the first natural discussion was about which theme park to visit. The problem is that these parks aren’t exactly cheap, [...]
Breaking Bad Magnets: How Do They Work?
In the season premiere of Breaking Bad, Walter and Jessie attempt to erase evidence on a hard drive that is inside a police evidence room by parking a U-Haul truck containing a powerful electromagnet in it outside the building. Could this really work? Physicist Rhett Allain does the analysis.
Laptops in Lecture?
There is a nice post by Stephanie Chasteen over at The Active Class about students being distracted by laptops (and other technology) while in the classroom. Stehpanie suggests a solution of a social contract for the class. In this contract, the students can define appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. I think this post brings up some [...]
Veritasium Video Homework
Surely you know about Derek Muller’s (@veritasium) awesome science videos at Veritasium, right? Well, here is a quick homework assignment based on some of his videos. Why? It turns out that I was in need of somethings for my physical science class to do “online”. Why not have them watch a few of Derek’s videos [...]
Analysis of a Red Bull Stratos Practice Jump
I finally got my grubby little hands on some actual Red Bull Stratos data. This is data from an actual Felix Baumgartner with full suit on jump. It isn’t from 120,000 feet but rather from 71,000 feet. Here are the details of the practice jump (data courtesy of Brian Utley and the National Aeronautic Association). [...]
Could the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Fly?
This isn’t just from The Avengers movie, it is in the comics also. Here an image of the S.H.I.E.L.D.’s helicarrier. Could something like this really fly? Let me see if I can use my approximation from the human powered helicopter to estimate the amount of power needed to fly this thing. First, some assumptions. I [...]
Higgs For Mere Mortals
The science video community has been hard at work for you. You can’t just snap your fingers and create an awesome video. It takes time. But these creators stayed up late to provide the best explanation of the Higgs for you. Here are my favorites (in no particular order). Minute Physics Still waiting for parts [...]
How Do You Measure the Stratos Space Jump?
On March 15, 2012, Felix Baumgartner moved a little closer to record breaking jump. He left a ballon at an altitude of 90,000 feet. The goal is to get to the 120,000 ft altitude. He plans to break the following records: Highest exit altitude for a skydive. Greatest distance of free fall without a drogue [...]