Physics, Algebra, Geometry, Calculus
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If you pull on a spring like a slinky it’s going to be pretty easy to stretch it, but if the spring is something more like that from a car’s suspension, it will be more difficult– the difficulty in …
Continue Reading about Springs – Kinetic Energy & Potential Energy →
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Somewhat similarly to friction, air resistance also acts as a retarding force. The real world is not the same as idealized beginning physics situations; for example, projectiles will not follow the …
Continue Reading about Air resistance and Levels of Detail in Physics →
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If there are 1000 parts for a space shuttle and each of them has a 99.9% chance of working, then the chances for no malfunction at all is only about 37%. By multiplying .999 by itself 1000 times …
Continue Reading about Rocket Explosions, Probability, and Compound Interest →
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There is something in physics that does not have a special name like a Newton or a Joule. It is momentum and can be expressed as mass multiplied by velocity (kg*m/s). Like energy and matter, …
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Earlier in the year we said that the work necessary for hiking up the slope of Rampina Mountain vs. climbing straight up the cliff route would be the same, independent of the path taken. This …
Continue Reading about Path Independence and Thermodyanamics →
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Heat naturally flows from warmer to cooler. Things tend towards equilibrium. Therefore heat vents are most efficiently placed on the floors of rooms so the heat might rise up throughout the …