The Race Part II

Alright, last week I wrote about a car race at my cousins house on Christmas and all that. Well, there were 8 competitiors and, with my supperior physics knowledge I got second place. The race was on a wheelchair ramp, and the first part was a race down and we had to knock down pins. The next one was a race up, but the car motors were really weak, so almost nobody could fight the force of gravity and accelerate up the ramp. So what most people did was back their car up and get a head start, so that the momentum would carry them as far up the ramp as possible. Momentum also played a role in knocking down the pins, with some ellastic collisions...yeah, remmeber those? What else...my cousins live in Waipahu, and some people were setting off those bigass firworks, the ones that go boom. That is like the sound wave travelling through the air, and it is so loud it feels like it knocks you over, thats because the waves make like fluctuations in the air, so it can startle someone. My mom didn't like those fireworks. Steelers GO(ing to the playoffs?)!

A Physical Christmas

Well, for every year on Christmas Day, me and my family go to my cousins' house for a party, and the past three years there was this competition they held. They would give all the people that came their presents about two weeks before, and it is this sort of kit that we have to build a car out of, and perform all these challenges. Like who has the fastest, strongest, can make a jump, knock down some things, etc. It's all in good fun, but it can get pretty INTENSE. I was planning out my car, and I know that it has everything to do with physics. I have to pick wether to put treads or rubber on the tires, which will effect the friction and traction. How heavy to make it, because that aso affects the speed and friction and momentum to make jumps and knock down things. Also how the engine transfers its energy to the wheels, because there are different configurations, some of which provide more power for going up slopes and plowing through obstacles. Since my uncle is an engineer, and my cousin is studying mechanical engineering at the University of Las Vegas, I need to use my physics knowledge to win this competition and bring home the gold. Listening to the Steelers right now...Go Steelers!

Here are some pics of my BEAST.

Flip-flip-flipadelphia

If you've ever owned a tv before, chances are you came across the channel FX. On that channel, there is a show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which I consider to be one of the top 5 funniest shows on tv. It is also one of the top 5 educational shows in terms of physics. That's right, I said it. In the season finale, you can watch a bunch here, they do this drinking game where they flip the cup, in an event called Flipadelphia. Anyways, it has a pretty catchy chant. But flipping the cup takes a lot of physics, as one of the characters find out. Hitting the cup from the bottom, the cup flips into the air, and lands opposite side down. We've already learned about kinematics and projectile motion, and this has to do with that, but it also has to do with air resistance and torque. The torque is what causes the cup to flip in midair, since you push the edge of the cup, which sends it into rotation. It then takes a projectile motion while rotating. Plus the cup is empty and plastic, so it catches a lot of air inside it. If all goes well the cup will flip. Yeah, who knew a drinking game could have so much physics? I would say "Go Steelers" at this point, but obviously it isn't working...

Sound Waves and Oscillation

This sunday the Iolani Bands 2, 3, and 4 have their Christmas concert where they play all their christmas songs. The only reason i thought to write about this was because Doc said that we're going to bring in instruments later to analzye sound waves or something. We haven't really gotten into it, but I remember enough from past classes to know about frequency. Like how tubas have lower notes than flutes because the soundwaves have longer preiods and smaller amplitudes. And usually, when I think about soundwaves, i think of that graph that looks like a bunch of waves, but in reality the sound waves go out of an instrument in like a circle, because sound waves are like ripples in a pool, they travel all around. So today, when you go to the concert, I'll be there too, you can hear all the different sound waves from all the different instruments, and also from the crowd going wild. YAHH!!! GO STEELERS! (fu.tracy)

Those things on the wall absorb the sound waves.

Be there...

Under Pressure

Happy Thanksgiving. Anyways, the only thing I do on Thanksgiving is play video games, eat, and watch some football. The last of the three NFL games on Thanksgiving was the Broncos vs the Giatns in Denver, the mile high city. Being in that altitude makes some players have those oxygen masks since the air is so thin since their altitude is higher. That also has some stuff to do with atmospheric pressure. Everything in the Earth's atmosphere is under atmospheric pressure, but depending upon where a person is located, the pressure varies. Even though most people think air is nothing, air has mass, which is why atmospheric pressure occurs since all the air is pushing down on you. So most people can't even notice it, but when they change altitude, sometimes their ears pop, which is because of the varying pressure outside and inside their body. That can be why ears pop, headaches occur, sinus pressure happens, and most of all atmospheric pressure, all because of air.

Going back in Physics

Well, this chapter we were talking about planetary gravitation and all that stuff, and I was all like "how am I supposed to write a blog about that?" So I'm not going to write a blog about that, I'm going to write about torque again. And the subject is Figure skating, since I was watching football, and accidentally went up a channel to figure skating. And as I watched it, the dude did one of those things where they curl up and spins super fast. And then to slow down, he put his arms and leg out and slow his spinning. Torque is how it works. If he were to spin with a large radius , he would go slower since the force would be the same, but the torque would be greater. If he compacts his body, the radius gets smaller, and the torque gets smaller, so he is able to spin faster. Exactly why, I'm not sure, but it has something to do with center of mass and gravity...Which reminds me, I have to do my problem set. (I'm not going to say it this time, Tracy).

"Triple salchow BEE-YOTCH"

Torque Dummies

As we started learning about torque in rotation and such with equlibrium and what not, I had a hard time thinking up stuff to talk about in this blog. After watching the Steelers lose today (total bs), I thought of football practice this week. Many teams have those football dummies all lined up on a sled, which they practice blocking. The thing about the blocking dummy is that it is all about torque.

See, if the lineman push the sled on one side, the sled will rotate since the torque makes it go one way. If the players all lineup on each dummy and push with equal force, the sled will not rotate and will just move forward. The reason is because of all the forces acting on the sled cancel out, since they are oposite of the center of rotation, so the sled has no net torque. Also, if a player pushes the middle dummy, there will be no rotation, since the radius from the center of rotation will be zero, so there won't be any torque. If, of course, the center of rotation is in the middle of the sled. So if the player lines up on the outermost dummy and pushes, the radius will be greater and there will be rotation. Of course, football sleds are only for practice, since in the game the opposing line won't have a center of rotation or be dummies. Hopefully the Steelers practice hard the rest of the season...Go Steelers!

rotating radi

Well, last week I talked about some examples of centripetal force. This week I got some more, but they show some stuff that has to do with radi. The first was that rotating plate in the microwave, since I made popcorn today (Doc's favorite food?). If I put the popcorn in the middle of the plate, it doesn't move that much. But if I put it on the edge, it spins 'round and 'round. Another thing like that is the "lazy susan" in my house, which is like a circular, rotating, cuboard. If I put something in the middle of the susan, I'll always have to reach into the middle to grab it, as opposed to putting it on the outside and rotating it in front of me. What does this have to do with Physics? Good question, and the answer is everything. But I was just thinking aobut how the radi affects everything in rotational motion. If the radi is huge, compared to small, the item will have to move much faster to make the same angular displacement. This alos reminds me of my second physics post about marching in the parade. The week before the parade we marched outside and practiced going around turns. The thing was that if we wanted to keep a straight line, the people on the outside had to quicken step, and the people inside had to slow down. It's all about the radi to the center of rotation. Go Steelers! Also, that picture of the lazy susan needs to be rotated...it's sideways

Examples of Centrifugal force

Last Friday, Doc told our class to look for examples of centrifugal force, so I did that. I just walked around my house and took pictures of stuff I thought displayed centrifugal force. Lets see.. Got a drying machine, since it spins around. A fan, since that also spins around. A toilet paper roll (it spins around too). My spinning chair, a planetary mobile, and one of those spinning ball thingys...just look at the pictures. Anyways, Doc also said to look for the inward force in such cases. It is hard for me to see these things. In the dryer, the inward force is the walls? The fan has the individual blades connected to the rotating center. I could go on and on, but the point is that all these things have some sort of inward force. Even if I still don't know what it is...go steelers!

Collisions and cats

Well, yesterday my mother and I went to the humane society to look for my lost cat. She was gone since last thursday. We didn't find her, so i guess she's gone. bummer. but anyways, as we drove to the humane society, there was a guy right outside the place who was riding a moped and got hit by a HECO car. His moped was all smashed up, like the back and seat were all crumpled. I'm not sure what happened during the collision, but I'm guessing the car and moped were both moving, and the car having the larger mass, exterted more energy on the moped. That is why the guy flew to the ground and his moped was all crushed. Transfer of energy.

My cat also made we think about how cats land from high heights. On impact they bend their legs, so that the time of contact is more and force on their legs is less. That is why even if the impulse is high, cats can jump from a great height and not break their legs. PHSYICS!!!! go steelers!

pictured is my cat

and some examples of a collision

Digital Short: On the Ground

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

best post ever?

The video is in the post after this, but read this first...

Alright, I know I talked about football last week, but I got to say that this week was much better. I had a run! yay me! Unfotunately, my mass and velocity were too small, so my collision with the defender ending up in my momentum being redirected back.

Okay, on to the real part of my blog. The awesomest example of physics I've seen in the past month was in this video from Saturday Night Live. Basically this dude is throwing things on the ground, and smashing them. When the object gets thrown on the ground, the conservation of energy means that all the peices of the smashed object and the energy lost to the collision and flying peices remains constant. The same holds true for momnetum, but since the ground doesn't move, the peices just fly back with the same momentum. Lots of physics happens in throwing stuff on the ground. Also, this video hasa some language, but nothing you wouldn't here in Doc's class. Go steelers!

oh, and you can't trust the system.

Physics and Football

Alright, first thing, I only speak the truth on this blog. I ain't going to sugarcoat anything, or lie about anything. That being said, the Iolani Raiders lost to Saint Louis this Friday. It was not enjoyable, but football is where a ton of physics goes down. There is projectile motion in throwing of the football, kicking, punting, and even the throwing of penalty flags (Which Saint Louis had a lot of). There is also a lot of force and accleration in football, especially when hitting. Not to mention inertia. The linemen have to stop huge blizters from getting to the QB and the recievers have to accelerate faster than their defenders to get down feild. Since we were playing at the stadium, that reminded me of that lab we did about work and that guysgetting to his top-level seats. After that game on Friday, I'm really looking to this long three-day weekend to not do work...just kidding, I need to catch up on my homeworks. (go Steelers!) Here is some FB pics

Next week my post will be sick...

Table Tennis & Physics

This past Wednesday at lunch, the second annual Iolani Ping Pong tournament was going down at the upper gym. I was playing in it, but I lost in the second round to "The Rubasch." There were a lot of people there, and they all played differently, like some people held it Chinese style, some people put lots of spin on the ball, and whatever. You may find yourself asking "How does all this relate to Physics?" and "How the heck did you lose to the Rubasch?" Well, physics has everything to do with ping pong. It's all about force and angles. See, if you hit the ball with a low trajectory, then it will bounce off the table at a low angle, making it harder for the other guys to get good hits. If you hit it at too high of an angle, the ball will go straight up and the other guy can SLAM IT!!!! Force plays a big role too, you don't want to hit it too soft, or the ball won't make it over the net. Not to hard either, or else it won't even hit the table. I'm sure we will learn about objects bouncing and trajectory later in the year. Good thing, so next year I can use my immense knowledge of Physics to beat the Rubasch. RUBASCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Physics in Marching?

This weekend I had to march in the Aloha Week Parade. It wasn't too fun. First, I had to wake up at 5:00AM. That proves Newton's first law, an object at rest wants to remain at rest...but seriously. When we got to Ala Moana beach park we slowly made our way down the street. Our average velocity must have been close to 1 mph. That is when I found out my camera had no battery, so I'd have to draw my own pictures for this blog. Anyways, our parade route was about 2.5 miles, and plus the wait was about 3.3 miles. So if it took from 8:00-2:00, then the average velocity was 0.5 mph. Also, when I was marching, my feet got really hot, in part because of the friction made by my shoes. From Ala Moana to Kapiolani, the displacement is 2.75 miles, that has to do with physics, right? And since everyone seems to be doing it, and my camera was broken, I drew a pic in paint. check it. go Steelers!

Phirst Fysics Post

First impression of AP Physics: cruise. After the first week: I hate my life. But seriously, Physics is quite difficult for me, even though I find most of the material interesting. The hard thing about it is that we hardly go over any work in class, which leaves me clueless when I try to do homework or labs or whatever. I like the labs, but I can't wait for fun labs, if we have any...I'm anxious about pretty much everything. Whenever I get home and do Physics homework, and I don't get it I get angry. Like The Hulk kind angry, but good thing I have friends who can explain it. Maybe after football season i will have more time to commit to homework. My picture is one of my favorite pics. That expression is what I feel like, a deer in the headlights, scared, speechless... like"What's going on?"

Go Steelers!