Electromagnetic Rays on a Plane

I'm not sure if I need to write a blog for Spring Break, but just in case...

I'm going on a trip to the mainland, and have an expected 20 hours of air-time there and back. Flying is a real hassel, though, because now they prohibit all kinds of liquids, sharp objects, and certain use of electronics. Especially while preparing to land, people in the plane can't use things like cell phones, radios, wireless stuff, and whatever. Not only because they could go flying when you touch down, but also because their electromagnetic waves can muff up all the sensitive equiment the airplane uses to fly and communicate with ground control, or else your plane might land on top of another. We learned about the lectromagnetics spectrum, and the waves that make up AM and FM radio. Cell phones and other wireless devices also run on radio waves, and if they are on the wrong frequency, say the one the plane is on, their communications will get messed up...Unless of course your plane allows it because it's equipment is all good, which is what a lot of planes are like today. Just don't be the guy who causes the plane to crash just so you could check on your streak...

Blog is bigger than it appears

I have lots to do so I'll make this one quick. Mirrors on car, they say "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Ever wonder why? Well now we know, they are convex mirrors, on both sides of the car. So next time you see a big ass turck in your mirror, just remember that it's not as big as you think. What about the rearveiw mirror? Why odesn't that have a warning? Because it is a planar, flat mirror, so the image is virtual, but you have to think that it is behind you, because if you look at it and think the image is behind the mirror, you're about to get in a crash. Know what I mean? And plus, in parking garages, since we're on the subject of cars, have those convex mirrors so you can see around the corners, and that being said, they should have a warning :"Objects in mirror are farther than they appear." Gotta go do my 3-d project.

Remote Controls

Well, I was watch ing the basketball game yesterday, and then during halftime, those annoucer dudes asked how many sequels there was to "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" and to vote with my Oceanic Digital Remote Control. Well, I voted three and was correct (obviously). But that's not the point of this story...the point is remote controls. How do they work? Well, if you look at the front end there is like a little light bulb, but it never lights up. Thats because it is transmiting infared lights and signals to the receiver on my Oceanic Digital Cable Box, and infared is impossible for human to see because it is not at the right place on the electromagnetic spectrum. But just because we don't see doesn't mean we don't know about it, you know what I'm saying. We know infared lights travel like any other thing on the electromagnetic specturm, in rays and stuff, so they are also under the some of the reflective and refractive rules. Sometimes, when I point my remote at the blank wall behind me and press power, the TV magically turns on. Or when I point it at the white ceiling or at the white carpet, or at pretty much anything of any color at a length. The reason the TV turns on is because the infared beams bounce of the wall and floor and furniture, and are picked up by the reciever, and it changes the channel. The only time this doesn't work is if, like, my hand is covering the remote, or my dog is sitting right in front of the cable box, then the beams don't get from the transmitter to the reciever, and I'll be stuck wtaching the same channel until my dog moves...Look at these awesome diagrams I painted.

TSUNAMI!

There was a tsunami warning this weekend (even though there wasn't really any damage). During the scare, one of the news stations said that the boats in the harbor should sail out until after the tsunami passed. The reason being is that the wave wouldn't break out in the ocean, so the boats would only experience a water level rise, not a TIDAL WAVE!!! Remeber when we studied waves and oscillation? Well this is kind of like that, except it was only a couple big waves, but just imagine it like the rope we used...if you picked a point on the rope and put it in oscillation, that point would just move up and down. A breaking wave would be more like oscillating a whip, and since one side is unsecured, the point would be snapped back and forth. So I guess that physics saved the day for the boat-owners of Hawaii. Yay!

Wait, I remembered that since the tsunami is just a super huge wave, the through before the crest is the reason the water recceddes before the big wave comes. You know what I'm saying.

If this picture don't cut it, check out the advertiser or star bulletin.

Volleyball

You know what has a ton of physics involved? Volleyball. I'm just going to list all the ways volleyball has physics. First, the serve has a collision, and there are hundreds of collisions between ball a arm in volleyball, so whenever the ball is hit there is a collision. The ball also travels in projectile motion, especially on the serve and digs. When the setter sets the ball, it has to do with a collision, but I forget what the term was, but there is more time in contact so the ball floats right up to the hitter. The hitter applies a lot of force by smacking that ball, so it has great accleration. From there it either gets dug by some dude, and he can leave his arms still, so the collision is more like a reflection, and the ball will deflect with less than the initial speed. But if that dude swings his arms at the ball, they are both moving, and with the ball moving fast, after contact it will go shooting off. That's why volleyball players gotta keep their platforms straight. Just ask Alex. And blocking is just like digging except vertically at the net. Was that 150 words yet? jeez. Enjoy these pictures that totally explain it all.

No blog this week

I swear that doc said we don't need to write a blog this week because its a no homework weekend. So if I was going to write one it would be about volleyball, but I'm not going to, and if I was supposed to it's not my fault! It's Tracy's cuz he said so!

Vancouver 2010

Anybody ever watch "The Colbert Report"? Well I do. Anyways, the Winter Olympics started in Vancouver this week, and most of the competitions have something to do with snow or ice or something of that nature. Because of that, the friction on the surface of whatever the athletes are on is very low, so they have skis or boards to fly down the slopes, or skates in bobsledding or speedskating. Since they are low friction, it takes a lot of technique and work to get good at winter games. Anyways, back to Stephen Colbert. If you didn't know he sponsored the US speedskating team on his show, and highlighted some of the competitions,like skeleton racing. In his words "If you want to experience skeleton, lie on the sidewalk and crap your pants." It is like a cross between bobsleding and downhill luge. Anyways, from starting at the top of the track, and sliding down on the ice, they reach high speeds and gain a lot of momentum. With all those turns, they need to control the centrifugal force on the turns. I'm not sure how they slow down at the end, but they do. Enclosed is a picture of Stephen Colbert, you can check out more at http://www.colbertnation.com/