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What happens when you take some basic, introductory physics and apply them to cool things you see? Dot Physics happens. This blog looks at movies, experiments, demos and other topics typically aimed at the introductory physics level.
Rhett Allain is an Associate Professor of Physics at Southeastern Louisiana University. He
enjoys teaching and talking about physics. Sometimes he takes things apart and can't
put them back together.
January 31, 2010
Category: Analysis
I know I am a loser. I initially thought: wow, that seemed pretty fast for that scale. I wonder if that exploding stuff was going faster than the speed of light.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 6:58 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 30, 2010
Category: Content
Maybe you really, really want to win this science fair. I applaud your effort. However, there is something you must know. Science fair judging can (but is not always) sometimes a little bit arbitrary. Sometimes a project gets a higher score than another one, just because. It is not personal, it is just arbitrary.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 6:53 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 27, 2010
Category: education
Here, I am referring to Dan Meyer's "Be Less Helpful" mantra. I like it, but maybe you aren't familiar with Dan. Here is his take on a high school physics problem. Or maybe you would like the video version: Be...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 7:44 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Analysis
This is actually been sitting around for a while waiting for me to post it. Here is another short Christmas-toy demo. I am going to pull this yo-yo at different angles and on two different surfaces. Check it out.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 4:20 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 26, 2010
Category: education
This is one of my favorite things to do in class. I don't do it too often, or it would lose its specialness. Probably the best time to do this is near the end of class. I pass out half-sheets...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 9:08 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 25, 2010
Category: education
There is a question that keeps coming up in discussions I have. "What should elementary students study in science?" Probably the best answer to this question is: something other than what they are doing now. What do I think students...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 7:19 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 22, 2010
Category: Analysis
Well, he obviously doesn't always have to fly at a constant speed. However, in the clip I was looking at there are two important things in the analysis. What angle is R2's thrusters at? Is R2 flying at a constant speed?
Posted by Rhett Allain at 8:43 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 21, 2010
Category: Analysis
You know I can't help but like Star Wars. Even with the new stuff, I watch it. Recently, I was watching the Clone Wars cartoon and noticed something odd about the way R2-D2 flies. I know what you are saying...."the odd thing is that he flies at all. Why didn't he fly in episodes 4-6?" Who knows.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 11:04 AM • 61 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
January 20, 2010
Category: Analysis
I stumbled on this flash game Bloons. The basic idea is that you (the monkey) throw these darts and try to pop some balloons. Well, what is the motion of these darts like? Is it constant acceleration? Time to pull...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 2:31 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: random
It is not exactly finished, but I have moved over all of my old posts from my previous site. If you want to browse, feel free to look at the archives. Some of those are not too interesting, so I...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 9:41 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Orac 02.14.2012
Tim Lambert 02.01.2012
Jason Rosenhouse 02.12.2012
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Steinn Sigurðsson 02.14.2012
