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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.
March 30, 2010
Category: uncertainty
This isn't much - really it is part of another post I am working on. The point of this post is to calculate the density of this piece of wood. Really, there is a reason for this. I saw this...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 3:59 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 29, 2010
Category: acceleration
Why was apolo ohno's slime jump fake?
Posted by Rhett Allain at 10:57 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 26, 2010
Category: buoyancy
Basically, you put some floating object that has an air space in a closed bottle of water. When you squeeze it, the diver goes down.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 10:56 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: education
But here is what I am thinking. What is the purpose of this course? Why are students taking it? What do I want them to get out of it? Does it need to prepare them for any future courses? The answer to last question is "no".
Posted by Rhett Allain at 10:44 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: calculation
Could all the cars in the USA be used to change the rotation of the Earth?
Posted by Rhett Allain at 10:11 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 25, 2010
Category: education
In Shawn's latest post, he talks about grades. You know I like to talk about grades. Shawn puts teacher into two groups in regards to their ideas about grades:
Posted by Rhett Allain at 9:54 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 24, 2010
Category: buoyancy
How does a suction cup work? It is all about the atmosphere. Here is a demo. Take some type of "suction cup" device. In this case, I used a toy dart. Stick it to something smooth and lift it up. What lifts up the metal block? The atmosphere.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 12:13 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 23, 2010
Category: acceleration
Yes, that is way too high. However, what would happen if some was actually that powerful? What could that person do? How fast could they run 100 meters? That is what I am going to calculate.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 11:43 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: acceleration
I happened to catch two parts of two different episodes of Meteorite Men - a show about two guys that look for meteorites. In both of the snippets I saw, they were talking about a debris field for a meteor that breaks up. In these fields, the larger chunks of the meteorite are further down in the field. Why is this?
Posted by Rhett Allain at 6:42 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
March 22, 2010
Category: pressure
What matters is that your ears are killing you. Boy, that hurts. Why do your ears hurt and what can you do about it?
Posted by Rhett Allain at 9:40 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
