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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.
August 31, 2010
Category: current
I am still giving Fruity the credit for the answer "Ampere's Rule Apparatus", but clearly The Tome of Knowing says "Mounted Conductor (Ampere's Law Stand)". Basically, you run some current through this thing and you can place a magnetic compass at different locations to see the deflections.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 9:10 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 28, 2010
Category: attack
Oh crap. I have worked so hard to set up this containment system and now they are going to shut it off. This is going to suck, big. Oh, I know I took some short cuts and didn't follow all the rules. This system has problems, but it is the best we have.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 2:46 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 27, 2010
Category: education
So, what would happen if there were no grades? Here are some thoughts.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 9:37 AM • 29 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: what is it
Here is my plan. Post a "what is this" on every Friday until I run out of things. I will post the answer on Tuesday. Maybe we should start keeping points. You get more points for being the first one...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 8:10 AM • 17 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 26, 2010
Category: Analysis
Suppose everyone in the world got together and jumped. Would the Earth move? Yes. Would it be noticeable? Time for a calculation.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 3:48 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 25, 2010
Category: Analysis
I have no idea what this thing is, but it is clearly tall. How tall? Instead of searching online for info about this structure (that wouldn't be any fun), I figured I could do a quick analysis of the shadow.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 4:29 PM • 41 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: blogging
Now there is a new plan. The new plan is for me to instead go the ACTUAL Red Bull Stratos Jump. I know it is not Salzburg, but in my mind this is a huge upgrade
Posted by Rhett Allain at 10:12 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 24, 2010
Category: Analysis
But, the question is: how difficult are these shots? Are these one in a million? Are they easy? Are they essentially impossible? One way to answer this is to get some estimate of the variation in the angles and speed of a shot basketball. Oh yes, here comes the data.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 5:35 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: blogging
Perhaps you have had enough time to think about the first "What is this" demo item. Here is the item in question. It seems most of you were right on track with this one - probably because you can still...
Posted by Rhett Allain at 8:36 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
August 21, 2010
Category: blogging
So, here I will post an item. You post a comment regarding what you think it is and what it is used for. Some of these items I know the answer to, some I do not. Some of these pictures might just be part of a larger demo or it might be missing some pieces. Let me start with one that I think is rather simple.
Posted by Rhett Allain at 3:15 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Orac 02.14.2012
Tim Lambert 02.01.2012
Jason Rosenhouse 02.12.2012
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