kinematics
Dot Physics
Category archives for kinematics
Preemptive MythBusters: Giant Water Slide Jump
Posted by Rhett Allain on May 16, 2010 I am excited. This Wednesday, the MythBusters are doing the giant water slide jump. Maybe you are new to the internet and you haven’t seen this video. Here it is: And since it is as old as the hills, of course I have already analyzed it – actually twice. First, the video is fake –…
Another example of a dangerous jump
Posted by Rhett Allain on April 24, 2010 Check this out. So, the guy jumps from 150 feet into some cardboard boxes. Why are the boxes important? You want something that can stop you in the largest distance to make your acceleration the smallest. Here is my Dangerous Jumping Calculator. Basically, you put in how high you will jump from and how much…
Apolo Ohno’s Slime Jump
Posted by Rhett Allain on March 29, 2010 Here is a quick Apolo Ohno quiz. Which one of these pictures is fake? If you picked picture B – you are probably correct. That is a picture of “Apolo” being catapulted into a pool of slime at the Nickelodeon awards show (click on the link to see the video – I don’t think I…
Motion of a Dart in Bloons
Posted by Rhett Allain on January 20, 2010 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 out the free and awesome Tracker Video Analysis. I threw a few shots and captured…
Average Speed Argument
Posted by Rhett Allain on January 19, 2010 My dad and I had a disagreement. We were driving back from a trip and he let me take over the wheel for a while. His complaint was that I was driving too slow and it was driving him crazy. For me, I thought I was driving fast. My typical behavior is to drive 3…
AutoTracker and a landing plane
Posted by Rhett Allain on January 14, 2010 If you know me, you know I love Tracker Video Analysis. Basically, it is a free-java program that allows you to get position-time data of a moving object from a video. In Tracker version 3.10, there is now the autotracker feature. This will automagically mark the location of an object moving in a video. How…
Acceleration of Google’s Newton’s Apple
Posted by Rhett Allain on January 4, 2010 This is great. Many people have already reported google’s apple-dropping homepage in honor Newton’s birthday. In case it disappears, here is a screen shot. So, I got this awesome note from Dale Basler. He said that his class had analyzed this falling apple animation. What a very Dot Physics-y idea (check out his analysis). He…
RP 6: Throwing a fooball, Part II
Posted by Rhett Allain on December 27, 2009 In part I of this post, I talked about the basics of projectile motion with no air resistance. Also in that post, I showed that (without air resistance) the angle to throw a ball for maximum range is 45 degrees. When throwing a football, there is some air resistance this means that 45 degree is…
RP 2: The Physics of Fantastic Contraption
Posted by Rhett Allain on December 23, 2009 One of my students showed me this game, Fantastic Contraption. The basic idea is to use a couple of different “machine” parts to build something that will move an object into a target area. Not a bad game. But what do I do when I look at a game? I think – hey! I wonder…
More Punkin Chunkin Centrifugal Machine
Posted by Rhett Allain on November 27, 2009 This year’s episode of Punkin Chunkin is coming up (I think tomorrow). Discovery just showed a teaser commercial with the specifications for one team’s machine. If you are not familiar with Punkin Chunkin (World Championship Punkin Chunkin), the basic idea is to project some pumpkins. (note, if you waiting for the Discovery Channel show for…