Tuesday, October 29, 2013

How can we find out whether an egg is boiled or not, without breaking the shell?

    Newton's first law gives us the answer. The whole trick is that a boiled egg spins differently than a raw one. Take the egg, place it on a flat plate and twirl it. A cooked egg, especially a hard-boiled one, will revolve much faster and longer than a raw one; as a matter of fact, it is hard even to make the raw egg turn. A hard-boiled egg spins so ,quickly that it takes on the hazy form of a flat white ellipsoid. If flicked sharply enough, it may even rise up to stand on its narrow end.
     The explanation lies in the fact that while a hard-boiled egg revolves as one whole, a raw egg doesn't; the latter's liquid contents do not have the motion of rotation imparted at once and so act as a brake, retarding by force of inertia the spinning of the solid shell. Then boiled and raw eggs stop spinning differently. When you touch a twirling boiled egg with a finger, it stops at once. But a raw egg will resume spinning for a while after you take your finger away. Again the force of inertia is responsible. The liquid contents of the raw egg still continue moving after the solid shell is brought to a state of rest. Meanwhile the contents of the boiled egg stop spinning together with the outer shell.

Oleg Kobec
Nicole sangen
The one thing I realized is that physics in some movies are fake for example here are some star wars clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-NvFIK_beQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvnwLLXHabg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ_j3s5xj8I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4hb7NcrJzQ
In this case it impossible for an object to move with out touching the object and applying force.
Another movie that defies the laws of gravity  and force is the matrix. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLXaRtc1f4I

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Emil Lopez Physics

A video of my friends and i at the golfing range. The balls movement forms a parabola!
Emil Lopez

Emil Lopez Physics

The movement of a basketball when released for a jumpshot. Special thanks to my brother for participating and making the shot on one take. Lol.
Emil Lopez

Emil Lopez Physics

Basketball during free fall. Gravity at its finest. Emil Lopez

Bike Ride

Below is a map of my bike route a few weeks ago. I took a bike ride from Kingsbridge in the Bronx to Coney Island in Brooklyn. Although you can see almost my whole round trip. The red line shows the total displacement from my beginning point to my end point

Football In a Pool

As I was lifeguarding a pool I work in, a group of kids kept playing with a football. The way they through it made a perfect projectile motion in which we studied. One kid threw the football in the positive direction and the ball decreased in speed as it got higher until it reached its peak (pictured below) then as it made its descent the ball increased in speed as it got to the other boys hand. Acceleration stayed constant (-9.8m/s/s).

Train

Even before going to class it is easy to observe physics in daily life. Below is a picture of a train beginning to slow down as it is approaching the station. It is known that the train begins to pick up velocity until it reaches a constant velocity during the route, as it approaches the station, the train hits the breaks and begins to decrease until it reaches a full on stop. If a projectile motion where to be written, it would show first very small dots beginning to separate from each other, then being distant from each other at a pace, then once again coming close to each other. This would show the increase in speed, then the constant speed it held, then the decrease in speed as it came to a stop.
An object in motion will stay in motion until there is an additional
equal but opposite force acting on it. So a football thrown with an
initial velocity of 30m/s will maintain that velocity until it hit the
ground at which point the ground will push back on it causing it to
stop.
Sharda R.
The weight of an object is dependent on the mass of the object * the
acceleration. Acceleration is the force of gravity pulling down on it
so for earth it is 9.8. So wanna weigh less, just go on the moon.
Sharda R.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Blog Post #3

Earlier this week, Juan Uribe of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit the most important and monumental home-run in his career. In order to hit a home-run in Dodger Stadium he needed to hit the ball at-least 330 feet. The speed of the throw from the pitcher combined with the force from the swing of his bat actually projected the ball roughly 360 feet from home-plate, well over the left field wall. Uribe's go ahead home-run gave the Dodgers the lead late, and lead them to the NLCS.



-Matthew Zazzarino

Cliff diving





Always been a fan of cliff jumping/diving but never thought of it in terms of physics until now. I've realized that it is a perfect example of a free fall. When jumping from a cliff, person goes into free fall and gravity is the only force acting on his/her body besides air resistance. Gravity pulls you toward the water at a rate of 9.8 meters per second squared, meaning every second your speed (velocity) would increase by 9.8m/s going downwards. Therefore, the longer you fall, the faster you go. Higher cliffs don't accelerate the fall because acceleration is constant during the whole time, in this case acceleration is the gravity (-9.8m/s^2). But what cliff height does, it affects the speed with which the person hits the water. 


Evgenija 

Elevator

 
 

By Won Jae Song

i got off from 168 Street by taking A uptown train then i saw this subway elevator.  
i remember we did some problem about vertical one dimension motion questions on topic of freefall
glad this elevator wasnt a free fall ride but it works with pulley and pulley reminds me of physics!

Subway

 
 
Man was able to play his music player without holding anything in the subway.  
the train was moving and it was bit shaky but it was at constant speed.  
when the object is in constant velocity of a motion, people can act or move or walk just as they do in flat ground.  
the power of uniform frame of reference!

David Beckham's Incredible Kicking Accuracy

i was watching youtube video and saw David Beckham kicking 3 soccer ball to hit trash cans.
once he kicks the ball, the ball makes upside down parabola which we learned in class, two dimension motions. 
Now i see that once David kicks the ball, i was able to analyze motion of the soccer ball.  
Projectile motion of the ball just reminded me of what we did in class!
here is the link! have fun guys!

By Katherine Gallego
There's a reason to why we are able to reach high speeds as we go down a hill. This weekend, I rode my bike and I was over joyed every time I encountered a steep hill. As I went down the hill, I noticed my body shift into a forward position but didn't understand why I did so. I later figured out, the position of me leaning forward slowed down my center of gravity which provided more stability in equilibrium. Also, when leaning forward there was less air resistance and less surface area of my body leaning down hilled. Good to keep in mine next time you guys decide to go biking!
 

Blog

Sports Science

The link below me shows the amazing speed and acceleration of
a football player called Ndamukong Suh who weighs 307 pounds. 
Amazingly for a man of his stature he could run at 13.5 mph in 
only 1.3seconds. The amount of force that could come from a hit
from him is definitely enough to leave a person unconscious. 

-Daniel Cabezas

Blog

Sports Science

The link below me shows the amazing speed and acceleration of
a football player called Ndamukong Suh who weighs 307 pounds. 
Amazingly for a man of his stature he could run at 13.5 mph in 
only 1.3seconds. The amount of force that could come from a hit
from him is definitely enough to leave a person unconscious. 
By Katherine Gallego
Ever wonder how soccer players are able to perform tricks with the balls?
When the soccer player angles his leg by the ball, the energy in the player's foot is transferred into the ball. Energy can never be destroyed. So therefore, it will always be conserved by transferring into other objects.  When juggling, the player kicks the ball towards but gravity will always bring t down. The explanation towards that is because gravity attracts all objects towards each other, gravitational pull is stronger. As a soccer player makes his way down the field, the opponents will try to stop them. A way to stopping the is by tackling/sliding under the  lower body of a person with the ball to stop the movement of the ball. When an object isn't moving it won't move until another force makes it move. When an object is moving it, it won't stop until another force makes it stop.

Blog

First Football Game

Went to the jets game this past sunday, this is in relation to physics because the motion of the football 
that is being thrown is very different when there physically 
and when watching it on tv. Physically being there, once the ball 
is released from the quarterbacks hand your view allows you to make a strong
prediction to where the ball will go and whether it will hit the receivers are not.
Unlike watching it in tv where the motion is 2D and you just
have to assume that it will reach the player who they are throwing to. Unfortunately
the jets stink but had a great time anyway.

-Daniel Cabezas
Nicole sangen
I thought everyone might like to see this something funny if anyone ever watched big bang theory everyone knows Sheldon. This clip is a funny physics lesson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEIn3T6nDAo
http://m.techradar.com/news/software/applications/the-physics-of-angry-birds-how-it-works-1067809

This article talks about Angry Birds the game. I've played this game myself and actually passed all the levels. Now that I look back at it, physics was involved. As you read the article you will understand more. In order to hit your attended target, you have to measure the distance and take into account the velocity of the bird. Download the game and check it out if you haven't.

Agnes Ortiz

(No subject)

23. Two bullets are fired horizontally at the same time. The bullets
have different masses and different initial velocities. Which one will
hit the ground first? Ignore air resistance.
a. They hit the ground at the same time
b. The fastest one
c. The lightest one
d. The heaviest one
e. The slowest one
The bullets will hit the ground the same time because the force pulling
down on them is the same (9.8). The initial velocity affects the
distance of the bullet in the x direction (the ground) but have no
affect on the y direction (perpendicular to the ground) . Mass had no
affect in either direction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVtUZG_pcmA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I found this video on youtube helpful to study 2D motion for the midterm. Check it out.


Agnes Ortiz

Fwd:

By Katherine Gallego
There's a reason behind why these baseball players are able to tag out a player at such a quick time! Running while throwing a ball increases the distance of the throw because it increases the horizontal component of the ball's velocity without changing the time of flight. The ball's horizontal velocity component is increased by an amount equal to the speed of the runner. Since the velocity of the runner is horizontal, the vertical velocity component is unchanged therefore the time of flight of the ball is unchanged.
 

There's a reason behind why these baseball players are able to tag out a player at such a quick time! Running while throwing a ball increases the distance of the throw because it increases the horizontal component of the ball's velocity without changing the time of flight. The ball's horizontal velocity component is increased by an amount equal to the speed of the runner. Since the velocity of the runner is horizontal, the vertical velocity component is unchanged therefore the time of flight of the ball is unchanged.
 
One of the most interesting thing in physics is the pendulum. When I
was younger I was so amazed at the movement of the ball that it would
keep me entertained for a while then I learned the physics behind it.
It turns out that energy is never destroyed so when one ball hits
another the energy travels through it until it reaches the end and it
then does the same in the opposite direction.
  
At least one time in our life, we all crumple a piece of paper into a paper ball to shoot it into the garbage bin.  What is the reason for shooting a paper ball instead of the sheet of paper itself.  The surface area of the paper ball is more compact than the sheet of paper. Therefore, there is less air resistance for the ball compared to the sheet of paper, which allows the paper ball to travel faster when we try to shoot it.  Here is a website that I found on the physics of a paper ball. 

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/crumpled-paper-physics/

It's amazing how we can use Physics on everything in our lives even if it's something simple like a paper ball. 

Preston Lee
Nicole sangen
I have always wondered  if physics was ever in entertaining movies. Looking back I almost forgot about the old movie called Ice princess. In this movie clip she talks about physics incorporated into ice skating. This movie is was entertaining and educational.   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUfRWl579rs

Blog Post #2

Whenever I'm feeling stressed or just need some fresh air at night I always go to the fountain. It's only about 30 feet from my front door and is always lit up with cool colors. I don't normally think about physics when I watch the fountain but the fountain has everything to do with physics. The water has an initial velocity, which slows down as it rises because of the constant downward pull of gravity of -9.8 m/s^2. The water stops momentarily at the top, then increases speed as it falls back down. If I were to draw a motion map for this experiment the arrows would be long at first, until the water slows to a stop at the top which means the arrows would become smaller in length. Then as the water fell, the arrows would become longer until the water hit the earth again. 




-Matthew Zazzarino

Midterm practice problem


When it comes to these type of problems that ask you to find something, first you would need to understand what they're asking you and what the problem would look like. You can draw a motion map if that would help you. I chose not to just because I understand from the start what it is asking.
Secondly, you would need to list what you know. Easily I just look at the units stated in the problem and evaluate it to its proper term such as for example: meters is position x or displacement x. Seconds is time
Finally, I just mathematically solve what I'm being told to by the problem to solve. Keep in mind, the equations you picked have to have what you're looking for and what you already know.
For this case I chose the V average equation because it's asking me how fast something should go. But before plugging in the numbers and such I converted the time from minutes to seconds.
V average= 2,500m/180s= 13.8m/s
Remember NO naked numbers as been told by Professor Crenshaw.
Sent from my iPhoneA practice review problem before the big day!

Finally I can differentiate the concept of velocity and acceleration

Ever since high school I used to always mix and never really comprehend what's the difference between acceleration and velocity? They both have to do with speed, right? Oh, well maybe that's why I always conjured the two together. After taking this class I was able to separate them. Velocity is the rate of displacement of an object(speed) and the acceleration is the change in velocity. Yeah it is true that a similar definition was provided for me in high school but after taking this exam I was able to understand even more why the two terms were given these respectable definitions.

Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone

Blog Post #1

Last season, the Baltimore Ravens did something remarkable. They won they're second Superbowl. Aside from winning it all, most Ravens fans will never forget perhaps the most intense and turbulent postseason in the teams history. The defining play in the postseason came in the game against the Denver Broncos, where the Ravens were down by a touchdown with 42 seconds remaining in the 4th. Joe Flacco dropped back for a pass and heaved it deep. The pass needed to be near perfect to allow any chance for the receiver to make a play on the ball. 

Flacco released the ball at his own 25 yard line with 42 seconds on the clock. Jacoby Jones caught the ball at Bronco's 20 yard line with 34 seconds left. The ball traveled a total of 55 yards in 8 seconds which means that the ball had a velocity of nearly 6.8 yards per second.



GO RAVENS!

-Matthew Zazzarino



Physics In the city! But my own personal little experiment.

There's no doubt that we see and experience physics everyday but as adolescents we don't pay attention to the motion of anything in our paths. We either imply if it's going fast or going slow but in regards to physics we go more in depth with the "fast and slow" analogy we only seemed to just say. In the picture above as I was going to take the train I noticed the overwhelming traffic as that car stopped so that's what got my attention, even though the traffic actually doesn't show. Well, the car was already in motion before I even caught the picture. The car was decelerating before it came to a stop so before it came to a stop if you was to identify its illustration in a motion map the dots will be close together with shorter distances in between. Whereas if it was actually going fast the dots and vectors would be longer.

-Vianny Rodriguez

Sent from my iPhone

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The realizations I have when washing dishes
 
So every night after dinner, I am the one who gets the tedious job of having to wash the pile of dishes. I have to say that is one of my least favorite things to do. It's not like it's a hard thing to do, it's just that just it is so boring. But after washing the dishes for so many years, I came to the realization that I am not exactly sure if foam is a solid, a gas or a liquid. So I googled it and came across this website that talks about the mysterious physics of seven everyday things. Apparently I am not the only one who ponders over this question. Now I know that foam is typically 95% gas and 5% liquid.
 
 
Katty Molina
Physics and Softball
 
Baseball is a sport that is loved and played by almost my entire family. In the spring and the summer, you can catch all of us rooting for our cousins baseball team every Sunday. Well this year, my cousins and aunts decided to form our own team and play softball against other families that came to support their baseball teams. Since I haven't played softball in almost three years, I noticed that my arm was not the same as it used to be. So my journey began on improving the speed and power of my throws. Since the league started in late September, I thought why not incorporate some physics into my situation, after all doesn't physics affect our every day lives somehow. So, after thinking about this for a while, I came up with a some ideas as to how physics can play a part in softball.
1. When I throw a softball, the softball has velocity since it has speed and direction.
2. Since I am the one who is throwing the ball, I can alter the softballs velocity.
Overall I realized that position and speed matter when I am throwing a softball. I can't just throw a softball without acknowledging the direction I want it to go and how fast I want the softball to travel. So what I did was change the position in which I released the ball, and use more of my core to add strength to my throws. Once I did this realized that my throws have gotten a lot better, they now have more power and speed.
 
 
 
Katty Molina
 

Blog 3 [Shahbaz] Abusing Physics

My other posts have been about how Physics relates to our everyday life, however, this one will be a bit different. Something that has long bothered me is the abuse of Physics for the sake of entertainment in the Hollywood industry. Attached below is a link to a scene from Fast and Furious 6, a movie that blatantly disobeys the basic rules of Physics and denies the existence of factors such as gravity, resistance, external forces and greater kinetic energy in moving objects with more mass as compared to those with less.

There seriously needs to be a reform in our entertainment industry, to rid our movies of irrational fantasy in the form of high-octane silly car chases and unrealistic fight choreography. True, these things are fun to watch, but they are also delusional and could potentially warp forever a naive individual's understanding of Physics. 

Here's the link to Fast and Furious 6:

Not leaving its inspiration far behind, the Indian film industry (Bollywood) has learnt much from Hollywood. Here's a ridiculously corny fight scene from a film where we see a police officer single-handedly annihilate an entire gang of culprits AND destroy their car. 

Attached is a screen-shot of comments people left for that clip. So, I know I'm not the only one agitated by this mockery of science. #EndPhysicsAbuse
What causes a lobsters color to change?
 
This weekend my father treated the whole family by taking us out to go eat  seafood. Naturally I ordered the shrimp, as I always do, and my mother ordered herself lobster. As they served her the lobster, I could not help but think how can the lobster go from a darkish almost black color to this bright red color. I knew that the lobsters color change was caused by the heat used to cook it, but I recently found this article that states that the heat accounts for only 1/3 of the change of color. In The New York Times article, Claiborne Ray states that researchers have conducted studies yielding results that the lobsters true pigment is red, but these red pigments are enclosed in a protein that absorbs all wavelengths of light. Which includes red, blue, and green; which explains why the lobster appears black before it is cooked. Researchers have also found that these red pigment molecules can be found in the protein crustacyanin, which is located on the carapace of lobsters. As for why the lobsters turn red, apparently the red molecules form together in groups, crossing each other in an X formation which causes them to interfere with one another and cause a shift in their quantum energy states, which ultimately changes the wavelengths of light that the protein absorbs. Now I can eat lobster without that the thought lingering in my head as to how the lobsters color changes and truly enjoy it.
 
 
Katty Molina

Monday, October 14, 2013

Having a strong interest in neuroscience and the medical field. One of the Imaging processes that is used particularly for imaging the brain is Positron Emission Tomography. Also known as PET scans. The You tube video below explains how it can be used in addiction studies, and its not only limited to that. Unfortunately John Jay doesn't have the funding for that because its quite expensive but it be awesome if it did.


-Edward

Blog 2 [Shahbaz] Resistance

We know for a fact that air resistance hinders movement of objects. However, what I hadn't perceived in my wildest imagination would be the amount of resistance offered by water. Here's an experiment done by the "SlowMo Guys", a British duet who film various fun stuff with their high-speed camera and playback their findings at regular speed. 

Here, we see them shooting a 9mm underwater. Typically, the range of a regular 9mm should be 2400 yards when shot over land. However, you're in for a surprise how far the bullet went underwater due to resistance. 


Here's another experiment done with an AK47, a far more stronger weapon.

Electroencephalography, is the study of electrical activity along the scalp. Its commonly known as EEG. In the Event Related Potential lab in John Jay, i measure the voltage fluctuations created by the distribution of positive and negative voltages created by the neurons in the brain. Usually multiple electrodes are placed on the scalp individually, but in the lab i work in we have a cap (which is in the picture below) that has 64 electrodes to measure electrical activity across the scalp after a stimulus is presented. These waves are emitted by the brain. Anyone is more than welcome to participate in a study

-Edward

Saw this meme on Facebook, and thought of physics and the development of laser technology. Although the laser pointer might just be a beam of projected red light. Also, i don't believe cats are dumb. Sorry - Its just the meme.

-Edward
As I was browsing the web, I came across an amazing website that explains the physics of superhero powers. Educator Joy Lin has teamed up with TedEducation to produce a series of fantastic animated shorts that explain the physics behind such superpowers as flight, speed, strength, invisibility and immortality. These videos are pretty amazing, I recommend everyone to watch them :) 

Driving to school every morning, I mean driving in general made me think of physics and everything I've learned in class so far. Starting from where my car is parked (position), to displacement, velocity and also acceleration. John Jay is 19.2 miles away from my house. Every day I make two trips, one from my house to school and then another one from school to my house, therefore that's 38.4 miles traveled all together. But what's the actual displacement? The displacement is 0 miles because I always end up where I start and I always take the same way home. Speaking about velocity, let's say I'm in my car driving down the road at a nice steady 60 miles per hour. My velocity = 60 mph. My acceleration = 0 (since acceleration = change in speed / change in time and my speed doesn't change). There's a red light in front of me so I stopped at the red light. My velocity = 0mph. My acceleration = 0 since my velocity equals a constant zero. The light turns green. I step on the gas and my car speeds up from 0 mph to 60 mph in 5 seconds. My velocity changes from 0 to 60 mph so my acceleration is 60mph-0mph over 5 seconds which is 12 mph per second.

Evgenija




Driving to school every morning, I mean driving in general made me think of physics and everything I’ve learned in class so far. Starting from where my car is parked (position), to displacement, velocity and also acceleration. John Jay is 19.2 miles away from my house. Every day I make two trips, one from my house to school and then another one from school to my house, therefore that’s 38.4 miles traveled all together. But what’s the actual displacement? The displacement is 0 miles because I always end up where I start and I always take the same way home. Speaking about velocity, let’s say I’m in my car driving down the road at a nice steady 60 miles per hour. My velocity = 60 mph. My acceleration = 0 (since acceleration = change in speed / change in time and my speed doesn't change). There’s a red light in front of me so I stopped at the red light. My velocity = 0mph. My acceleration = 0 since my velocity equals a constant zero. The light turns green. I step on the gas and my car speeds up from 0 mph to 60 mph in 5 seconds. My velocity changes from 0 to 60 mph so my acceleration is 60mph-0mph over 5 seconds which is 12 mph per second.

Evgenija

Browsing on the web, I came across famous quotes that people wrote about Physics. This one was the easiest but hardest to explain. I agree with Richard P. Feynman, Nobody understand it not even Himself and I can relate.
http:/wew.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/physics.
Stephanie Pena

As I was browsing on the web, I came across a website of the mysterious physics of 7 everyday things. What cuaght my eye was "Foam". According to Douglas Durian, a professor of physics at UCLA, foams are typically 95 percent gas and 5 percent liquid. Somehow these add up to give them, certian traits of solids, too. The gas in the foams seperates the liquid to form a matrix of tiny bubbles.No formula exists for predicting exactly how stif or oozy a foam wil be based on the size of its bubbles or the amount of bubbles it contains. Its interesting to me how the physics of foam is poorly understood.
Http://www.livescience.com/33537-mysterious-physics-everyday-things.html
Stephanie Pena

The life of a physics student.
Studig for the MIDTERM
Oh boy the Joy!

Stephanie Pena

The life of a physics student.
Studying for the MIDTERM
Oh Boy the joy!!

Constant Acceleration

As I was browsing the web, I came across this video. It is a great video that really details the way acceleration is used to calculate time. It is a real-life instance that uses the Airbus A380 as its example. We are utilizing the laws of constant acceleration and calculating time. I hope this paints a picture of the ideas we discussed during class!

http://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/one-dimensional-motion/acceleration_tutorial/v/airbus-a380-take-off-time

Nataniel Arabov

Sunday, October 13, 2013

After watching Sunday night football, I've never realized how much Physics could be involved in this sport.  Here's a video that I found on youtube that explained how Physics is involved!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k48c9Z1VjY

Preston Lee 

Nobel Peace Prize in Physics Awarded to...

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 was awarded jointly to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles. The Higgs boson is what gives all matter its mass and is a central part of the scientific theory. Its discovery was understood as one of the biggest scientific achievements. The link attached describes the discovery in full detail. I found it to be quite interesting, given the time period we are in. It is great to see Physics flourish in the Sciences.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/08/world/europe/sweden-nobel-prize-physics/index.html


Nataniel Arabov

Nobel Peace Prize in Physics Awarded to...

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013 was awarded jointly to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles. The Higgs boson is what gives all matter its mass and is a central part of the scientific theory. Its discovery was understood as one of the biggest scientific achievements. The link attached describes the discovery in full detail. I found it to be quite interesting, given the time period we are in. It is great to see Physics flourish in the Sciences.

Nataniel Arabov

Wingardium Leviostraw

 

The ability to make things float or levitate is something that many people wish they would be able to do. A great example of this is when you use a straw to hold liquid inside of it by covering one side with your finger. The liquid inside the straw doesn't fall out. Instead it appears to just levitate in mid air inside the straw. I always thought to myself why is it that this happens? The reason is that the liquid is kept
in the straw by air pressure, the pressure below the finger inside the straw pushes up at a higher pressure than the air can above your finger because it prevents the air from releasing pressure on the liquid from above. The air pressure traps the liquid inside forcing it to hold inside the straw.

-Alex Gallo

The Boomerang Ball

 

Last week after class I was on the train going home. I saw this kid tossing a ball up into the air and watched as the ball landed back into his hand. I began to wonder, why doesn't the ball fly to the back of the train if we are moving such fast speeds? Then I remembered the lab experiment that we saw in class, with the golf ball going up into the air and back into the cup. The ball was traveling at the same speed as the train. So when it left the kids hand, it was still traveling at the same speed as the train and so when it came back down is why if fell directly back into the kids hand. The link below is an excellent example of how velocity effects the our world.

 

-Alex Gallo 

Wingardium Leviostraw

 

The ability to make things float or levitate is something that many people wish they would be able to do. A great example of this is when you use a straw to hold liquid inside of it by covering one side with your finger. The liquid inside the straw doesn't fall out. Instead it appears to just levitate in mid air inside the straw. I always thought to myself why is it that this happens? The reason is that the liquid is kept
in the straw by air pressure, the pressure below the finger inside the straw pushes up at a higher pressure than the air can above your finger because it prevents the air from releasing pressure on the liquid from above. The air pressure traps the liquid inside forcing it to hold inside the straw.

The Boomerang Ball

 

Last week after class I was on the train going home. I saw this kid tossing a ball up into the air and watched as the ball landed back into his hand. I began to wonder, why doesn't the ball fly to the back of the train if we are moving such fast speeds? Then I remembered the lab experiment that we saw in class, with the golf ball going up into the air and back into the cup. The ball was traveling at the same speed as the train. So when it left the kids hand, it was still traveling at the same speed as the train and so when it came back down is why if fell directly back into the kids hand. The link below is an excellent example of how velocity effects the our world.

 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Today in Physics class, we have discussed what will happen if we threw a ball vertically  upwards in the air while we are in the train is moving at a constant speed?  Majority of the class agreed that the ball will land back in your hand.  Well, while I was commuting on my way home today, a couple of teenagers hopped onto my subway car and started performing while the train was in motion.  While they were performing, the teenagers were dancing, running around, performing tricks with the subway poles, and even throwing their hats up in the air and catching them; all at the same time while the train was moving at a constant speed.  While they were performing, I've applied the concepts of Physics; I've determined that their is no air resistance in the subway car, which is one of the reasons why the teenagers were able to catch their hats and freely maneuver on the train, and also incorporating Newton's First Law.  This concept may apply not only the train, but it can also apply when you're on an airplane, a boat, or during a car ride.  


Preston Lee


Saw the movie Gravity in IMAX the previous weekend. This film is about a space mission gone wrong
and one astronauts mission to make it back home as she gets lost and wanders in space. The film
reminds me of Physics int he sense that during one of the scenes she wanders in space and since
there is no air retention and is because of gravity she is stuck there and cannot make her way back onto
any ship

Daniel Cabezas

(Repost) Shahbaz [Blog 1] (Apple Severance)

Apologize in advance for this post being a tad bit corny; yet, I'm still posting this here as I see some forms of Physics tied into it, AND, this matter that I'm about to write about gave me a major boost in popularity back in 5th grade.


The display of physical strength (force) is valued across cultures and eras. Similarly, a bunch of 10 year-olds in 5th grade, at a Cambridge (British) System school in Pakistan, isn't much different from this. All my classmates were astonished at the sight of me breaking into half an apple with my bare hands. To prevent allegations of deception, I'd have someone inspect the apple about to be severed and acknowledge there wasn't a cut or crack made in advance. 


What my cronies didn't perceive was the fact that very little force was needed to get the job done. Instead, it was all about technique. If force is applied downwards at the upper end of the apple and channeled to opposite sides (right and left), before long, the upper end gives way and tears apart. I could post a video of this here, but it wouldn't be the same as a demonstration. 

Monday, October 7, 2013

Cat's free fall.

I know a person who threw a cat out of a window a couple of times. Now I know how that cat survived. Even falling that fast the cat has time for gymnastics.
http://youtu.be/RtWbpyjJqrU

Forgot to sign it, so posting it for the second time.
Oleg Kobec