Word Police: Use of the word pressure
I know I should just let go, but this is what makes me, me. I understand that there are terms in physics (like for instance ‘pressure’) that are used in all sorts of ways in common language. The...
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Physics of the Water Rocket
I said I would come back to this, and I am. I am a man of my word. Yesterday, I posted a link to a video of this really cool water rocket thingy. How does this work? What is the physics going on here?...
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Physics and the movie UP – floating a house
I haven’t seen the Pixar Movie “Up” yet, so don’t spoil it for me. I have, however, seen the trailer. In my usual fashion, I have to find something to complain about. There is this scene where the old...
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Energy in an exploding water heater
The more I think about the last MythBusters’ exploding water heater, the more cool things I see. How about I look at the energy of the explosion. There are three things I can look at: How much energy...
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RP 4: More on the movie Up! (or Upper)
So, analysis of the movie Up is pretty popular in the blogosphere. Figure I might as well surf the popularity wave. So, I have a couple more questions. The most important thing to estimate is the mass...
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RP 5: MythBusters: How small could a lead balloon be?
On a previous episode of The MythBusters, Adam and Jamie made a lead balloon float. I was impressed. Anyway, I decided to give a more detailed explanation on how this happens. Using the thickness of...
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Vacuum Spider-Man
Check out this thing. That is where the guy (Jem Stansfield of BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory) shows how he built this thing. Here is part 2 where he uses it to climb a building. Here are some questions:...
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Why do your ears hurt underwater?
This is a topic that I am going to talk about in my physical science class. Might as well make a post about it, right? Here is the deal. You are in a pool. You drop a quarter in the deep end and swim...
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Pressure demo: suction
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. Like...
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How big of a balloon do you need to get to 120,000 feet high?
I am still thinking about the Red Bull Stratos Jump. Sorry, but there is just tons of great physics here. Next question – how big of a balloon would you need to get up to 120,000 feet? I am not going...
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