An Introduction to Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics

Hello and welcome to my research post regarding Aerodynamics. My goal is to explore the different concepts and theories of Aerodynamics and its importance in our daily lives. I hope my posts would be able to enhance both your knowledge and my own as we embark on a journey to explore the hidden and often overlooked significance of Aerodynamics and how it contributes to make our lives more adaptable to our surroundings.

What is Aerodynamics?
Firstly, I would like to start off with exploring the widely accepted definition of aerodynamics and disregard any common misconceptions. Aerodynamics is the study of how the motion and forces of air interacts with objects in its surroundings, commonly solid objects such as: Planes, cars, etc. Over the years of research from experts, our society has been searching for methods to use the study of Aerodynamics to our advantage, one of the most well known reasons for Aerodynamics is how we are able to innovate generations of vehicles which are more Aerodynamic than the vehicles in the past, resulting in the increased performance and efficiency of the vehicles, of course this is not the only reason why our cars and planes in modern times are able to travel much more efficiently; there are also factors such as the engine and materials used to make the vehicle, but ultimately enhancing the Aerodynamics of the object plays a significant role in the advancement of our society.   A common misconception regarding Aerodynamics is that it only involves objects that relate to flight, but that is widely inaccurate as almost everything that  travels through a form of gas is theoretically involved in the concepts of Aerodynamics, these things can range from the speed of an aircraft to the motion of an Olympic sprinter.

Next in my research: 
In my next blog post I would be exploring in detail the four major forces that have a great effect on object that take flight. We will look at: Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag.

References:
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/what-is-aerodynamics-k4.html#.VY-oMvmqp8M
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/K-12/airplane/bga.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamics
https://www.google.com.my/search?q=aerodynamics&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=-aKPVe_LOs3guQS5loCIDw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=990&bih=799

Thank you for checking our my blog post and I can assure that there will be more frequent posts regarding Aerodynamics, as I further deepen my understanding. I look forward to sharing with you my knowledge and new discoveries.

Shawn L.

Constellations II

Hello again.

Over the past few days, I started my research on these stars by searching through the web and looking at different images of the constellations and their positions.

"Just what are these constellations that you keep hearing about? What do they mean? Where did they come from?" If you can immediately see a fierce lion, a sea goat, or a giant scorpion when you look upon the sky in the dark night, you are either a great storyteller or you have an incredible imagination.  Majority of these constellations are not how they are supposed to look like.

In fact, they are not real!

First of all, what are constellations? I found out that they are just a group of stars that are connected by lines with our bare eyes and imagination to form what you call now, constellations.

This is a constellation of Leo, the lion.

Based on the image on the left, the actual constellation for Leo is very simple. This shows how the creators imagine it that forms a lion.

A simple but bright star is found in the middle of the alignment which is said to be the heart of each constellation. Constellations portray people, real animals and mythological creatures. (flying horses, serpents, dragons and many more)

 An imaginative constellation of a AK47.

(This is probably created by a gamer who got banned from playing video games at night)

Ps, This does not exist in the constellation chart

Where did they come from?

These imaginative pictures are created by ancient astronomers, poets and farmers. They were “invented” around 6,000 years ago. (Possibly even more!)

Back in the days, there were no modern network like twitter to “tweet” where you are, or google map to show where you are lost at. Therefore, creating these constellations helped the ancient civilizations to know the directions as well as remembering the position of the stars.

For ancient farmers, these constellations are very important to them as they need to know the planting and harvesting seasons. They plant in the spring and harvest during the fall. But in certain regions, there will not be much difference in the seasons. So, these position of the stars helped them to keep track and differentiate between the seasons to tell them which month it is for their harvest.

A diagram of the constellations and their seasons.

These myths of the stars are the different creatures and fantasies which are made up by our ancient ancestors. Each of them have their own identity and story. But after creating these myth about constellation, I guess it is also a good way for these myths to be passed on till the 21^st century!  

Other than those reasons, I think that the myths of the constellation happens to be another randomness created by us, humans. However, they are indeed interesting to know. Also, we can see how people use their imaginations and creativity!

Thank you for reading, I will update again soon.

 Vannessa.

Physics of Skateboarding- knowing the parts of a skateboard

Before getting into details of how the physics of skateboarding works, we must know what causes the physics of skateboarding to happen. A skateboard has different components that does its own "thing". People may think that a skateboard is just a random mechanism for you to play and move about with. But, for those people who actually know what a skateboard is made out of may explain some simple physics behind why we can do many skills with just a moving plank.

A skateboard consists of:

Deck/Board/Plank

The deck is the "flat" surface of the skateboard. It is made out of wood because wood is hard enough to hold someone's weight and has the right elasticity to do any skills. 

Each deck will have a curved part at both ends which allows the rider to apply enough force to turn the board around or do a any skill. This curved shape is called the "nose" and "tail"  being the front or the back of the deck. When force is applied, the bottom part of the nose will touch the ground causing the board to do a small elastic movement.

The deck also has grip tape. Grip tapes are the "sand-paper-like-sticker" which we apply at the top of the board so the riders can have some grip on their shoes and control the board. With the gritty texture, the grip tape acts as friction part of the board.

Trucks

The trucks are the component that connects the deck to the wheels. Trucks are rigid but it hinged at it's joint with the deck. This allows the board to change course by simply adding left or right force at the edge of the board. 

By leaning the board to the direction you want, for example left, the left board dips down causing the front joint to pivot clockwise while the back pivots anti-clockwise. With both trucks pivoting the opposite direction, this makes the inside wheels closer and outer wheels further apart which makes the wheels to move in an arc.

The arc movement is caused by a rubber that surrounds the inside of the joint, called the rubber bush. The bush controls the stiffness of the joint. To be able to move further left or right is to apply more force.If you tighten the bolt that holds the trucks and the bush, the bush is compressed and the rubber becomes stiffer and the opposite if you loosen the bolt. By having a stiffer trucks will make the board more stable but it increases the force the amount of force needed to apply for the board to rotate.

Wheel

As straight forward as what wheels do, they give an opportunity for the board to move. The wheels are usually smaller because smaller wheels move faster on concrete and asphalt, but moves slowly if there is a gritty texture like pebbles. The wheels are the contact forces which keeps everything upright.

These are my references:

http://www.angelfire.com/ny/krumpet/skating.html

http://www.exploratorium.edu/skateboarding/skatedesign.html

http://skateboard.about.com/od/skateboardingdictionary/g/GlosGriptape.htm

http://www.quora.com/How-does-a-skateboard-turn-What-are-the-physics-or-mechanics-behind-it

http://www.otherplanetskate.com/t-tech-wheels.aspx

pictures are from google.

By A' ;)

Electric Guitars: From no Sound to Sound

Here is a labelled diagram of an electric guitar for reference

What actually is it that gives the electric guitar its sounds coming from the amplifier? The answer simply lies inside the pickups of the electric guitar, There are 2 basic factors, the type of pickup (Due to electromagnetism) and the amplifier itself. 

I would like to introduce 2 types of pickups. They are the single coils and the humbuckers. The coils are wires that are wind onto a set of magnets (6 for a 6 string guitar). When these pickup were first made, they were magnets that are coiled with wires, working closely to the vibration of a steel or copper string. When the steel strings vibrated, the magnetic field generated by the pickups would move back and forth together with the strings, and these coil pickups are able to change these movements into a voltage and current because of the change in magnetic field. The voltage produce can then be amplified through an amplifier as we see electric guitarists play through today. The electric guitar is a great demonstration for "Faraday's Law" stating that any change of magnetism in the environment will generate a voltage in the coils around a magnet. 

As you can see in the diagram, there are 3 position pickups for this particular guitar, and they are all single coiled. The positioning of pickups is very important as each position produces a different sound. The different sound produce is based on where the pickups are position because each part of the string might have the same frequency but different richness in tone, all due to the movement factor that generates the current.

 

Single coil Vs Humbucker

Here is a photograph of a single coil pickup

Here is an image of a Humbucker pickup

So what exactly is the difference between them? For a guitarist point of view, a single coil would produce a delicate and cleaner sound, whereas the humbucker would be more aggressive and full in tone. 

Generally, a pickup is a transducer that captures small vibrations in a magnetic field and changes it into electrical signals. 

1) Single coils have around 500 coil turns around the whole pickup 

2) Single coils "Hum" when connected to an electrical signal 

3) Humbuckers have 2 set of magnets

4) 2 set of magnets means 2 coil rounds and the coil rounds in each set of magnet is in opposite directions, giving a different polarity.

These generally mean that there will be no more "hum" sounds from the pickups of humbuckers because the magnetism waves are opposite so therefore cancelling each other out. 

What is next?

I will be looking at frequency of the guitar strings and the different sound produce by guitar effect pedals in my next research sections. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickup_(music_technology)

https://wordsmithsean.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/single-coil-vs-humbucker-guitar-pickups/

www.physicsclassroom.com

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/music/eguitpickup.html#c1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-colsdWF4-s

http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/what-difference-between-single-coil-humbucker-style-guitar-pickup/

Thank You,

Elijah 

Chris's PROJECT

Ladies and Gentleman but mostly boys and girls. I have been doing some massive and crazy reasearch about lighning and reading a lot and a lot about it until my brain is about to explode.

So since exam finished I have been researching into how LIGHTNING form and works and the amount of times it occurs on earth. Not to give away too much information i will leave the rest of my research to my ppt.

So the most interesting part of my exploration is my own experiment which I did. I tried MY VERY BEST in forming lighning.(KIDS TRY THIS AT HOME). 
All you need is;

• aluminum pie pan
• small piece of wool fabric
• styrofoam plate
• pencil with a new eraser
• thumbtack

I leaneed it form the world wide web and it worked as I expected.

Thank you very much for your time and enjoy being dangerous and mischievous.

Laser
Hi I am Gordon,
In my research recently, I have made progress in understanding more about lasers. The lasers that we all know from movies are actually monochromatic light that is focused strongly in a single point. The photons emitted by the light source is amplified with glass that is similar to a magnifying glass.

Superposition Principle, Measurement Problem and a cat

In my last post, I mentioned something like this:

"In a quantum world, put a cat and a bomb with a 50/50 chance of blowing up in a bunker. Before we open the bunker, the cat is not dead nor alive, but it's both dead-alive at the same time... until we open it."

Since then, I have been researching more about these little pieces of quantum mechanics that makes it so interesting. So to begin, I like to introduce you guys to a cat, more specifically Schrödinger's cat. 

The Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, came up by Erwin Schrödinger. In the original version of his experiment, he proposed to use a hammer that is linked to a sealed box of radioactive substances; if the sensor detects some radioactivity(substances decaying), the hammer will set off and break a flask of hydrocyanic acid, thus killing the cat. However if it doesn't decay, the cat lives. Before the box is opened, the cat is in a superposition state, both dead and alive. How in the world does this work, which you might ask by now.

Let's step back and look at Quantum Mechanics in the big picture. It is a part of physics that explains how very small things work, which are things like: electrons, photons etc. Why is there a whole branch of physics dedicated to these particles? Because they act very differently from our normal everyday things. Two basic rules of Quantum Mechanics that you must first understand is the Superposition Principle and Measurement Problem. The Superposition Principle claims that an object can be in all possible states at once. To put that in perspective, let's say there are three possible place for that object to be in: on the table, under the table, in the drawer; using the normal day logic, it can only be at one place right? But in the world of quantum mechanics, the object is in all three places at once. The Measurement Problem comes in when that object which was in a superposition state, is being observed. So basically, the object was initially at all three places(on the table, under the table, in the drawer) at once, only until the object is being looked at. Let say you did looked at the object. It will lose it's superposition state in an instant and appear under the table. In Quantum Mechanics terms, the superposition state will immediately collapse once it's state is measured.

Okay, since we have already go through the basic rules, now let's revisit the Schrödinger's cat. So the life and death of the cat is ultimately decided by the radioactive substance(if it decays or not). The radioactive substance, due to being in a box and not being observed, is stuck in a superposition state. Hence causing the cat too be in a superposition state, both dead and live at the same time. Once the box is opened, the superposition state immediately stops and chooses an outcome. You will either see a live cat or a dead cat when you open the box.

The two basics rules of Quantum Mechanics not only explains how Erwin tortures cats. Remember the chemistry textbooks that taught us that atoms looked like this(Fig.1a)? Something like a nuclei with orbiting electrons like how the moon orbits the Earth. In truth it actually looks more like this(Fig. 1b). The black part being a cloud of probability, which is basically a superposition state of the electrons thus it could be anywhere within the cloud. When you try to measure where the electron really is at, it immediately chooses where it's at, this is linked back towards the other statement I posted in the first blog: 

"The more you know about how fast something is, the less you know about where it is; and the more you know where something is, the less you know about how fast it is."

Fig. 1a

Fig. 1b

I hope this post is able to help you understand the basics of Quantum Mechanics. I will be looking more into Quantum Mechanics and also how we are able to use this to our advantage. Quantum Mechanics is truly amazing; as Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist, had once said: 

"Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum mechanics cannot possibly have understood it." 

Thank you.

Sources:

• ·         http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/atom.jpg
• ·         http://www.uh.edu/engines/heliumatom.jpg
• ·         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurement_problem
• ·         http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/superposition
• ·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_ddt6J1Bio

Constellations I

Hello.

There are many reasons why I chose “constellations” as my topic for this 20% time in physics project. While I was a young ambitious kid, I have the dream of becoming an astronaut. Not because I love science, but simply because I wonder about what is up there in the sky beyond me.

During the night, I have always enjoyed a little of my time standing in the middle of the car porch, just to watch the stars. Even though tilting my head up for a long time strains my neck, but, these little things like scattered diamond dust in the sky just amaze me. Since then, I’ve always wondered about these group of stars in the night sky. I'm sure that many of you do too.

"What are they? So shiny, so many, that forms an imaginary shape."

So, I’m hoping from this project, I will be able to solve my mystery about them and hopefully my fellow readers will learn a thing or more about them as well. 

Thank you for reading.

Vannessa.

Hello Guys!!

       I've been learning about the basic knowledge of magnetism for the past few weeks since my first blog post.

       Firstly, there are magnetic field around a magnet which indicates area of magnetic force. Permanent magnets have 2 different poles which is North pole and South pole. When 2 opposite poles are brought together they attract each other while 2 identical poles are brought together they repel.

       Ways to magnetize a material:
     i) Stroke a permanent magnet in one direction
    ii) Strike magnet in a north-west direction using a hammer repeatedly
   
       Ways to demagnetize a magnet:
     i) Heat the magnet
    ii) Strike magnet in a east-west direction using a hammer

I'll stop this blog now and will be posting another blog in the near future. Thank you for reading my blog!

String Theory Part 2

I'm not going to comment much on my research in this post as it is covering the same ground as Clarence is at the moment. I don't want to take away from his project so I'm going to leave the details and the explanations of Quantum Physics and Schrodinger's Cat to him.

Source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RswbgKulL._SY355_.jpg

I'm moving on to investigate the one of the problems caused by Quantum Physics. Basically, it doesn't explain the force of gravity in the model and therefore it doesn't align with relativity as outlined by Albert Einstein. String theory is a proposition that allegedly unifies them as one... Or so it claims. We'll have to see!

That's where I'm going to leave it and I'll post more about the idea of string theory next time.

Physics of Ice Skating Part 2

Part 2 of my research I will be explaining about the materials I have researched and reviewed. I visited several websites to understand how friction is a major factor when ice skating. I also watched several YouTube clips explaining the movement along the skating rink. I the concepts I am going to write are easy to grasp!


How friction affects Ice Skating

Skaters making a sharp turn

The physics of ice skating comes down to analyzing the movement of skates over the ice, the skates allow us to glide over the ice and they push off the ice with the edge which causes the gain in speed. a combination with movement and practice, ice skating can be as effortless as walking. The sharp blades under the skating shoes has a low friction to allow smooth movement when gliding across the ice rink. The physical properties allows a skater to dig into the ice to turn, speed up or stop completely. The general low level of friction on ice allows a skater to glide across the surface smoothly without friction stopping the motion as soon as it's begun. With low friction and high force from the skater a bigger momentum is formed and it is harder to slow down due to the lack of friction. This is why when a skater is making a turn they toss their hands to one side allowing a sharper turn this is because the mass is distributed over a greater space, making the skater lighter.


The next part of my blog, part 3 will be caculations and formulaes on the movement of the skater and I will explain how a skater maintains their momentum when approaching a jump, a sharp turn or even skating backwards!

Thank you for reading! I will update very soon!

Assembling a Computer Part 2 (Types of Components)

The first step to constructing a computer is figuring out the components you need and discarding the ones you do not require. So this second section of my blog is to introduce the types of components, their functions towards the computer and how they interrelate, familiarizing with the equipment is definitely a good stepping stone before putting them together, as it makes a lot it easier to troubleshoot any errors with the finished product when you know what is causing the problem and where the problem is coming from.

The CPU

CPU installed on a motherboard

CPU, the abbreviation for central processing unit, but more commonly referred to the processor in general, the CPU is the brains of the computer where most calculations from the user is processed. It is the most important element in the computer, because without it no other components can run as it acts as a central core which data received is calculated then sent back, it may be an image, an audio file or launching an application. So a processor is essential for data to flow back and forth. An absence of a processor is identical to a human with their brain removed or an incomplete electrical circuit. Modern CPU's are small and square and contain multiple metallic connectors or pins on the underside. The CPU is installed into the CPU socket located on the motherboard. Be aware that each motherboard will only support a specific range of CPU so you must check the manufacturer's specifications before purchasing one. Modern CPU's also provide attached heat sinks and a small fan that go directly on top of the CPU to help dissipate heat.

The Motherboard

An ATX motherboard

A motherboard is the physical arrangement in a computer that contains the computer's basic circuitry and components. On the typical motherboard, the circuitry is imprinted or affixed to the surface of a firm planar surface and usually manufactured in a single step. The most common motherboard design in desktop computers today is the AT form factor (Advanced Technology) Based on the IBM AT motherboard. A more recent motherboard specification, ATX, improves on the AT design, ATX is an abbreviation for Advanced Technology Xtended.

Memory (RAM)

RAM sticks

(Random Access Memory) Memory found in computers, smartphones or tablets. RAM is the temporary work space where instructions are executed and data are processed. What makes RAM "random access" is its capability of reading and writing any single byte. This "rate" differs from storage devices such as hard disks or flash memory chips which read and write sectors containing multiple bytes. In addition to this RAM is used as temporary space to keep data when switching between applications that are running and pending user inputs processed by the CPU are stored. Storage is different however because whatever saved in a hard disk is permanent until modified or deleted by the user, whereas RAM is cleared when the computer is shut off.

Storage

The internals of HDD and SSD
*Left HDD*
*Right SSD*

Storage, it comes in two main classes, identified as SSD (Solid State Drives) or HDD (Hard Disk Drives) Dependent on your budget and personal choice you may have a mix of both or just an individual drive to store your data, HDD's are commonly found and used in most of the computers as it is very cheap to obtain a large capacity drive at this present-day. HDD's are big heavy and bulky so it retains itself inside the computer case and is not portable. However the rate of data transfer and write speed is slower compared to SSD's and HDD's are more prone to crashes and data misplacement as its architecture is out of date. SSD's provide a faster write speed and data transfer rate and comes in a much smaller form factor, however SSD's do not have a large storage capacity only ranging from 250GB-500GB at most. SSD's are significantly more expensive than HDD's because of the performance and portability of it. This is because HDD's are written by a magnetic pin that spins around at 5000-7000 RPM to code data and store it as non volatile data on the physical disk. This is based on a very old architecture, thus making HDD's very cheap whereas SSD's are separated into different cores and the code is written digitally by the computer and stored making it faster in all purposes, There are higher SSD's options in 2015 because of the advancement in technology we are able to have 2TB-6TB drives but they come at $10000 each and is mainly made for high end tech industries to store and retrieve their data from their massive databases around the world. Tech Industries like Apple, Google, Samsung etc...

GPU

Dedicated Graphics Cards

The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is the component that produces the beautiful sharp images when you are watching YouTube or the interactive environment, blood, explosions found in video games. A GPU produces images and movement by forming a minimum of 10 million polygons per second then rendering those polygons, transforming them and going through several lighting adjustments just to produce that cat picture you clicked on Facebook. CPU's usually come built in with an integrated GPU but at this current era, graphic requirements are high and nobody wants to watch pixelated YouTube clips, so additional larger cards called dedicated graphics cards are installed onto the motherboard to make viewing experiences notably better.

PSU

A 600 Watt PSU

Every computer requires electricity to run! A power supply unit converts the mains AC to DC for the components to run. It also regulates the voltage to eliminate spikes and surges common in most electrical systems, this is to keep the components safe and prevent damage. Power supplies are rated in terms of watts they generate. The more powerful the computer, the more watts your power supply needs to provide.

Case/Chassis

A glass chassis

A computer case/chassis is definitely should not be ignored because it is very important as it houses all your components, so it must be durable and spacious so you don't have trouble with cable management. Mostly fabricated from steel or plastic but nowadays many users tend to use glass, so its easier to spot a leak or damage in the internals.





OS

Apple's Newest OS

The operating system is a software that manages computer hardware and software resources and links them together, so they can communicate. The operating system is an essential component of the system because any type of application program require an operating system to function. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard and mice, sending output images to the display screen from your GPU & CPU, keeping track of files and directories from your storage disks, generating print jobs to send to your printers etc... Major examples of OS's would be Microsoft and Apple's OSX.

How technolgy has changed the medical'healt care field

Hi Everyone!
      On my previous blog post, I've been talking about technology in the medical field.I'm sure most of you have come across some of these technologies during a visit to the hospital; such as the x-ray machine[radiograph], although it may not sound very 'advance' it has helped doctors to identify locations of broken bones, detect tumors and many more.
      Currently my research focuses on different examples of machines that have changed the medical field all over the world! I found out that the technologies range from tiny microchips to big robotic arms for surgery. The microchips replaces the need for animal testing and it provides a more accurate results while the robotic arms could perform surgery with precision and accuracy which then increases the survival rate for risky surgeries. Thanks to these gadgets millions of lives have been safe. Who knows maybe you could be one of them in the near future? Sadly, I have not been able to focus closely on the science behind how they work yet.
      Another aspect of my project that I focused on is still within the range on the examples of technologies but the difference is these are not introduced to the medical field yet. They are rather prototypes that could potentially change the medical field. Below I have included a picture to further inform you of what is going on in the field.

         
     In my next blog I will post more information regarding the science behind these technologies. I will try my best to summarize the information in a way that it'll be easy to understand. Ta Ta for now:)


Source:
Picture-  https://getreferralmd.com/2013/11/health-care-technology-innovations-2013-infographic/
 http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/10-medical-robots-that-could-change-healthcare/d/d-id/1107696?page_number=7

The Maglev Train (Part 2)

Hello everyone,

As many of you are aware, I am conducting research on the Maglev Train for my 20% Time in Physics. On my previous post, I explained that "Maglev" stands for Magnetic Levitation.

During my period of research, I learned that the Maglev Train basically uses the basic principles of magnets or more specifically, Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS).

By now, you should know all about electromagnets and that opposite poles attract and similar poles repel. That is the basic principle behind electromagnetic propulsion. Electromagnets attract metals just as normal magnets would, but the magnetic pull in electromagnets are only temporary.

The Maglev Train works by orientating the magnets on top of the guide way to repel similar poles in the bottom of the train. This is why the train levitates. The Maglev train contains a system of groups of extremely powerful superconducting electromagnets. These magnets use less electricity than the normal electromagnets, but they have to be cooled to very low temepratures rounding from -269 degrees Celsius to -196 degrees Celsius.

The difference between a Maglev train and a conventional train is that Maglev train does not use a similar engine. The engine for a Maglev train does not use fossil fuels, instead the train uses the magnetic field created by the electrified coils that are built in the guide way walls and track to propel itself.

I have yet to confirm whether i would be able to make a live showcase of a Maglev Train during the presentation. My apologies.

Websites:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/electromagnet.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/maglev-train3.htm
http://www.eduplace.com/science/hmxs/ps/mode2/cricket/sect7cc.shtml


Justin

Physics of Running (Part 1)

For my 20% Time in Physics, I am researching based on a sport that, I am sure many of you are involved in. You have all once ran at least once in your entire life. It does not have to mean running a sprinting event or marathon  Running includes times whereby, you may run up the stairs, or run while playing football vice versa. You may be wondering how physics is involved with running and therefore, my project will tell you just about, nearly everything you need to know about the physics behind running. Many questions may arise in your head right now while you are reading this and in fact, to be honest with you, many questions have been asked to me by my friends, such as:

What is the real definition of running? What is the difference in the physics behind a sprinter and a marathon runner? What are the forces generated during running? What is the path travelled by the runners centre of mass? How does arm swinging help running? What are the tracks curved? How does the material of the track help runners? Why do runners we spikes? Why do runners wear compressions?

The physics behind running includes a range of sub topics, therefore, i am only focusing on the physics of "sprinting." The word "sprinting" suggests distances up to 400meter only. Meanwhile, anything higher than 400-meter, is already known as a long distance run and would require a lot of endurance which most sprinters do not have as sprinters usually use up most of their oxygen in a short yet fast race.

Above is a photo of a pendulum. To understand the physics of sprinting, you have to think of your limbs acting like pendulums. If a pendulum is shorter in length, the speed of the mass at the bottom is longer. Therefore, you need to think of your feet as the mass at the end of the pendulum. To shorter the pendulum, your knees must be bent. It is difficult to run with your knees locked. You could also think of your arms as pendulums. You could probably find that swinging your arms which it is bent is much easier. 

The above photo is an Australian sprinter, Cathy Freeman springing form her starting block in a 400-meter women's run back in 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Notice the way her body structure is and her arms position. More information would be posted in Part 2 of my blog. Meanwhile, I would like to say thank you very much for reading :)

References

http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/physics-of-running.html

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/WL002085/olympic-sprinter-cathy-freeman-springing-from-the

http://physicstt.tripod.com/id11.html

http://previews.123rf.com/images/gl0ck33/gl0ck331110/gl0ck33111000005/10766965-Newtons-cradle-Stock-Photo-pendulum-newton-concept.jpg

Love, Badryaa!

Hovercrafts Blog 2!!!!

I have looking around for materials for my hovercraft. I would love to make a big full scale hovercraft but to do that I need a leaf blower which costs a few hundred. Being the poor kid I am I don't think I can actually afford that. I also have been trying out different fans. I have tried a few computer cooling fans but they haven't really worked as they don't provide enough power, so I have to go back to the drawing board with my designs. This is all I have done so far as I have been busy with my exams, trips and events. Thats all for now! Till next time folks :-)