Uuuuuuugh. I’m once again full of fail this week. And full of excuses! I have my trig final this week. On Wednesday. I’m nervous about it. I need to study. I really need to study. So I’m blowing this post off this week. I’m sorry! I really am. I love this weekly post more than any other post I do and I hate when I have to skip it. Luckily, after my final I’ll have a w... »
Guys! I’m back and ready to science! I hope you missed me. I’ll start today where I left it before the epic black hole detour. That’s right. We’re back in the domain of rotational motion. Specifically, we’ll discuss how to find the kinetic energy of a rigid, rotating body. To understand the kinetic energy of rigid rotating body, I need to introduce a new concept: the ... »
In which a challenge is issued, a challenge is accepted, and a challenge is completed…for real this time! If you will remember, last week I was issued a challenge involving black holes by this cheeky physicist I know. Even though I’m far too dumb to really get my head around it, I have vowed to answer his question – THE WHOLE QUESTION – eventually, at some point in my life.... »
In which a challenge is issued, a challenge is accepted, and a challenge is…completed? Over the past several months I have collected physicist Facebook friends like people collected Beanie Babies in the ’90s. (Only my collection will prove much more valuable in the long run.) Recently, one such friend issued a challenge: It reads: Here’s a physics problem for y’all… Y... »
In which angular and linear motion are related, a discus is thrown, and math is a hero. If you’re a smart cookie, you may have anticipated what we’re going to discuss today. The equations for linear and angular motion with constant acceleration are incredibly similar. No one would fault you if you thought we might be able to relate them in some way. We can! And we’re going to do ... »
In which equations are derived, Blu-rays spin, and Hulk movies are lamented. The last couple of weeks we’ve been discussing angular velocity and acceleration. You may have gotten a case of déjà vu; calculating angular velocity and acceleration is very similar to calculating straight line motion. Well get ready for an even déjà vu-ier post, because now I’m going to talk about rotation w... »
In which bodies are rigid, circles are drawn, and degrees are converted. Okey dokey, people. We just finished our discussion of momentum. It was glorious, but it’s time to move on. We have bigger fish to fry. And by “fish” I mean “topics” and by “to fry” I mean “to learn about.” Specifically, today we start our discussion on the rotation of rig... »
In which momentum is not conserved, external forces are exerted, and parabolic trajectories are maintained. Are you ready to finally finish up the basics of momentum and center of mass? Well hold on to your hats, because it’s time to roll. Last week we discussed momentum and center of mass in systems where no external forces acted on the body. But what if the net external fore on the system ... »
