Texas Sky Screamer

So, Eva (8) and I rode the 400 foot tall Texas Sky Screamer at six flags this week. Here's a picture of us -- she was pretty nervous.

So, this is an interesting circular motion problem, right here. Can you identify the forces acting on the riders? Try an assign an equation to each. 

What is really interesting is that the empty seats seem to be raised to about the same angle as the seats with people in them. Can you figure out why?

Prince Rupert's drop

Check out the video of this unique glass formation with strange physical properties filmed in slow motion and explained better than anyone else does.



So, physics connections here:

1. Notice the glass as it breaks -- what direction does it travel? Why does it travel this way? What is the average velocity of all the particles when the glass breaks in the air (not on the anvil)?
2. Think about thermodynamics. Why do these different bonds form inside?
3. Think about forces. Can you explain the balanced forces before breaking and unbalanced forces after? Can you explain the how we see force pairs in this demonstration?

Caterpillars using physics to go faster!

Caterpillars understand relative velocity -- check this out:

So, let's say each caterpillar can travel at 1 cm/s. If you have caterpillar stacked 3 high, can you tell what the velocity of the bottom, middle and top caterpillars is relative to the ground? How about relative to each other?

This spider knows about resonance!!

Check out this spider I found at Hawaiian Falls this past week:

Pretty awesome, right? 

Well, I checked with my insect loving brother-in-law and this things is called an Argiope aurantia, and I noticed a very physics-y behavior of this little guy (which is actually a girl, because the males are way smaller and less cool looking). Watch what happens when she feels threatened:

So, what you see is (besides me calling this female spider a "he"), that the spider is aware of the natural frequency of oscillation of the web and is pushing at the resonant frequency in order to amplify the motion of the web. This allows her to appear bigger and more threatening to predators. 

Can you identify the applied force and restoring force? 

Can you count the oscillations in this video and tell me the natural period and frequency of the web (assuming it is the same as the harmonic frequency shown here)?

Tallest basketball shot ever?

Check out this video:
Now, the height of that deck is reported as 98 m in the video, but the building is known to have a height of 96m, maybe that's the floor height and they estimate the person's height of the throw to be 98m.

The question is, how far away would you need to place the hoop if you threw the basketball at full speed straight out in front of you? What variables would you have to know in advance and how would you measure them. What variable is beyond your control that we often ignore in our fake plastic world of HS physics?