Physics Textbook
The following is a collection of some of my posts that can be put into a simple and quick textbook-type thingy. I am not really sure you would call this a textbook, but maybe you would. This does not...
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Green Laser and Fluorescence
Do you have a green laser pointer? You should. They are relatively inexpensive now. What if you take your laser pointer and aim it at stuff in your house? The laser dot always looks green, right? This...
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DIY Force probe
I was thinking about some experiments that deal with friction and I wanted to show something with a force probe. The problem is that most people don’t have one of these. So, I decided to try and make...
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Basics: The Electrostatic Interaction
Pre Reqs: vectors, forces This is typically the first topic in the second semester of introductory physics – the interaction between objects with electric charge. There are 4 fundamental forces that...
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MythBusters – velocity is relative
So, I complained about MythBuster’s explanation of relative velocity. How would I explain this? I would start by saying that velocity is relative. Here is the definition for velocity: I put the “avg”...
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Basics: The electric field
Suppose I take a 1 kg ball and hold it near the surface of the Earth. What would be the gravitational force the Earth exerts on this ball? And I could say “g” is: The magnitude of this force would then...
View ArticlePhysics 2 refresher
So, I hear you are starting your second semester of physics. One of the cool things about physics is that the second semester still uses stuff from the first semester. Maybe you forgot some of that...
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Basics: Electric Potential
Pre Reqs: Electric Field, Work-Energy, Potential Energy If you are already familiar with the topics listed in the pre-reqs above, this will be uber-simple. Potential energy – short version The...
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Basics: Electric Potential for a Point Charge
Pre Reqs: electric potential, electric field, work-energy To start, remember that for a constant electric field the change in electric potential energy would be: WARNING: that is only for a constant...
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Right Hand Rule: Don’t hurt yourself
It is that part of the semester where the Right Hand Rule (RHR) comes out. Really, the best part is the students taking the tests. They make all these funny motions with their hands. That makes tests...
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