Blog 13

Recently in Physics, we learned about the parts of the eye.  I found this to be a very cool subject to learn about.  The other week, I attended a dinner where I met an optometrist, Dr. Robert Ling.  Being interested in the medical field, I asked Dr. Ling about his profession.  He spoke to me about how he was fascinated by the different parts of the human eye.  I was able to ask him about some of the parts of the eye that we learned about in class, and he seemed a bit impressed.  I found out that physics also is useful when you least expect it through this experience.   Yay Physics!!

Blog 12

In our physics class, we just learned about sound waves and the doppler effect.  I experienced the doppler effect firsthand at a UH football game.  As I was walking to my seat, there was a vendor selling peanuts.  As I walked towards him, (he was yelling PEANUTS very loudly), it seemed as if his voice was becoming louder.  And, as I walked away from him after I had passed him, his voice started to become softer.  This was the doppler effect at work.  Now that I've learned about it, I understand why this occurs.

Blog 11

When I went to Disneyland last Christmas, I rode the matterhorn.  After the last lesson, I realized that there must be a magnet at work in the rides motor.  For a motor to work, as we learned in our lab, there must be a magnet present.  This magnet causes any current in its magnetic field to experience a force.  The motor is most likely more complex than our mcgrieber (sp?) motor, but it still runs on the same principles.  When the current carrying wire feels a force, it begins to turn in circles.  This turning motion is one of the reasons the motors work in the Matterhorn ride.  I really did enjoy this ride, as you can tell from my face.  I really was stunned to see that magnets cause motors to run.

Blog 10

As I walked to my computer, I noticed that my parent's room's lights were controlled by a dimmer.  A dimmer is a type of switch that allows for lights to be turned on at different brightnesses.  How they work is through the amount of resistance they provide to the circuit.  The normal equation for resistance is R=(rho)(L)/A.  As can be seen by this equation, the amount of resistance would be increased if the lenght of the circuit was increased.  By moving the switch up, we decrease the length, therefore decreasing the amount of resistance.  Since the amount of resistance is decreased, the amount of current is increased (ohms law).  This means that the power is now increased (P=IV).  And, as the power increases, the light bulbs become brighter.  This can be seen by the pictures below.  I never knew how a dimmer worked, and thanks to physics I now do.

Blog 9

In the past few weeks of physics, we have learned about how static electricity works.  When an object becomes negatively charged (gains electrons), it tries to become neutral, through losing electrons.  To do so, many objects give electrons to water molecules in the air, due to these molecules being polar.  In a humid environment, the air is filled with water molecules.  This causes a person to have an easier time having a neutral charge again.  However, in a dry environment, like a ski resort, there is a smaller amount of water molecules in the air.  This makes it difficult for a person, like me, who gains a charge, to lose the excess electrons.  After the picture below was taken, I took off my beanie and felt my hair start to stand up.  It was really WEIRD

Gas Station Blog