All Things Physics

Do I dare? So, so, so, so close…

An evening with Adam Savage, with Matt Parker as the emcee at G4G16. Adam’s talk was funny, deep, intellectual, and touching. What a great event!

Donald Knuth gives a Q&A. “I’m like Gemini. I’ll answer anything, but my answers may contain errors.”

I’m attending my first #G4G gathering, and so far I’m loving it! Here is my colleague @divbyzero.bsky.social giving a talk on interesting number tricks from simple dynamical systems!

YouTube video by All Things Physics Hidden Beauty in a Rolling Wheel

If you haven't seen it, @allthingsphysics.bsky.social has some nice animations: youtu.be/TDAXW0iAIQo?...

I also used Algodoo to show similar vectors: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cnn...

I watched this as it happened, and was as stunned as she was!

Although the article is behind a paywall, there’s a nice video abstract that describes the main content.

Energy loss and jerk on the loop-the-loop In its usual form, the loop-the-loop (LtL) problem involves a uniform solid sphere rolling from rest down a linear ramp that transitions into a circular loop. T

Energy loss and jerk on the loop-the-loop pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp/art...

I’ve read a few AJP articles over the years that discuss rider comfort, and minimizing jerk is one thing that’s always mentioned. There’s one in particular that involves a loop-the-loop that I found particularly interesting from an intro physics perspective. I’ll try to find it and send a link.

Heh…we got word the campus would be closed last Friday, a dramatic change from 25 years ago, when we NEVER closed!

Got a nice little shoutout in the latest issue of #ThePhysicsTeacher about #schlieren imaging and #SeeingSound.

Visualizing Sound and Schlieren pubs.aip.org/aapt/pte/art...

Can someone please clarify whether this affects glowscript. I’m only an occasional user of WebVPython, but would hate to lose what I’ve created over the years.

‘Twas a tough one today. Took me 6 (whew!).

I can’t remember what his role was. His PhD was from the University of Michigan.

www.scu.edu/cas/physics-...

I realize this is a long shot, but did you happen to know Phil Keston? I worked with him when I taught at Santa Clara University.

YouTube video by All Things Physics Is it possible to see sound?

Sharing again in case you missed it. I’m surprised this video hasn’t gained a little more interest. Aren’t people interested in seeing a sound waves? Where are all the physicists?

youtube.com/watch?v=SuxU...

Hmmm, I’m no mathematician, but I would think “where n∊A” means “for all.” After all, n∊A says “n,” not “some n” suggesting no exceptions, right?

Can you provide a little more detail? Most diffusion demonstrations aren’t actually diffusion, and I’d love to have a good one at my fingertips.

Wow! I’ve been there many times, but I’ve never seen it like that!

By the way, this video was made with one of the authors of that article. If you watched the video you probably already knew this. This article is the reason I got interested in schlieren imaging in the first place.

My wife teaches math in a public high school, and teaches the lowest math level. She says there is a lot of pressure not to fail anyone because the school can’t handle the backlog. Everyone just gets pushed through the system. This is not the quite the same issue, but I think there’s a connection.

I too have seen a similar thing. Thankfully, it’s been in relatively small numbers so far, but it’s always surprising when a student can’t do basic algebra but has passed the prerequisite calculus class.

Actually, no. It was the slicing a cube into a million pieces. I found that quite tedious, and AI was a big help.

YouTube video by All Things Physics Is it possible to see sound?

Schlieren imaging really feels like magic. You do some fiddly adjustments with a lamp and a camera together right at the focus of a curved mirror, and suddenly the fiddliness becomes sensitive to tiny variations in the air density near the mirror itself.

The "oh, wow!" moment for me here was 1/🧪⚛️

YouTube video by All Things Physics Is it possible to see sound?

Here's the link to the full video:
youtu.be/SuxUvlgWnWA?...

Have you ever wondered what sound looks like?

My latest video answers this question, and is now out on YouTube! Here's the official trailer, the link to the full video follows. If you like @veritasium.bsky.social, @3blue1brown.com, and @smartereveryday.bsky.social, you're going to love this!

I just uploaded my latest video and am waiting for the copyright claims to clear. It should be released in a day or so. In the meantime, here's one final teaser. Can you demonstrate a standing sound wave via a particle simulation? Not with true accuracy, but sort of...

We too offer far fewer colloquia, but it’s due to smaller attendances rather than budget concerns (though that’s still an issue). My comment is based mainly on the large increase in advertised events. So maybe it’s not an increase in events, but rather an increase in advertising?

I totally agree. I recently was working on a program and got to the point where I knew exactly what needed to be done, but it was going to be extremely tedious to get all the “edge” corrections to work. It would likely have taken me a day or two to get it working, but with AI it was done in an hour.

OMG…AI is really good at programming…I use it a lot. Don’t fear it, let it help you! 😉