Could We Really Have Space-Based Solar Power?I saw this IFLscience article about a Chinese plan to create a space-based solar power system. Of course, I have to add some comments and…8h ago8h ago
Physics Estimate: Could Captain America Survive a Punch From Red Hulk?There’s no question about it. The upcoming Marvel movie (Captain American: Brave New World) has a scene where Red Hulk fights Cap. It’s in…Jan 145Jan 145
For a Truck Tug of War, It’s All About Weight and FrictionIt’s not fair to have a tug of war between a Tesla Cybertruck and a Ford F150. Why isn’t it fair? Well, the Cybertruck has a weight of 6843…Jan 71Jan 71
Video Analysis: The Good, the Bad and the UglyIf you record videos for your physics analysis, there are some things you just shouldn’t do. Let’s go over those “wrongs” so you can make a…Jan 49Jan 49
If Velocity Is Relative, Why Isn’t Kinetic Energy Relative?Maybe that title isn’t super clear. How about I just present a question that seems popular online right now. It goes like this.Dec 31, 202410Dec 31, 202410
The Physics of Jumping: From Humans to The HulkThis is a great physics problem. Let’s use the work-energy principle to look at the forces on a jumping human. As the title says, after…Dec 24, 20247Dec 24, 20247
Free Fall Acceleration on the Moon. Video Analysis of Apollo 16Is it possible to estimate the value of the gravitational field on the surface of the moon? Yup — and I’m going to do it using a video of…Dec 21, 20243Dec 21, 20243
The Math of Cat in the Hat: Would Cat Z Be Too Small to See?Of course you’ve heard of Cat in the Hat. It’s a classic from Dr. Seuss. Well, there’s more than one book. In the second book (The Cat in…Dec 18, 20249Dec 18, 20249
Lagrangian Mechanics: Speed Run Problems (with VPython Animations)Just for fun, I’m going to set up some physics problems for Lagrangian mechanics. This will give you some situations to practice with.Dec 13, 20241Dec 13, 20241
Real World Physics: Estimating the Acceleration of a TrainSometimes you see stuff in the real world that would just make a fun physics problem. It’s not a textbook problem with a bunch of given…Dec 7, 20241Dec 7, 20241