The Power of Rube!!!

Reuben Goldberg was an American cartoonist who's wild cartoons showed crazy contraptions doing simple tasks. His cartoons have since inspired countless people to challenge their creativity and their understanding of physics in the real-life production of simple yet complex machines. Fun, imagination, and physics are key.

The simple pattern

ENERGY -- FORCE -- ENERGY -- FORCE -- ENERGY -- FORCE -- ENERGY.......

Start by reviewing the week 6 notes online (this is a mandatory part of the assignment).



Watch the OK Go! video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w) and find examples for the following six concepts. BE SPECIFIC and briefly explain why your examples demonstrate the concepts.

Static Friction
Kinetic Friction
Work
Gravitational Potential Energy
Elastic Potential Energy
Kinetic Energy

Phun Physics with Phelines!

Hope you all are cat lovers. I've always been more of a dog person, but there was no video called "Pun Pysics with Puppies." Watch the video (at right). Partway through there is the "Joke of the Day." For your response, explain why it's funny! Okay, it's only borderline funny, but still...tell us why it's funny and explain (IN THOROUGH DETAIL) the physics at the heart of the joke. You all did a fantastic job with your responses on the latest blog posts -- keep up the great work!

:) Mr. R

Quick observation of friction...

Well, whatchyu got?!

It's All About ME!!

Unfortunately, the title is a little too true when it comes to our instinctive frame of reference as human beings. We're always "Zero the Hero," which is to say...whatever you're doing is your normal -- it's your Zero. Everything else happens relative to that.

Being that the concept of relative motion and frame of reference is counterintuitive to what our eyes see, here's another example: a skydive....

Watch the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz8lbjxLwlo). From the camerman's P.O.V., the parachuter goes upwards when he deploys his 'chute. Truth is, they DON'T go up! Why does it look that way to the cameraman and what would someone on the ground (external p.o.v.) see of both skydivers?

Grounded for Life!!

Let's say that someone you know is driving WAY too fast on the freeway (obviously, you personally are much too smart to do anything so foolhardy and dangerous!). Ultimately, your friend's parents will find out he's driving at 80 mph no matter what. He can't escape getting busted! BUT, from the options below, choose which POV/frame of reference he would want his parents to have so his velocity seems the lowest relative to them.

Choose one by voting in the poll to the right, and add a comment to explain WHY your choice is best (AND why the other choices are less ideal)...

The parents driving 60 mph toward him (on the other side of the freeway, of course).
The parents driving 60 mph in the same direction on his side of the freeway.
The parents sitting along the freeway watching him drive by. (External)