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
The "Joke of the Day" is funny because the cat falls off of the roof because the loss of mu: The less mu, the smoother the surface and the smoother the surface, the less friction. The less friction there is, the harder it will be for the cat to stay on the roof; therefore, with virtually no friction at all, the cat slides right off onto the ground.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because mu, the coefficient of friction, sounds like mew which is the noise a cat makes. Since the cat lost his mu and his coefficient of friction decreased, he fell off the roof. (Roof is the noise a dog makes...but I don't think that was part of the joke...) Because the cat lost his mu, the surface area in contact of his paws and of the roof had a reduced amount of friction. This reduction of friction with less microscopic irregularities causing less microscopic collisions, resulted in him slipping down the side of the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats make a mew noise which sounds like mu; however, mu is a measurement of friction. The cat losing its mu means that he would just slide down the roof and the roughness of the roof could not stop him from falling. But its a good thing that cats always land on their feet. :)
ReplyDeleteThe joke refers to "mu" which, in physics, is the coefficient for friction. It's funny because in the video it refers to the sound a cat makes, "mew." Although spelt differently, both words make the same sound. In order for the cat to stay on the roof, the concept of friction applies causing the paws of the cat to create friction with the roof. Both the paws of the cat, surface A, and the roof, surface B, have microscopic irregularities which collide in order to create friction. This collision would typically keep the cat from falling off of the surface of the roof because the microscopic particles are colliding forming a somewhat type of bond. Because the cat lost it's "mu," or friction, the microscopic particles are no longer colliding which means the friction no longer exists and the cat would simply fall off of the surface of the roof.
ReplyDeleteEvery surface has microscopic irregularities causing microscopic collisions, which is friction. Also, you need two or more surfaces, in this case, the cats’ paws and the roof. Yet, the cat lost his “mu” (μ), which is a coefficient of friction. Therefore, without any “mu” or friction, the cat slides right off the roof because there are no microscopic irregularities causing microscopic collisions.
ReplyDeleteThe joke of the day is comical because "mu", the coefficient of friction sounds like "mew", the sound a cat makes. The cat fell off the roof because as the friction between its paws and the roof decreased, it became gradually harder and harder to not slide off the roof. As the friction decreases, the surfaces come in less contact with each others small ridges.Thus, eventually there is not enough contact for the cat to stay on the roof, and it falls off.
ReplyDelete"Mu" is the coefficient for friction. Therefore, the joke of the day is funny because the sound that a cat makes is "mew". Even though Mu and mew are spelled differently, they still sound the same when said aloud. The cat fell off the roof due to the lose of mu. Because there was less mu, the surface then became smoother causing there to be less friction. The less friction, the easier it is for the cat to fall all the roof, which is what happened.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is about "mu" which is the coefficient for friction. It's funny because the cat makes the sound "mew." even though the words are not technically the same, both words sound the same. when the cat was sliding on the roof, the friction decreased. The cat lost its mu (friction), which means his paws and the roof are not colliding. Since the cat no longer has its mu and there is little contact with the roof, the cat falls.
ReplyDeleteSoooo...yea... I didn't see how that was funny and the joke I was slow at ahah but Mu is the coefficient of gravity and a Mew is the sound a cat makes the cat lost his Mu because the cats paws were not gripping the surface well enough as the grooves did not fit as well and the cat fell.
ReplyDeleteWell ultimately the joke is based off of "mu". “Mu”is the coefficient of Friction. The joke is funny, since the cat says "mew", which sounds exactly like "mu". Within the cat's connection to "mu" it lost the ability to stay on roof, because it lost its"Mu" completely. Ultimately the cat does not create any friction, which is supposed to hold the cat on the roof. Moreover, since there is no friction there is nothing to hold the cat, in which he fall off the roof.
ReplyDeleteThis joke was funny because the cat lost it's "Mu" and cats meow. Mu is the coefficient of friction and friction is what was keeping that cat on the roof. Friction was caused by the ridges in the surface of the roof and the static energy from the cat sitting on it. When the cat lost its "mu" it fell off the roof because it had to friction to keep in on the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe "joke" is funny because the cat lost it's Mu, the coefficient of friction, while "mew" is the sound that cats make. The loss of Mu led to less friction, causing the cat to slide down much easier. The less friction there is, the harder it is for the cat to stay on the roof. Also, with less Mu, there is less microscopic irregularities, which results in less collision between the cat and the roof itself. This forces the cat to slide down the roof with much more ease.
ReplyDeleteMu (actually pronounced "moo" by Greeks, apparently) is the coefficient of friction. Friction is what keeps everything from sliding around endlessly (if we lived in a vacuum). In fact, a frictionless world that still contained outside forces such as air resistance, etc. would still be very slippery. The joke, "why did the cat slide off the roof?" and it's answer "because it lost its Mu" is funny because most people mispronounce this letter--they pronounce it "mew." Mew, the squeak of a kitten, and the common pronunciation of Mu are homophones, meaning they are spelled differently but sound the same. If the cat "lost his Mu," he would have lost friction and therefore lost all the grip he had on the roof. This is the pun.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is "funny" because the cat los his MU. Mu in physics is the coefficient of friction... basically the "number of friction" that a certain subject will have on another object. A cat normally will probably have a high MU on a rooftop because of the amount of friction...or tiny collisions... it has with the roof. The cat in this joke lost his coefficient of friction and could therefore slid off the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats make the "mew" sound, which sounds like "mu," which in physics is the coefficient of friction. So, the phrase "the cat lost his mu" refers to the fact that he lost the friction that was keeping him on the roof. This is because the less mu, the less friction there is because there is little contact between the microscopic inequalities of the surface area (roof) and the cats paws.Therefore, the less friction, the harder it will be for the cat to stay on the roof, forcing him to eventually fall off.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is "funny" because the sound a cat makes is "mew" and the coefficient for friction is "mu" and they are both pronounced the same. If the cat loses its "mew" it is just not making sound. However, in terms of friction, the static energy caused by the friction between the cat and the surface of the roof is broken, or lost, causing the cat to fall off of the roof.... Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteThe joke in the video is somewhat funny because cats make the sound "mew". The similar sounding term is mu, which is the coefficient of friction. When the cat lost his mu, there is no friction, so the cat will slide furever haha.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because of the use of the words “mu” and “mew.” The first one is referring to the coefficient of friction, and the second is referring to the sound of the cat. Even though we learned that Greeks actually pronounce the coefficient as “moo,” the joke uses these two words with the same pronunciations. Since the cat “lost his mu,” the cat no longer had a grip, or friction, with the roof. The friction was between his feet and the ridges of the roof, but once the friction and grip ended, he fell. It was very PUNNY.
ReplyDeletethe joke is funny because cats make a "mew" sound, similar to the sound of the coefficient for friction "mu". The less "mu" or friction the smoother the surface, making it easier for the cat to slide off! The cat lost his "mu" or coeff of friction and slid off the roof.LOL
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the coefficient for friction is mu, and cats go mew which sounds quite similar. The cat lost his mu which meant that he no longer had any friction between his feet and the surface of the roof causing him to fall off.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the cat says "mew" but the actual word used was "mu." The coefficient of friction (mu) made the contact points between the kittens paw and the roof decrease which caused the cat to slide down. In simpler terms the cat started falling because it was losing its grip on the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke was funny because Mue is a coefficient for friction; everything has its own frictiony-ness. The fact that the cat on the roof lost its mu was funny because when it fell it said mu even though it had no mu. hahaha
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because mew (the sound a cat makes) is a play on words for Mu, the coefficient of friction. If the cat lost its Mu, that means there is no more friction between the roof and the cats feet to hold the cat up on the roof, and as a result it would fall off.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because it is a play on words; a cat makes the sound "mew" and "mu" is the coefficient of friction. Furthermore, when the cat lost it's mu, it lost the friction between his feet and the roof causing him to fall off.
ReplyDeleteThe term Mu is the coefficient for friction. The joke is funny because the cat says Mew which is a pun for Mu. Since the cat lost its friction along the roof, it could not stay on due to the lack of grip.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because of the term mixup between "mu" and "mew".
ReplyDeleteMu is the coefficient of friction while "mew" is similar to the sound that cats make. The loss of Mu made the cat unable to stay on the roof because of the lack of friction.
The "Joke of the Day" is funny because the cat loses his/hers mew. Mu (the sound the cat makes) is a pun for the term mew which is the coefficient of friction. Both the cat and the roof surfaces have microscopic differences and when then collide it causes friction (or mu). Since the cat "lost his mu" it lost its friction and grip on the roof. Therefore causing the cat to fall helplessly (to its death). And that why the jokes funny... ha ha ha and whatnot. :D
ReplyDeleteDue to the fact that the cat lost friction on the roof and as a result lost its grip, the cat says "mew", the noise that cats make, which is a play on words for the word "mu", the coefficient for friction.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because "mu", the coefficient of friction, sounds just like "mew", the noise a cat makes. Since the coefficient of friction is low, the cat loses its grip and therefore falls off the roof. The surface area contacting his feet and the roof of the house lost balance to the roughness of the roof, making the cat losing his "mu" and falling off the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke of the day is funny because a baby kitten goes mew which is a pun for mu the coefficient for friction, and without friction gravity became the dominate force and pulled the cat off the roof, because there is no friction putting up resistance.
ReplyDeleteThe joke they are trying to make is a pun on the sound mew, which a cat makes, and the pronunciation of µ, the Greek letter mu, which acts as the placeholder for the coefficient of friction. If the cat "loses his µ," there will be no friction present (as the surfaces suddenly became absolutely smooth...) meaning that the cat would simply slide off the roof as there would no longer be any microscopic imperfections to hold it in place.
ReplyDeleteThe joke refers to "mu", the coefficient for friction. The joke is made when the cat refers to mu as "mew." Many people wrongly pronounce mu as "mew," which is the point of the joke. The lack of mu made the cat unable to stay on the roof, because of the loss of friction between his feet and the roof. The video uses a pun between the spelling of the words to make a HILARIOUS joke.
ReplyDeleteThe term Mu is the coefficient for friction. The joke is funny because the cats say Mew which is a pun for Mu. Once the cat lost its Mu it lost friction between the roof and its feet ultimately resulting in the cat falling off.
ReplyDeleteThe joke refers to the symbol "mu" (the coefficient of friction). Since the cat makes the sound of "mew" (the American mispronunciation of the word) makes the joke funny. Due to the lack of mu, the cat cannot remain on the roof because of this certain loss of friction.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny due to the play on words of "Mu" and "Mew". In physics, "Mu" is the coefficient of friction which is very similar to the noise cats make, "Mew". Because the cat loses its mu, there is much less friction present. This causes the cat to slide off the roof due to the fact that the surface of the roof is very smooth.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is punny because "mu" is the coeficient of friction whereas "mew" is the sound a cat makes. The cat looses his "mu" which means no friction is present due to the fact that the surface is smooth. The cat slides off of the roof because there aren't enough imperfections to stop the cat from falling :(
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats make a "mew" sound, similar to the word "mu," which in physics is the coefficient for friction. Therefore, the line "the cat lost his mu" is actually saying that the cat lost the friction that was holding him to the roof. The friction was between the cats paws and the roof tiles, but when the friction was lost, the cat fell.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats make the noise "mew", and mu, which sounds like mew, is the coefficient of friction. When the cat fell off the roof, his mu decreased. The collision of microscopic particles create a bond and keep the cat on the surface, but since the cat lost its mu, friction no longer exists. These microscopic particles are no longer colliding, therefore that is why the cat fell off the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe supposed "joke" is that without mu (mew), there is no friction to hold the cat onto the roof
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the cat is saying mew which is how you would pronounce the word mu, which is the coefficient for friction. The less mu means there is less friction and therefor the cat slid right off the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because of the comparison between the different words "mu" and "mew". The cat is saying mew but it sounds like mu which is the coefficient for friction. It is a pun because there is friction on the rough surface that the cat is standing on.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because it is a pun. The cat says "MEW" and "MU" is the coefficient of friction, holding the cat on the roof. Without friction, no cat on the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the cat says "mew" which is the incorrect way to pronounce the word "mu" which is the coefficient for friction. If there was less friction ("mew") the cat would have slid off the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats make the "'mew" sound which sounds like "mu" the coefficient for friction. By saying "the cat lost his mu" it means no friction is present because the surface is smooth. The car then calls off the roof because there are not enough imperfections.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats say "mew", which is a play on "mu", the coefficient for friction. When the cat looses its footing, it says "mew" but its really referring to "mu" because there is no friction between the cat and the roof to prevent the cat from sliding. The bumping of tiny tiny particles create a bond that keep the cat from sliding off, but since the cat lost its "mu", the friction no longer is there. The loss of friction causes the cat to loose its "mu".
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the cat didnt have enough mu to stay on the roof but also the cat couldn't make a "mu" sound, it is a pun or play on words. Mu is a measurement of friction and the roof was very smooth and therefore slippery not allowing the cat to have enough my to stay on the roof, so he fell off. The cat also couldn't make a proper "mu" or meow sound. The cat lost its mu because of the lack of friction but it also lost its mu sound.
ReplyDeleteThe joke pokes fun at the general mispronunciation of mu, the coefficient of friction, which sounds like a cat’s “mew”. Due to the low mu, the cat falls off the roof, as there is no more friction between the roof and the cat’s feet.
ReplyDeleteHehehehe, hahaha, hohoho, oooooooh, WOW, oh. This joke really is funny because it is touching on the play on words of the pronunciation of the word "mu," and the sound a cat makes, "mew." As apposed to the cat not being able to make the "mew" sound anymore, in actuality, it only lost all it's friction, or it's mu
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because cats make a sound that sounds like "mew" much like the coefficient for friction "mu", but the cat is unable to pronounce the sound "mu". If there was less "mew" or "mu" the cat would not have stayed on the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke of the day if funny because the cat says "mew" which sounds like "mu" which is the coefficient of friction. The surface is smooth because it lost its friction and the joke shows the pun between the two words which unfortunately leads to the cat's fall.
ReplyDeleteThe joke of the day is punny because when cats meow it sounds like mu but, mu is coefficient of friction.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the cat is making a sound that sounds like "mew". "Mew" sounds like "mu"; the co-efficient for friction. If there was not as much friction (mu) present, the cat would have not stayed on the roof.
ReplyDeleteThe joke of the day is funny because the cat fell off of the roof due to there being little mu (coefficient of friction) and "mu" is similar to the sound a cat makes, "meow"
ReplyDeleteSorry About the late response :(, the other post somehow didn't post. (It was almost on time). The Punny joke was very funny because it was a play on words. Cats make the sound "Meow" and in the video it was "MU". However, Mu is not the sound a cat makes but actually the coefficient of friction.
ReplyDeleteThe joke is funny because the cat is making the Mew sound and it sounds like MU which is the co efficient for friction
ReplyDeleteThe joke was funny because MU is the coefficient for friction and the cat says Mew in the video.
ReplyDeleteStatic Friction
ReplyDeleteStatic friction is the natural resistance between any two objects that are resting against each other. It exists because the imperfections of one surface, while at rest, tend to settle into the imperfections of the other surface and increase the surface area and resisting force because of the contact between them.
Thirty seconds into the video, steel balls sit perfectly still in grooves on a sloped piece of wood. While gravity pulls at them to roll down the ramp, each one resists and remains in position until it is nudged by a ball rolling past it. Some outside force is required to overcome the static friction and initiate the motion.
Kinetic Friction
Kinetic friction is the drag or resistance between two objects that are in moving or sliding against each other. Friction slows the moving object down, especially if the surfaces are rough, and can cause the objects to heat up.
There is a lot of kinetic friction in the video, basically anytime one object strikes another, or when any two moving objects rub or make contact. I would say it’s most obvious when the makers of the video want to slow something down, like using pegs to slow down the red and blue balls bouncing through the Pichinko machine (at 1:50). I would also say the kinetic friction makes most of the sounds coming from the objects themselves -- like the dominos against each other, the car down the ramp, and the ball across the floor in the opening scene all make different sounds due to the contact and friction between the different materials.
Work
Work is force applied over a distance, meaning an effort of some kind must cause an object to move. If a force does not cause any movement, it’s just effort, not work. If an object moves with no effort, then there is also no work accomplished.
The simplest example of “work” is at the very beginning of the video, where the man in red pushes the truck. It would sit still without being pushed. And if it was glued down, he might push very hard without doing any “work”. But when he pushes the toy truck and it moves, he does work.
Gravitational Potential Energy
This is the potential or pent up energy of any object that gets released when gravity is allowed to act on it. The piano is a great example, in the middle of the video. It has a lot of “potential” energy because it is big (it has a lot of mass) and it’s held off the floor, giving it the potential to crash to the ground. But many other things have Gravitational Potential Energy, too, like the shopping cart before it is released, the chairs that are set up to tip over and all of the objects that are used in this contraption as weights on the end of a string that pull ropes and strings through pulleys when their weight and Gravitational Potential Energy is released.
Elastic Potential Energy
This is the potential energy that is stored in an elastic object (like a rubber band) when it is stretched or deformed in some way. It takes force and energy to deform the object, in the first place, (like stretching the rubber band) and that force is stored in the form of Elastic Potential Energy.
A great example, early in the video, is where the band uses a mouse trap (at 1:03) to send a tennis ball flying across the room to tip over a yellow bucket. The metal spring in the mouse trap is wound up to store a lot of Elastic Potential Energy in its spring, which is released to launch the ball.