Is it Possible: Electromagnetic Pulse Makes The World Go Dark

Mid-Way through the Fall 2014 semester, on a Tuesday to be exact I asked Professor K. if it was possible for an electromagnetic pulse to black-out the world like in the 1996 movie with 'Kurt Russell", in which he said would be highly unlikely. So I decided to do research and this is what I found.

Check out this link: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-10-26-emp_N.htm

And here is a little clip from the movie. Enjoy!

Where is Rosetta?

Here is a link to an interactive site about the Rosetta Mission
http://sci.esa.int/where_is_rosetta/

Funny car video on CarBuzz.com

This is just cool video with an Audi Q3 with a new way of parking. http://carbuzz.com/news/2014/10/23/Audi-Q3-Creates-Ingenious-Parking-Spot-7723268/

Not all pens are created equal...

I did a little research on notebook ink today, and I was very surprised by what I found.  One researcher tested a large number of pens in a variety of hostile environments, including hot ovens and acetone baths.  One of the worst was the Pilot G2, which is my personal favorite!  Here is an image of the test results:

So, do you need to change pens?  Short answer, no.  Ball point pens are still out (they used to be the preferred pen, by the way), but the rollerball ones I handed out  will be just fine.  Stay away from acetone baths or hot ovens, though.

Oh, and black OR blue ink is allowed, no other color.  In my OPINION, black just looks better and is easier to read.

Feel free to look at the original article.  It's not notebook gospel, but the author makes many good points.

Earth's magnetic field could flip within a human lifetime

Thought this was an interesting article
source
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141014170841.htm

Thinking about getting a tattoo?

Thinking about getting a tattoo? You should know how it works. Pretty interesting.

P.S. YAY IT WORKS NOW!!

Circuits Tutorial, Part 1

This is part 1 of 4 tutorials in the basics of circuits and electronics.  After you have watched each video, e-mail me.  I will send you a quick assignment related to the contents of the video.  It might be an exercise where you calculate something, maybe describe a circuit, or something along those lines. Send your answers to me by any means you have available.  (I would avoid the regular mail system.  E-mail works well.)  The form of your answer is up to you.  You can write it out on paper and send me a scan.  You can send me an audio file of you describing your answer.  You can send me a video file of your solution (might be overkill).



Each assignment is worth 10 points.  With the author's permission, I will post the best answers on this blog.



These tutorials take time to absorb.  Please pay close attention to them, minimizing other distractions.



If you have questions about the videos, don't hesitate to e-mail me, or even better, ask the question as a comment below the video.  If you have a question about the material, it's likely that half the class has the same question!  Remember - there are no dumb questions.



Finally, please note that I am not the author of these videos.  These are from the Khan Academy.  All hail Salman Khan!

Circuits Tutorial part 2

Circuits Tutorial Part 3

Circuits Tutorial Part 4

Another potentially cool job you can get with a Physics degree!  I had no idea this kind of job existed...

National Security Agency - Exploitation Analyst

How to make Ferro Fluid

The search for cool things to blog about continues as I have found this video that shows how to make Magnetic Fluid (ferro fluid) using only three simple items and careful instruction. 

I saw this blog as an opportunity to add on to the discussion of magnetism since we have been the topic for the past couple of days. 

Enjoy!

 

Experimental Physicists for Navy Railgun Program

Now there is a coincidence!  This came through my mailbox this morning - the NRL (Naval Research Laboratory) is hiring physicists for the railgun we were talking about yesterday.  Neat stuff...



Experimental Physicists for Navy Railgun Program, Employment | AIP

Plasma Speaker / Tweeter - Completed Working Setup

Plasma speakers.  Too damn cool.  There are plans online, I'm sure.  The key is the flyback transformer, getting harder to find every day...

15 ton prehistoric shark

 Everyone wanted to see the article of the Shark that was 15 tons and 11 meters long.


Here it is click here: http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/15-ton-prehistoric-shark-captured-off-coast-of-pakistan/

Black Holes

Hi everyone, my name is Christian Higgins. Just look for the kid with the bushy eyebrows and you'll find me. I am extremely interested in space. The main thing I love most however is the search for intelligent extraterrestrials. I also would like to possibly show how some theories written in science fiction novels and games can be possible. That brings me to this webpage.

 http://www.iflscience.com/physics/physicist-claims-have-proven-mathematically-black-holes-do-not-exist

This article that I have attached is discussing a theory on how black holes do not exist. A Physicist claims that she has mathematically proven that black holes do not exist. I for one think that is ridiculous. Black holes have been referenced in many science fiction books and the authors all have their own take on what the holes could actually do. I for one would like to prove or disprove some of these theories. Black holes help loosely explain certain phenomena that occurs in space that we don't quite comprehend. Read this article and see what you think.

Wassup Engineering/Physics!!!!

Hello Everyone!! I am Brandon Hardy, the silent black kid in the back. I am a fan of engineering, buuuut not so much for physics (BAD HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER). I enjoy chemistry and I aspire to be a biomedical engineer in my future. Specific events may change what I want to do in the future and I would like to think of Engineering physics as one of those specific courses that may have the most influence in changing my career. Overall math is fun to me so I can't hate physics but I have a lukewarm opinion of the course. I did take nanotechnology so I have an idea of some of the advanced concepts of physics like the quantum mechanics. We already discussed light-wave duality in the earlier classes so I'll throw out another quantum mechanic that we MIGHT discuss in the future. Quantum tunneling...... Fun stuff. Enjoy class. I'll enjoy my 10/10 on this assignment :)

While in class last Thursday.

Hello classmates. Don't know if you guys got around to it but while in class, when we got to microwaves during the lecture, someone brought up an interesting YouTube clip. Thought I'd post it sense it was cool.

Inspirations From Nature: The Cheetah

There's no doubt that the cheetah is a marvel of nature. The ability to reach speeds up to 70 mph is astonishing. But how can we learn and benefit from observing this creature? Well, a team of researchers at MIT may be on to something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMKQbqnXXhQ

After studying the physiology of the cheetah, the engineers at MIT, have created a robot that replicates the movements of the animal. There are many ways in which we could use this technology, including: prosthetics and transportation. Just another gift of nature.

Bringing Electromagnetic Energy to Sea

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9114111/US-Navy-tests-game-changing-supersonic-electromagnetic-rail-gun.html

This link will take you to a web article by Telegraph that talks about a new weapon that is under testing to be used by the United States Navy. This new "Rail Gun" uses electromagnets and electric current to fire projectiles at about 5,600 mph! That was no typo, it is 7 times the speed of sound. This new will weapon will be able to hit targets up to 220 miles compared to the guns used now that have a effective range of 15 miles.

Roush Mustang

Roush just released images of what the 2015 Mustang Roush edition is going to look like after all of the body kit it put on. No word on the specs on what is going to be done to the engine. Here is the link to see the car. http://carbuzz.com/news/2014/9/28/Roush-Reveals-its-2015-Mustang-Mods-7722812/ 

Hey everyone I found this video on flying robots. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has designed robots to fly without human control. I think it is pretty cool what they are doing. If you would like to check it out here is the link.
 http://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/mit-k12/mit-k12-physics/v/indoor-flying-robots

Robotic Octopus?!

Hey there, so apparently some robotic engineers thought it would be interesting to make a robot octopus... It actually moves like an octopus does, via jet-propulsion and walking (although the latter isn't as impressive). Click here if you want to read the article, and the video should be below.

Electromagnetic wave more in depth!

Hey classmates! So as we've talked about electromagnetic spectrum I came across this video that is more into detail about the spectrum hope you enjoy!

click here for the video! and enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

Friction Circle and Racing

Hey everyone. One of my past times was going to the racetrack with the Porsche Club. Driving fast has a lot to do with understanding the physics behind it. Here is a great video explaining the limits of tires while going fast around corners. Just remember to keep it on the on the track and off the streets.

The videos diagram is a little off. Another way to think of this is the next time you have a drink in your car, when you accelerate the liquid would be pressing backwards and when you brake it would slosh to the front. Same goes for turning. Finding the limits of grip while keeping maximum acceleration and grip is what makes fast lap times.

Hope you all enjoyed the video and here is another one of an example of what it looks like while driving on track. This video has the data overlay of the G forces and speeds with the location on track.

Water on Mars

Hey guys! One thing I love is is space! So here is a link to a page about the new spacecraft called 

Maven that just arrived at Mars. 

Click here to go to the website for the Maven project! You can find all sorts of info about Maven!

I highly recommend watching the video. It gives a insight on what they think the mighty red planet looked like many many years ago. 

Welcome!

Greetings, folks!  Welcome to our community blog!  You should know right off the bat that my blogging skills are pretty green - I may be asking you questions about how to do stuff.

The purpose of this blog is to serve as a place where we can share interesting things about physics and engineering that we find out on the web.  Here is one of my favorites - Richard Feynman talking about waves.  Remember, he was a bit of a jerk sometimes, and he can seem very rude at times.  This is because he is rude at times.

Some of our assignments will be handled on this blog, so feel free to post a few things, comment on a few things, etc, just to get the hang of it.  Remember, keep it clean and relevant.  Please.

Enjoy!