125 Physics Projects for the Evil Genius / Edition 1

by Jerry Silver

Overview

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125 Wickedly Fun Ways to Test the Laws of Physics!

Now you can prove your knowledge of physics without expending a lot of energy. 125 Physics Projects for the Evil Genius is filled with hands-on explorations into key areas of this fascinating field. Best of all, these experiments can be performed without a formal lab, a large budget, or years of technical experience!

Using easy-to-find parts and tools, this do-it-yourself guide offers a wide variety of physics experiments you can accomplish on your own. Topics covered include motion, gravity, energy, sound, light, heat, electricity, and more. Each of the projects in this unique guide includes parameters, a detailed methodology, expected results, and an explanation of why the experiment works. 125 Physics Projects for the Evil Genius:

• Features step-by-step instructions for 125 challenging and fun physics experiments, complete with helpful illustrations
  
• Allows you to customize each experiment for your purposes
• Includes details on the underlying principles behind each experiment
• Removes the frustration factor—all required parts are listed, along with sources

125 Physics Projects for the Evil Genius provides you with all of the information you need to demonstrate:

• Constant velocity
  
• Circular motion and centripetal force
  
• Gravitational acceleration
• Newton's laws of motion
  
• Energy and momentum
  
• The wave properties of sound
  
• Refraction, reflection, and the speed of light
  
• Thermal expansion and absolute zero
• Electrostatic force, resistance, and magnetic levitation
• The earth's magnetic field
  
• The size of a photon, the charge of an electron, and the photoelectric effect
  
• And more

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071621311
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	03/21/2009
Series:	Evil Genius
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jerry Silver has developed components for terrestrial photovoltaic systems and designed solar arrays currently providing power for over 20 commercial and NASA satellites. He participated in the production of high-performance semiconductor materials used for cell phone transistors, optical communication, and multijunction solar cells. Mr. Silver holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Cornell University and an M.S. in Physics from the University of Massachusetts. Mr. Silver currently teaches in the New Jersey area.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Section 1: Motion
Project 1. Getting started. Constant velocity. Running the gauntlet.
Project 2. Picturing motion. Getting a move on.
Project 3. The tortoise and the hare. Playing catch-up.
Project 4. How does a sailboat sail against the wind? Components of force.
Project 5. Stepping on the gas.
Project 6. Rolling downhill. Measuring acceleration.
Project 7. Independence of horizontal and vertical motion. Basketball tossed from a rolling chair.
Project 8. Target practice. Horizontal projectile—rolling off a table.
Project 9. Taking aim. Shooting a projectile at a target.
Project 10. Monday night football. Tracking the trajectory.
Project 11. Monkey and coconut.
Section 2: Going Around in Circles
Project 12. What is the direction of a satellite's velocity?
Project 13. Centripetal force. What is the string that keeps the planets in orbit?
Project 14. A gravity well. Following a curved path in space.
Project 15. How fast can you go around a curve? Centripetal force and friction.
Project 16. Ping-pong balls racing in a beaker. Centripetal force.
Project 17. Swinging a pail of water over your head.
Section 3: Gravity
Project 18. Feather and coin.
Project 19. How fast do things fall?
Project 20. The buck stops here (the falling dollar.) Using a meterstick to measure time.
Project 21. Weightless water. Losing weight in an elevator.
Project 22. What planet are we on? Using a swinging object to determine the gravitational acceleration.
Section 4. Force and Newton's Law
Project 23. Newton's first law. What to do if you spill gravy on the tablecloth at Thanksgiving dinner.
Project 24. Newton's first law. Poker chips, weight on a string, and a frictionless puck.
Project 25. Newton's second law. Forcing an object to accelerate.
Project 26. Newton's third law. Equal and opposite reactions.
Project 27. Newton's third law. Bottle rockets. Why do they need water? (Sir Isaac Newton in the passenger's seat.)
Project 28. Pushing water. Birds flying inside a truck.
Project 29. Slipping and sliding.
Project 30. Springs. Pulling back. The further you go, the harder it gets.
Project 31. Atwood's machine. A vertical tug of war.
Project 32. Terminal velocity. Falling slowly.
Project 33. Balancing act. Painter on a scaffold.
Project 34. Hanging sign.
Project 35. Pressure. Imploding cans.
Project 36. Pressure. Supporting water in a cup.
Project 37. Pressure. Sometimes the news can be pretty heavy.
Project 38. Archimedes's principle. What floats your boat?
Project 39. Cartesian diver.
Project 40. An air-pressure fountain.
Project 41. Blowing up a marshmallow. Less is s'more. Why astronauts do not use shaving cream in space.
Project 42. Relaxing on a bed of nails.
Project 43. Blowing hanging cans apart. What Bernouli had to say about this.
Project 44. Center of mass. How to balance a broom.
Project 45. A simple challenge. Move your fingers to the center of a meterstick.
Project 46. Center of gravity. How far can a stack of books extend beyond the edge of a table?
Project 47. Center of mass. The leaning tower of pizza.
Section 5: Energy/Momentum
Project 48. The pendulum and your physics teacher's Ming dynasty vase.
Project 49. Two slopes. Different angle, same height.
Project 50. Racing balls. The high road versus the low road.
Project 51. Linear momentum. Where can you find a perfect 90-degree angle in nature?
Project 52. Elastic collisions.
Project 53. Inelastic collision. Sticking together.
Project 54. Impulse and momentum. Eggstreme physics.
Project 55. Using gravity to move a car.
Project 56. How can CSI measure muzzle velocity? The ballistic pendulum.
Project 57. Angular momentum. Riding a bike.