125 Physics Projects for the Evil Genius

by Jerry Silver

Overview

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:	9780071626071
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	03/22/2009
Series:	Evil Genius
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Jerry Silver has spent nearly two decades developingcomponents for terrestrial photovoltaic systems for the SolarexCorporation (now BP Solar).

Table of Contents

Section 1: Motion
Discovery 1: What does motion look like?
2: How does a sailboat sail against the wind?
3: Marble race
4: Rolling chair and basketball
5: Target practice
6: Threading the needle
7: How hard was that football kicked?
8: Where should you aim a coconut to reach a nervous monkey in a tree?
Section 2: Going in circles
9: What is the direction of a satellite’s velocity?
10: What is the string that keeps the planets in orbit?
11: How fast can you go around a curve?
12: Ping pong balls racing in a beaker
13: How fast do you have to swing pail filled with water to not get wet?
14: Can the air freshener hanging from you rear view mirror tell if you are speeding?
Section 3: Gravity
15: What planet are we on?
16: The Buck stops here.
17: Weightless water.
18: The race to the ground.
19: Weighing the earth.
Section 4: Force & Newton's Laws
20: Newton's 1st - What to do if you spill gravy on the tablecloth.
21: Newton's 1st - Poker chips, weight on string and a frictionless puck.
22: Newton's 2nd - What to do about that body at rest?
23: Newton's 3rd - Skateboarders having a catch with a bowling ball.
24: Newton's 3rd - Bottle rockets - why do they need water?
25: Ping pong balls on a scale; bird in a truck
26: Friction: getting going and keeping going.
27: Spring: the further you get the harder it gets
28: Atwood's machine.
29: Terminal velocity.
30: Painter on a scaffold.
31: Hanging sign.
32: Pressure - Imploding cans.
33: Pressure - Supporting water in cup
34: Sometime the news can be heavy.
35: How much weight can a suction cup lift?
36: An air pressure fountain.
37: Why astronauts don’t use shaving cream in space.
38: Relaxing on a bed of nails
39: Blowing hanging cans apart.
40: How to balance a broom.
41: Move your fingers to the center of a meter stick.
42: How far can 4 bricks extend beyond the edge of a table? How about 100?
Section 5: Energy / momentum
Discovery 43: The pendulum and your physics teacher’s Ming dynasty vase.
44: Does it matter which path a rolling ball on a frictionless surface follows?
45: Racing balls – the high road vs the low road. Which wins?
46: Where can you find a perfect 90 degree angle in nature?
47: Measuring momentum before and after – in-elastic
48: Measuring momentum before and after – recoil
49:Throwing an egg. Dropping a watermelon.
50: Using gravity to move a car.
51: How can CSI measure muzzle velocity?
52: Riding a bike.
53: Ice skaters and dumbbells.
54: Spinning bucket. What caused Voyager to point in the wrong direction?
55: The great soup can race.
56: Slinkies and snakies.
57: Rolling uphill.
58: Getting around the loop. 59: Loop de loop de loop. Section 6: Sound and Waves 60: What does sound look like? What to do if you don’t have an oscilloscope? 61: Approaching the light. How quickly does it get brighter? 62: Simple harmonic motion: 63: Simple harmonic motion. 64: Springs and electromagnets. 65: When does a spring pendulum have zero velocity. 66: Speed of sound - timing an echo old school. Why Galileo failed with light. 67: Speed of sound – resonance in a cylinder.68: Observing water waves. 69: Interference. Using this to measure the speed of sound. How to do the same thing with light. 70: Speed of sound – phase shift method. 71: Bunsen burner pipe organ. 72: Pendulum waves Section 7: Light 73: Speed of light in air – phase shift method. 74: How do we know that light is a wave? 75: How far apart are the crests of a light wave? 76: Tracing the path of light using a laser. 77: How far apart are the grooves in a CD? 78: How does a satellite dish work? 79: Finding the speed of light in glass and water. 80: Sunglasses and calculator displays. 81: What is the wire of a fiber optic network? 82: How do lenses focus light rays? 83: How do mirrors focus light rays? 84: The disappearing beaker. Section 8: Hot and Cold 85: How much heat is needed to melt Greenland? 86: How much will sea level rise if ocean temperature rises? 87: What is the coldest possible temperature. 88: Experimenting with liquid nitrogen: fruit, cork gun, inflate balloon. 89: How hot is red hot? How cold is ice cold? 90: Boiling water in a paper cup. Burning a water balloon. 91: Boiling water with ice. 92: Seebeck effect / Peltier effect. Section 9: Electricity and Magnetism 93: Static charges. 94: Making lightening. 95: Running into resistance. 96: Resistor circuit boards. 97: How does heat affect resistance? 98: When does iron conduct electricity better than copper? 99: Separating and storing charges. 100: The next best thing to having a battery. 101: Magnetic levitation using superconductivity. 102: Flying a magnetic kite. 103: The magnetic field of a current-carrying wire. 104: Current generated by a magnet. 105: Electromagnetic ring tosser. 106: If copper is not magnetic, why does it effect a falling magnet? 107: Effect of a magnet on an electron beam. 108: What is the shape of a magnetic field? 109: Building a simple motor. 110: Building a simple generator. 111: What happens to a current carrying wire in magnetic field? 112: Magnetic accelerator. 113: Listening to AC. Section 10: The Earth 114: How big is the earth? 115: Measuring the earth's magnetic field. 116: Weighing the earth.117: How do we know what is inside the earth? Section 11: The Twentieth Century