Nothing But Love :: golf blogger

Fun With Gravity

Physics can be fun. I have already recounted the events of my high school Physics course that was taught by Mr. Wood. The syllabus of the course was:
1. Read The Autobiography of J. Robert Oppenheimer aloud in class -- September 8 through May 19;
2. Review questions and answers of The Autobiography of J. Robert Oppenheimer Exam -- May 20;
3. The Autobiography of J. Robert Oppenheimer Exam -- May 21;
4. The rest of Physics -- May 24 through June 4;
5. Review Physics -- June 7;
6. Physics Open Book Final Exam and Grading with Credit for Corrections -- June 8.

I got an "A" in Physics. Everybody got an "A" in Physics. But Mr. Wood piqued my curiosity about Physics. Gravity is one of the four forces in Nature that is described by the Standard Model. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of Nature's forces, even though it seems pretty strong. After all, if it weren't for gravity, we'd fly off the Earth; but it is so easy to lift things and overcome gravity. Consider that overcoming other forces that hold atoms and the stuff of atoms together results in ... say, huge explosions, if one is not careful.

Where am I going with this? Gravity. It can be fun. Crashing and flying off a motor scooter is not a fun gravitational effect, but other gravity effects can be fun.

The other day, the big glass cake plate cover slid off a cake plate and chipped oh-so-slightly. Now, that tiny, little chip in the edge of the cake plate cover was a good excuse to prove that gravity does, indeed, still exist. Notice the technique:

Q.E.D.

Posted by Bill at September 28, 2010 01:08 PM