physics Archives - Science Connected Magazine

The Science Behind Auroras

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018 Science Connectedastronomy, aurora, aurora borealis, physics

By Steven Spence (@TheStevenSpence) The northern lights (aurora borealis) and southern lights (aurora australis) are fascinating scientifically. In fact, aurora is not unique to the Earth. We have observed aurora in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn with various spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. Solar Wind The sun constantly emits streams of particles from its atmosphere out into the solar system. This emission is referred to as the solar wind. Sometimes there are solar storms or solar flares, resulting in heavier emissions than normal. If the Earth passes through one…

Physics

Waves of Physics: The Science of Surfing

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017 Science Connectedphysics, surfing

By Jonathan Trinastic @jptrinastic Surfers catching the perfect wave rely on years of experience and learned intuition to navigate through a cresting tunnel of water. But surfing can also be seen as a surfer’s constant minuet with dozens of changing forces that threaten to tumble even the most expert into the crashing waves. Let’s explore the most important forces at play to understand this unique dance with water that so many love. GotScience: When surfers wait for the right wave, they can let other waves pass underneath them. What forces…

Biology Physics

Can You Improve Your Running with Physics?

March 27, 2017March 27, 2017 Science Connectedathlete, feet, motion, physics, runner

By Emily Rhode @riseandsci Running is one of the simplest forms of exercise we can do. It requires no protective gear or fancy equipment. At its core, it just requires force. Runners are constantly searching for clues for how to improve their speed and prevent injury. But until now, there was no easy way to fully assess the way a runner moves. In a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers at Southern Methodist University describe a new method that requires nothing more than a quality camera…

Biology Botany

Flower Power: The Physics of Pollination

December 5, 2016December 5, 2017 Science Connectedbees, physics, pollen, pollination, pollinators

By Marie Davey @biophilesblog Pollination. The word brings to mind the droning buzz of fat yellow and black bumblebees bouncing from blossom to blossom in flower-decked meadows. But up close and in person, pollination is often anything but idyllic. The physical forces involved in pollination can be impressive, and both plants and insects must be well adapted to withstand them. The flowers of bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) generate impressive physical forces, acting as tiny pollen catapults. Bunchberry flower buds have petals that are fused to one another and completely enclose the…

Phosphorescent Concrete: Photo of light-emitting concrete courtesy of Investigation y Desarrollo

Physics Technology

Phosphorescent Concrete Lights the Way Home

May 25, 2016May 24, 2016 Science Connectedconcrete, physics, tech

By Jonathan Trinastic @jptrinastic Imagine a future when, as dusk turns to night during a long drive, the darkening highway begins to glow in soft hues of blue and green to illuminate the path ahead. Such a possibility could become reality after the creation of light-emitting cement by Jose Carlos Rubio at the University of San Nicolas Hidalgo in Mexico. The novel material could provide lighted pathways for cars, trucks, bikes, and pedestrians without using electricity. Countries of Concrete Most developed countries now rely on vast networks of roads to…

Physics Technology

Liquid Graphene: Metal Behaves Like Water

March 15, 2016March 16, 2016 Science Connectedgraphene, new tech, physics

By Jonathan Trinastic @jptrinastic The Liquid Electrons of Graphene Graphene has always been a material full of promise, and now researchers from Harvard University have found one more reason to wonder at this deceptively simple, two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms. Electrons moving across one graphene layer have been observed to act like a fluid for the first time, showing a collective motion rarely seen in other metals. Potential applications of this new behavior range from electronic devices converting heat into electricity to a better understanding of black holes. A Sheet…

Physics

Using Cycling to Teach Physics

January 20, 2016January 14, 2016 Science Connectededucation, physics, science education, STEM education

Working together, scientists and teachers have developed a method to teach physics to 14- and 15-year-olds about aerodynamic drag. “Usually, describing a realistic motion including aerodynamic drag would be beyond the scope of a secondary physics course. However, I realized that this could be done fairly easily for a bike slowing down by aerodynamic drag,” explains Florian Theilmann from the Weingarten University of Education in Germany. From Textbook to Real-Life Physics “In a common physics class, physics seems to be presented in a very simplified way,” Theilmann continues. “Sure, that helps…

Physics

Ruminations on Flight

December 8, 2015December 7, 2015 Science Connectedaircraft, engineering, flight, how stuff works, physics, pilots

By Rosalind Rude I have a friend who pilots his own aircraft. He’s been away from it for a while so now he is boning up, re-sharpening his skills to get back in the saddle, or back in the cockpit. As he recently explained to me, piloting an aircraft is nothing like driving a car or riding a bike. Yaw, Pitch, and Roll There are three axes in play during flight: The airplane turns left and right (yaw). The airplane’s nose goes up and down (pitch). The body of…

Volunteers wearing the rubber soled shoes walk up and down an ice-covered inclined floor in the Challenging Environment Assessment Lab. (Reza Rizvi, Yue Li, and Sharon Ravindran/ Toronto Rehabilitation Institute)

Health Physics Technology

Winter Hack: New Rubber Grips Icy Surfaces

March 18, 2015September 4, 2015 Science Connectedchemistry, gerontology, health, materials, materials science, physics, rubber

Winter storms dumped record amounts of snow on the East Coast and other regions of the United States this year, forcing many people to navigate icy sidewalks and roads. However, treacherous travel by foot may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a team of researchers from the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the University of Toronto, Canada, who are working on a new rubber sole to help pedestrians get a better grip on slippery surfaces. The material is made up of glass fibers embedded in rubber, and it…

Brain-like computer: Artwork courtesy of CoolDesign via freedigitalphotos.net

Engineering Physics Technology

Brain-like Computers from Optical Fibers

March 10, 2015September 4, 2015 Science ConnectedAI, artificial intelligence, computer science, hardware, materials science, new tech, optics, physics, telecommunications

Computers that function like a human brain could soon become a reality thanks to new research using optical fibers made of speciality glass. This research has the potential to allow a faster and smarter brain-like computer that can learn and adapt. Researchers from the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton, UK, and Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies (CDPT) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, have demonstrated how neural networks and synapses in the brain can be reproduced with optical pulses as information carriers, using special fibers…