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Click on the colored questions in each caption after you've
thought about them
to check your answers.
Electrostatics is
surprisingly shocking. A large negative charge
accumulates as a result of contact
with a Van de Graaf generator,
thus causing...a bad
hair day!
Will their hair stay this way after they remove
their hands?
A popping balloon caught in action!
Notice how the tear moves from the
right to the left, and
that the balloon maintains its shape during the duration
of the pop (which
lasts a few milliseconds).
What information do we need to find the speed of
the rip? How can it be done?
Impulses are extremely
useful in sports! Notice the elastic
property of
the football.
What would change if the kicker did
not run several yards
before kicking the ball? In how
many other sports does
this same effect probably occur?
The Sun's magnetic field
shapes the solar corona,
as shown in this total
solar eclipse
image taken on
Aruba, 1998.
Why should the corona trace
these field lines?
What is it about the material of the
Sun's
outer
atmosphere that allows this to happen?
White light can be
dispersed into its component colors
by water droplets as seen
from
either the air looking down on a cloud (called a "glory", top image) or from
the ground (bottom image) yielding a rainbow. A
lens
or prism will do the
same thing.
Have you ever noticed a laser do this?
Why or why not?
At sunrise or sunset,
the Sun's usual spherical shape is
distorted by a lensing effect
of
Earth's atmosphere, causing
a "squashed" sun. This lensing effect also
causes an
inverted (real) image of the Sun to appear to meet
the
actual sun (called the
AntiSun).
Why does the Sun not appear
perfectly circular when it
is near the horizon, as shown here?
Altering the shape of a jet's wings
permits it to maintain lift as
its speed reduces on
approach to landing, as shown
here by this DC-10 about to land on a runway that
begins where this beach ends!
Is the plane in static or dynamic equilibrium?
Physics Day at Six Flags
Great Adventure is where students
test the laws
of physics
in many ways.
Is the Freefall ride really freefall?
Circular motion in action!
After an approximate 6 second
exposure, these amusement
park rides make an
impressive image when shot right at dusk.
Who is moving faster, the person near the center,
or someone on the outside edge?
Is a person on
the ride
accelerating if the ride spins at
constant speed?
These are just a few
real-world examples in
which you can experience the curiosity
and fun of Physics all around you. It is
the science of Physics which
holds you, your world, our Solar System and
the Universe together. Where can you spot Physics in
action? Click on the links above or just browse to discover for
yourself and find out!
Enjoy your visit
J
NOTICE!
The
unlawful use, reproduction or publication
of any images displayed anywhere on this website without
the express written consent of the
website author (contact
me)
is illegal, is a violation of applicable US
Copyright laws and is therefore an act which is subject to
appropriate legal action
and potential prosecution. Should you be interested in
obtaining duplicate prints of any image you see here
(not free of charge), please
contact me.
Copyrighted images seen in this
Gallery section were photographed by the author,
who possesses the sole rights to the reproduction of
these images.
Photography
by Edward Pascuzzi
All Rights Reserved
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The Awesome
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AP
Physics
