Through the Spectrum of Electromagnetics

Another story from my Physics life. Since we are now studying waves I must understand the different types of waves in the, ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM? What is that, well I didn't know until I did a little research.

The EM spectrum is the space in which all of the waves that people use travel through. Like gamma rays, X-Rays, Ultraviolet rays, Infrared rays, Microwaves, and Radio waves, ordered from smallest to largest. We use all of these waves every day, from doctors using X-Rays, to regular people popping popcorn.  All of these waves could take hours to explain, so I will focus on two; X-Rays and Radio Waves.

X-Rays are mainly know in the use of them by doctors to discover broken bones and problems inside of a patient.  X-Rays have a frequency of 5E15 Hz and a wavelength of 8E-8 m.  X-Rays are above the frequency of visible light, which makes them impossible to see.  X-Rays occur naturally mainly in outer space.  The X-Ray machines that doctors use send X-Rays into ones body and create a shadow over something that it cannot pass through, such as a bone.  Overexposure to X-Rays can cause serious damage to the cells of the body, because of this doctors use lead to protect the body from overexposure.  Supernovas and black holes also emit X-Rays, and are discovered by NASA in using X-Ray visualizing satellites.  The difference is that medical X-Rays do not occur naturally and are man made.

Radio waves are used by being sent from a transmitter to a reciever. Radio waves are the most used out of any of the waves in the EM spectrum.  They have a low frequency of about 6E2 Hz and a large wavelength of anywhere from 3 to 300 meters.  Radio waves have too low of a frequency to be seen.  Every time someone uses a phone, turns on the radio, or watches TV, they are using radio waves by sending a signal to and from a transmitter and reciever.  Radio waves are also used in the ocean and the air to communicate between crafts to prevent crashes.  Radio waves are mainly used for communication, listening to your favorite music, and watching your favorite show.  They are also used in militaristic ways, for detecting enemy ships and planes, to simple leisurely ways, like popping popcorn.

There you have it.  That is my in depth look into the WWES (Wide World of the Electromagnetic Spectrum). 

Attributions:

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html

https://www.whitbypandemonium.co.uk/images/XRay-Cat-Patch.jpg
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/interact/electromagneticspectrum.html
http://collegehilloh.net/enewsletterarchive/images/graphics/radio%20interference.jpg

My Journey Through Energy Transfers

       This is a presentation of how energy is transferred in nature.  Birds use the transfer of Gravitational Potential Energy to move and survive.  Birds transfer all of their Potential energy into Kinetic Energy so that they can fly at blazing speeds and catch prey.

        The system in this particular example is the bird and the earth.  The only transfer of energy is from full Potential to Kinetic and some potential.  The bird dives down, reducing air friction in an aerodynamic shape.  This transfers all of the Energy to Kinetic energy.  The formula for the bird's energy would be PEG=KE.  Velocity, in meters per second, and mass, in kilograms, are necessary for solving the Kinetic energy as 1/2xv^2, in Joules.  The height, in meters, the mass, in kilograms, and the gravitational pull of the earth, 9.8 meters per second squared, are necessary for solving the Potential Gravitational Energy as mgh.  That's my story of Energy Transfers and how it relates to the beauty of nature.

Attributions

http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/161/flying-birds_T5301.jpg
http://english.pravda.ru/images/photo/3/0/0/35300.jpeg
http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/161/birds-of-prey_T5808.jpg
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Mythbusters Lab 2

Myth #2: An object always changes its motion if there is a force exerted on it.

Statement: If an object always changes its motion if there is a force exerted on it by other objects, and we roll a ball at a bottle, then the ball will stop.

The sum of the forces is -Fn1 but the ball rolls through the bottle without changing direction, disproving the myth.

Conclusion:

       My prediction was wrong since the ball rolled straight through the bottle and didn't change direction at all.  I believed that the ball would somewhat change direction, but nothing of that nature happened.  If the ball had hit a wall, then the ball would have bounced back and changed in the complete opposite direction.  This is a commonly believed myth.  When there is a large force at play, but when there is a small force it doesn't affect it at all.  The myth is one of those "no duh" type things, but it turned out to be false.

Mythbuster Lab 1

During this episode, I will be testing a myth sent to me by my physics teacher.

Myth: An object always moves in the direction of the net force exerted on it.

Prediction: If an object always moves in the direction of the net force exerted on it, and we drop a ball on the ground, then the ball will bounce, and continue in the opposite direction of the force of gravity, disproving the myth.

The sum of the forces is -Fg while the ball is in the air after it hit the ground, but it is still rising and it comes back to Tori.

Conclusion:

The myth is busted because the ball rose and came back to Tori.  Originally, I thought that this would be very difficult to bust, but I believe that this test thoroughly busted the myth.  Most people would believe this myth because an object mostly moves in the direction of the applied force, which is probably the origin of this myth.  Our testing busted the myth, and I hope that this will make people rethink their thought process.

Newton's Laws, my journey

Sir Isaac Newton is most famous for discovering gravity and his three laws of motion.  Most recently, my Physics class has been learning about Sir Isaac Newton's laws, and learning about how they work.  Newton's First Law describes an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and object in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon.  Both of these scenarios describe equilibrium.  Newton's second law is describes acceleration, or an object that is not in equilibrium.  Acceleration is caused by the amount of force that is exerted on an object, and the more mass an object has, the force is needed to move it.  Finally, Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  For example, when a cat traps a mouse's tail on the floor, the floor exerts an equal and opposite force on the cats paw.

I have found that second law problems are the most difficult because they involve acceleration.  First Law problems are easier because they are in equilibrium and they variables on the axis equal zero and Third Law problems are also simple, because there is little math involved and the answer is in the problem.  Second Law problems are much more challenging because of the amount of work needed to complete them.

Throughout the course of the year, I have noticed that I learn things at a slower pace than my teacher teaches it.  Mrs. Gende goes boom, boom, boom ready, next thing.  I thought that I was just horrible at Physics until I got an A on my exam when I was getting low Bs on my test.  I realized that I really need to motivate myself to get better grades in Physics if I am going to be successful in High School.

Vector Review

A new concept that we learned in Honor's Physics was vectors.  I learned that vectors have magnitude and direction, and that vectors can be combined to find their resultant.  I also learned that the process of solving a vector uses trigonometry, a skill we learned earlier.  I found that adding the vectors correctly to solve for the resultant and the tangent was the most difficult part of solving vectors.  I did well in solving for the resultants and components of the vectors, but I ran into trouble when there were multiple vectors.  Vectors can be connected to everyday life by traveling 30 miles East, and then 40 North and knowing that you displaced yourself 50 miles.

Projectile motion is the newest concept that we have discussed in Physics.  I learned that the horizontal velocity of an object in the air does not change throughout the course of its flight.  I also learned that an object in the air has two different velocities.  I found that solving for the distances and ranges of that projectile in flight gave me much difficulty.  I had much success with these problems when it gave me more than the initial velocity and the angle, and I struggled when they did.  Projectile motion is seen every day in an sports game that has to do with hitting, kicking, or throwing an object.

The Story of Acceleration

One of the most common aspect of our lives is acceleration.  As velocity increases, there is acceleration.  In my Pixton, two robbers have a problem because they are being chased and they cannot get caught.  They accelerate away from the police and they become millionares.