Category Archives: Physics

Dinnertime for our Supermassive Black Hole

Posted on March 17, 2014 by hughavanheesewijk

For the first time we will be able to see our supermassive black consume a gas cloud. We have not been able to see our black hole in action yet so this provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about this mysterious thing at the middle of our galaxy. However, scientists are not really sure […] Continue reading →

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The Sun: Our Source of Light

Posted on March 17, 2014 by kaswat

Our Sun is massive! It is 333,000 times the Earth’s mass. It provides all the light and other energy we need to survive – which is pretty impressive within itself.  The sun is made mostly of helium and hydrogen and exists as plasma instead of a solid. But, what makes the sun shine? Some people… Continue reading →

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What is a Quasar?

Posted on March 15, 2014 by gradytlynch

This brief video explains our current understanding of quasars, and how the generate so much energy and are able to be seen from so far away. As the video discusses, when quasars were first observed in the 1960’s, there was a great deal of interest generated about these distant yet incredibly bright objects. As we […] Continue reading →

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Antimatter Spacecraft

Posted on March 15, 2014 by gradytlynch

Despite the incredible distance to neighboring stars, there are scientists working on spacecraft that can theoretically take us to these distant worlds. One of the most interesting spacecraft concepts for the future is an Antimatter Spacecraft. The fundamentals of this design are outlined in HowStuffWorks’ article, “How Antimatter Spacecraft Will Work”. The article first gives […] Continue reading →

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Planet Earth in the Splash Zone

Posted on March 11, 2014 by jblubin

We often take for granted our Earthly paradise; with its warm temperatures and comforting blue skies, it’s easy to overlook the uniqueness that is Earth. This is even especially true when we consider the vast amount of liquid water on our planet. Water itself is not all that special, it can be found all over … Continue reading Planet Earth in the Splash Zone → Continue reading →

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The Physics of Star Systems: Kerbal Space Program

Posted on February 17, 2014 by forestcsharp

This video, via Scott Manley, shows an interesting spaceflight simulator/game known as Kerbal Space Program, which is shown in the above photo from gameSkinny.com. I’ve found this game to be incredibly useful to understanding escape velocities, gravitational encounters, and Kepler’s three … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Conservation Laws

Posted on February 17, 2014 by joshkip

If you were to summarize the most important lesson taught throughout Chapters 3-6, the most overarching theme to take note of would have to be the conservation laws that exist throughout our universe. The conservation of momentum, angular momentum and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Tides

Posted on February 17, 2014 by karapetros

This video is a cool, informative, easy understand animation of how the gravitational pull between the Earth and the Moon affect tides. It clearly and concisely describes how tidal forces cause high tides twice per day even though the moon is only overhead once per day and why the gravity is weaker at a greater … Continue reading Tides → Continue reading →

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Zero Gravity

Posted on February 17, 2014 by colepospisil

Planets are like ogres, they have layers. As you approach the center of the planet, mass is skimmed off until the effective mass of the planet is zero at the center. At this point, the planet’s gravity affects you in equal and opposite directions, so there is essentially no gravitational force. Everywhere other than the […] Continue reading →

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E=mc² is Incomplete

Posted on February 17, 2014 by gradytlynch

This brief and to the point video breaks down the nature of Einstein’s famous equation E = mc^2. Using the simple analogy of a right triangle, it shows how an object with mass can never achieve light speed. In everyday life, the “pc” component of Einstein’s equation doesn’t matter, as objects can rarely travel significantly […] Continue reading →

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