Category Archives: physics

Help us crowd-source our drums!

Posted on July 3, 2016 by

My students have been working hard this summer on a project I’ve talked about before. Here’s the gist: Normal drums aren’t melodic. They have resonant frequencies but they aren’t in a pattern that we think sounds good. That’s why they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in mathematica, physics, research, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Relativistic Lagrangians

Posted on June 28, 2016 by

I’m a part of a cool group of folks interested in infusing computation into undergraduate physics curriculum. One of the projects is called “relativistic dynamics” and it really got me thinking. I thought I’d get my thoughts down here. Lagrangian … Continue reading →

Posted in physics, teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Optimal race path

Posted on March 18, 2016 by

I ride my bike to work so I’m often thinking about the best path to take around corners. I know bike racers and car racers (and bob sledders) are often told to head into a corner wide, then cut the … Continue reading →

Posted in mathematica, physics, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Can a pendulum save you?

Posted on January 29, 2016 by

I’m so thankful to my friend Chija for pointing out this video for me: Here’s her tweet https://t.co/dE3xMo3lRc can't wait to analyze this video in class! #ilovephysics #soexcited — Chija Bauer (@bauerphysics) January 25, 2016 When I saw it I … Continue reading →

Posted in mathematica, physics, twitter, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Unstable rotation (spinning handle in space)

Posted on January 8, 2016 by

First, watch this: Cool, huh? My students found this last year when we were studying rigid body rotation. One of the things we did a lot was try to spin a tennis racquet about an axis in the plane of … Continue reading →

Posted in mathematica, physics, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Faraday’s law is overused

Posted on November 2, 2015 by

First let me say that I thought for sure I’d written this post last year, but it appears not. That could also mean that maybe I didn’t write it because someone else had a good breakdown of my argument, but … Continue reading →

Posted in electromagnetism, general physics, physics | 6 Comments

Circuits: find out now or leave it hanging?

Posted on October 16, 2015 by

I had a really fun class today. It was a review day, like every Friday, and I started out with a pretty innocuous clicker question (though I don’t use clickers). Go ahead, give it a try. The correct answer changes … Continue reading →

Posted in physics, teaching | 4 Comments