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Start Young!

Book Chapter

Start Young!

A person, place, or thing is what usually sparks those first memorable childhood impressions. Of course, we often do not study our newfound interests ...

A snail that moves like light

Book Chapter

A snail that moves like light

In this chapter, leaving light behind you enter the world of slow-moving mollusks. A snail must get from one corner of a room (dimensions 5 m × 10 m ...

How about a date?

Book Chapter

How about a date?

The September 1991 discovery of a frozen body in the Tirolean Alps revived interest in radiocarbon dating. This chapter is based on this discovery, as...

Animal magnetism

Book Chapter

Animal magnetism

The magnetic force is strange and does not exist for neutral particles—only for charged particles, if those particles are moving. The direction of...

Atwood's marvelous machines

Book Chapter

Atwood's marvelous machines

This chapter presents an example of a classic physics problem known as Atwood’s machine. In the lab it serves as a means of achieving a constant ac...

Thrills by design

Book Chapter

Thrills by design

At the XXIV International Physics Olympiad, held in Williamsburg, Virginia, students from 41 countries spent a day investigating the physics of amus...

Stop on red, go on green . . .

Book Chapter

Stop on red, go on green . . .

When you're driving down a road and you see a yellow light, don’t you wonder when the light will turn red? As you drive down the road at a certain s...

Electricity in the air

Book Chapter

Electricity in the air

This chapter is based on one of the theoretical problems given at the XXIV International Physics Olympiad. It is an actual application of physics to a...

Laser levitation

Book Chapter

Laser levitation

How can someone levitate an object? Magicians do it all the time. Can physicists do it as well? The easiest technique is to attach a string to the ob...

Mirror full of water

Book Chapter

Mirror full of water

“It’s done with mirrors.” Whether we attend magic shows or ride the “Haunted Mansion,” we are often surprised and pleased by clever manip...

Rising star

Book Chapter

Rising star

Supposedly young people are first introduced to waves while attending or watching sports events. These stadium waves can provide some useful insights ...

The leaky pendulum

Book Chapter

The leaky pendulum

The motion of simple pendulums has played an interesting role in physics and technology. The simplest pendulum to study would probably be a compact ma...

Superconducting magnet

Book Chapter

Superconducting magnet

For those of us who grew up with conventional electromagnets, it is very strange to see an electromagnet that is not connected to an external power so...

Cloud formulations

Book Chapter

Cloud formulations

It seems almost counterintuitive that wet air should be less dense than dry air and float in the sky. But the beauty of the cirrus and cumulus attest ...

Weighing an astronaut

Book Chapter

Weighing an astronaut

Medical questions were very important during the Skylab mission from May 1973 until February 1974. At the most basic level the scientists wanted to k...

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