DL-Circular Motion and Gravity
Demo - Twirling tape. Twirl a roll of masking tape around your head. Have the students predict where the tape will go when you let go of it at a particular point.
Demo - A cup of water on a plate suspended by strings. I twirl it above my head, and we go beyond the notion of a fictitious "Centrifugal Force" that keeps the water in the cup
Lab - Plate Lab. Students make predictions with a plate and a marble. One of the plates has a quarter of it missing.
Demo - Orbit Sim and Sheet of Rubber. I talk about the Newtonian mechanics of orbit and demonstrate an elliptical orbit. I explain it using conservation of angular momentum, and then also energy - why it is fast when it is close and why it is slow when far.
To demonstrate general relativity, I get the kids (I don't have a fancy setup like the dude in the video) to stretch a large piece of lycra fabric about 12" above a desk. (Sheet of rubber!!!) First I place a couple billiard balls (mechanics cupboard) on to show how warping space time causes attraction, then I put a 2 kg mass in the center (it will rest on the table) and show how a small steel marble can orbit. Then we go back to the orbit sim and try to picture the sheet of rubber. The sheet of rubber is in a box in the center glass cabinet. The large masses are in a cupboard on the west wall south of the sink on the bottom shelf.
Lab - Orbit Lab - they use DOS box to run an old simulation that I wrote years ago. The website pretty much lays it all out: Orbit Lab
Demo - Orbit Sim and Sheet of Rubber. I talk about the Newtonian mechanics of orbit and demonstrate an elliptical orbit. I explain it using conservation of angular momentum, and then also energy - why it is fast when it is close and why it is slow when far.
To demonstrate general relativity, I get the kids to stretch a large piece of lycra fabric about 12" above a desk. (Sheet of rubber!!!) First I place a couple billiard balls (mechanics cupboard) on to show how warping space time causes attraction, then I put a 2 kg mass in the center (it will rest on the table) and show how a small steel marble can orbit. Then we go back to the orbit sim and try to picture the sheet of rubber. The sheet of rubber is in a box in the center glass cabinet. The large masses are in a cupboard on the west wall south of the sink on the bottom shelf.
Demo - Vertical Circle with a Cup of Water!!
Demo - I Demonstrate a centrifuge. I put a test tube full of muddy water in it, and it settles out clear pronto. I also discuss other centrifuges in the house - a lettuce centrifuge, and a wet clothes centrifuge. ; - )
Demo - stuff
Lab - stuff