Back-of-the-envelope Physics

Workshop schedule: Please see details under Schedule. Please note that the workshop is free to attend and participate for all.

Workshop theme: A 'back-of-the-envelope' approach allows one to estimate answers to seemingly difficult problems using only basic principles, and some guesswork. It's a skill vital to all of science. Consider for example...

• How many piano tuners live in San Diego? 

• Can you estimate the energy of a chemical bond from gas mileage? 

• Can you estimate the world record for pole vaulting, cycling etc.? 

• Can humans in principle sustain themselves on a photosynthetic skin? 

• How high a mountain can Earth support? How about Mars? 

• Is it better to walk or run when it’s raining so as to avoid getting wet? 

• How far do cars travel before one molecule of rubber is worn off the tires? 

This workshop is for high school students, with the aim of developing intuition to such questions. I will also hold a session on introducing the fascinating physics of quantum computing (see the schedule). The only pre-requisite for the workshop is an understanding of the Newton's laws of motion.