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In what ways can physics be used to solve real world problems? - Coggle…
In what ways can physics be used to solve real world problems?
What defines something as a real world problem?
This experiment will consider a problem to be real world if it has a relevant and immediate example in the real world. For example, optimising a basketball shot would count as real world, while optimising the general path of a projectile would not.
What areas of physics may be useful for solving real world problems (limited to classroom laboratory conditions and supplies)?
Electricity and circuits
Electricity/circuit experiments may involve the properties of electricity such as resistance, current flow, voltage, heat transfer, etc. These experiments would likely be easy to conduct with available equipment,
Light
Light is the interactions of electromagnetic waves with the physical world. Experiments may consider the phenomena of light, including diffraction, reflection, refraction, etc. Many of these properties may be reasonably tested with available equipment.
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is the study of the interactions of electric and magnetic fields between themselves and interacting particles. Equipment is available to perform these experiments at a reasonable scale.
Mechanical waves
Wave motion caused through interactions of particles. Includes sound waves, waves in liquids. and vibrations. Some practicals can be easily tested with available equipment.
Projectile motion / classical mechanics
Projectile motion considers the motion of objects through a gravitational field. These experiments will be easy to conduct, however, available equipment does contain some significant errors. Classical motion is essentially the study of motion at relatively low speeds (where the influence of relativity is negligible). This includes almost all motion experiments which may be performed (excluding subatomic particles).
Heat
Head is the study of the transfer of energy through particle collisions or infrared radiation. Includes volume expansion, rates of temperature increase, etc. Can be tested with available equipment using thermometers in liquids. Will need a high rate of heat transfer liquid near a solid to perform experiments on a solid.
Mechanical advantage
Mechanical advantage is the compounding of force by using mechanical systems such as pulleys and levers. Some of these experiments are able to be performed at the classroom scale, however, placing these in appropriate positions may be difficult.
Particle physics
Particle physics is focused on the interactions of sub atomic particles and their interactions. Typically performed at high speeds. Limited ability to perform experiments with available equipment due to the small scale and difficulty observing these particles.
Fluid dynamics
Fluid dynamics is the area of physics concerned with the motion of fluids. It can be extremely difficult to accurately predict, however, some experiments may be able to draw conclusion about volumes, density, speeds, or shape and style of an object within it. Experiments may require some difficult to setup equipment.
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics considers the physics of the nucleus of an atom, including decay and energy release. These experiments are almost certainly unperformable in the available circumstances, due to safety limitations.
Where could real world problems be found?
Sport
Projectile sports
Includes Ball sports such as basketball, baseball, volleyball, etc. Includes others such as javelin throwing, darts, badminton, etc. Easy to perform
Athletic sports
Athletic sports includes sprints, marathons, gymnastics, and any other sport which involves a person moving. Difficult to perform an experiment that would help these athletes.
Extreme sports
Includes skydiving, mountain climbing, surfing, bungee jumping, etc. These involve many different aspects of physics, and could result in interesting experiments.
Other activities
Includes activities such as pool (snooker), roulette wheels, etc. Involves interesting physics and could be useful to perform an experiment
Power/Electricity/Magnetism
Technology
Generators
Generators cause a potential difference to form by changing the magnetic flux of an object. This is done by rotating a magnet through an electric field, or a conductor through an magnetic field. The potential difference causes electrons to flow through the conductor, which allows for a current. Factors which could be considered in an experiment are surface area of conductor, how much the magnetic flux changes, speed of rotation, and size (length/volume) of conductor.
Transformers
Transformers change the voltage of a system by the primary coil causing an alternating magnetic field in a secondary coil. This alternating magnetic field causes a change in magnetic flux in the secondary coil, inducing a voltage. A useful experiment may involve attempting to minimize loss by increasing the number of coils on each side while maintaining a constant ratio.
Capacitors
Capacitors are objects which trap electrons on their internal surface by applying an electric field within the capacitor. The electric field causes the electrons to be accelerated in region of the field. These electrons can be released upon the elimination of this electric field, meaning that stored charge can be released at will. An experiment may consider the effect of altering the strength of the electric field in the capacitor, or the rate of release of electrons from the capacitor.
Magnets
Magnets can be used in securing or moving objects. This may include anything from keeping a fridge door closed to moving cars at a scrapyard. An experiment may consider the strength or size of a magnet needed to support weights.
Power loss through wires
Power is lost through wires when the electrons moving through the wire collide with the metal atoms, causing a loss of energy. The factors which affect this energy loss are the cross sectional area, the length of the wire, the temperature, the type of material used, and the current.
Vehicles
Car
Cars are engine powered vehicles which turn the chemical energy from fuel into rotational kinetic energy. The turns the axels which are attached to the wheels, accelerating the car. due to the high number of cars in use. collisions between cars occur frequently. An experiment may be performed to determine the impact if such collisions. Methods of this could include momentum changes, or force on contact.
Submarine
Submarines are able to float or sink based on the principle of buoyancy. This means that the density of the submarine is increased when the submarine needs to sink, by allowing water onboard, and decreased when it needs to float, by removing this water. An experiment may focus on the rate of change of depth based on density changes.
Boat
Boats operate on the principle of buoyancy, meaning that the mass of the boat must be lower than the mass of the water it displaces. A common problem that small boats encounter is when water enters the boat from the water body. This increases the total mass of the boat, which can cause it to sink (not much of an issue on modern boats due to better designs). An experiment may involve adding water to a small scale boat and determining how much it may take on. Use same ratios as a real boat
Airplane
Airplanes work by travelling at high speeds through air. This generates an opposing force through friction (air resistance), which causes the plane to lift . The factors which affect this force are speed relative to the air, type and shape of wings used, surface area of shape used, and the density of air. All of these factors could be tested, however, a high speed fan would be needed for all of these experiments.
Helicopter
Helicopters fly by spinning angled blades at high velocities, which creates a lift force by pushing the air downwards, hence providing an upwards force. An experiment may involve altering the speed of rotation to determine lift force, which could be extrapolated to consider high mass. Extensions to this practical may consider forwards and reverse motion, and the effect of the faster speeds on these motions. Other experiments may involve changing the blade shape and size.
Safety equipment
Harness
A harness is a system designed to support a person while suspended below a secure platform. These locations are typically sides of buildings, cliffs, rock climbing walls, and are used in the air, including bungee jumping. Harnesses require high levels of safety, however, the aspect which may be used as an experiment is the lifting system, where an experiment could determine how to optimise energy needs of the system with cost using pulley systems.
Parachute
Parachutes are used to slow the motion of an object moving through a fluid, typically a person falling through the air. The parachute slows the motion down by significantly increasing the cross sectional area of the object while not significantly increasing the mass. An experiment could consider attempting to find the ratio of surface area of parachute to total mass of system. Eggs may be used to determine if the drop was safe.
Helmets
Helmets are designed to protect the head from impacts. They are used in sports which involve contact with people, such as rugby, or objects, such as baseball. They are used outside of sport to protect against falling debris in a construction site, or machinery in a factory. An experiment would aim to determine optimal shape and material to minimise cost and maximise safety under one specific scenario.
Reflective uniform
Reflective uniform is used in places where a person may not easily be visible. They work by coating a flexible clothing item with reflective material. The shape of the reflective segments of this material affects the scattering of light. An experiment could be used to determine the best shape for different conditions. (Sunlight above, streetlights at night, torch from observer, car lights reflecting from bicycle rider)
Gloves
Gloves are used to protect the hands. They are used in sport to protect against high velocity catches (cricket, baseball, etc.), while handling high temperature objects, usually during cooking, or sharp objects, when gardening, moving metal, handling nails, etc. An experiment would aim to alter material, thickness, surface structure, etc. to minimise cost while still providing appropriate safety features.
Weather predictions
Predicting rain
Rain predictions are performed using information from weather balloons in the sky. The systems behind this are too complex to perform an experiment on, however rate of rainfall may be performed by creating small clouds in a controlled environment, and considering rate of increase of water collected from the cloud. Factors to alter could include volume of water in the cloud, or temperature. There are many potential errors from this experiment.
Predicting winds
Winds are predicted using low Earth orbit satellites, These take current wind speeds and calculate expected wind speeds at specific locations. The scale of these too large to reliably perform an experiment on in laboratory conditions. an experiment could be performed in which various landscape positions are tested at predetermined winds speeds and directions, and could be used to provide information on the effect of the shape of landscape.
Predicting temperature
Thermal energy (To increase surface temperature) is usually found as electromagnetic waves which originate at the sun. Other sources includes geothermal activity, human infrastructure (cities, factories, vehicles), and living things (animals, trees). An experiment would be difficult to design due to the randomness involved in these systems.
Predicting ocean phenomena
Ocean phenomena includes tides, height of waves, tsunamis, and effects of these waves on ships, submarines, and coastal regions. An experiment could be performed in which ships are placed on water and waves are sent into the water. Factors to consider could include wave amplitude, frequency, temperature. Type of ship should remain constant and therefore made from plastic or similar material.
Cooking (Without including chemistry)
Mechanical/particle heating
Flames are produced by burning fuel, which heats the surrounding air particles. The heated air particles move to the target of the cooking, transferring their energy to the food, hence cooking it. This is commonly found in ovens and open flame cooking.
Induction cooktop
An induction cooktop works by passing a current from the cooktop to the pan, causing circular (or eddy) currents in the pan, causing a rapid increase in heat, which transfers heat to the food through contact with the pan. An experiment may consider type of metals used, strength of current, size of pan, etc.
Electromagnetic cooking
Electromagnetic waves are used to heat foods by transferring energy through electromagnetic waves to the food. The main example of this is microwaves, meaning that an experiment could consider the intensity of the microwaves on the speed of cooking, or consider size of microwave box, best frequency of EM wave, etc.
Clothing
Thermal insulation
What is the best way to thermally insulate clothing? Type and thickness of material contribute. Consider where the clothing will be used. Can an experiment be designed which may reveal optimal clothing that could function in both high and low temperatures. Is the material expensive?
Water proofing
Involves too much chemistry. Not for a physics experiment.
Computers
Power efficiency
Computers use electric fields to operate, since charged particles must be moved. This means that current is needed, however some energy is lost in all wires due to resistance. An experiment could focus on the optimal design and situations of these wires (Consider temperature[From computer, therefore multiple values], Length, type, cross sectional area)
Heat emissions
Computers emit heat when in use due to the current flow through the wires. This heat reduces the function of the computer. Efficient collection and dispersal of this heat is important to successfully running a computer. Experiments may consider the type of material used to absorb heat, shape/surface area of shape, method of transfer, etc.
Screen lighting
Screen lighting involves mixing red, green, and blue wavelengths of light to form a large amount of colours (2^24), however, other combinations may result in different outcomes. Also consider interference between the colours.
What is the final topic?
Step 1: reduce all topics to a list of realistically performable experiments.
Submarines, boats, car, generators, transformers, projectile sports, extreme sports, heat emissions, power efficiency, thermal efficiency, parachutes, electromagnetic cooking, particle cooking, induction cooking.
Step 2: convert real life applications to their potential areas of physics.
Buoyancy, momentum, magnetic flux, projectile motion, circular motion, energy (particles, electricity, EM radiation), currents
Step 3: Remove the topics which are difficult to change factors or record relevant results
Buoyancy, momentum, magnetic flux (generators), projectile motion, circular motion, energy (EM radiation)
Step 4: Conduct further preliminary research into the topics, and eliminate the least interesting of these experiments.
Buoyancy, momentum, energy (EM radiation)
1 more item...