Topics in Physics, Day 6 Static Electricity - Sparking Your Curiosity

July 2, 2012

What to Turn In
Your recollection of a problem from Thinking Physics Your three answers for Estimates Three solutions to problems from Thinking Physics A plot of your experimental results and an explanation of the experiment (optional) email me a photos of your experiment at mark.d.eichenlaub@gmail.com

Reading

Chapter 11 from Great Physicists (Faraday). Also read the summary of George Polyas How To Solve It. What problem from Thinking Physics was the most dicult for you to understand, but you nally got it? Thinking back, did any of the steps from How To Solve It help you out?

Estimates

Every day well try to make a few estimates, which physicists call Fermi Problems. Try to answer them based on what you already know. Work together to share ideas! Make a note of anything you have to look up. If you can think of two dierent estimate, do them both and check whether theyre close to each other. (Some of these problems are ones I made up for you, and others come books and the internet.) How much energy is there in a lightning bolt? If we could harness all the energy in lightning strikes in the US, what percentage of our energy needs would that be? What percentage of the food you eat goes into growing your hair? What percentage goes into breathing? What percentage goes to beating your heart? 1

If you rub a balloon on your head, what percentage of the electrons in the rubber get transferred?

Problems

Work on these problems from Thinking Physics. When you think you know the answer, check the solution. If you got it wrong, gure out why. If you got it right, see if you can learn something new from the answer Lewis Epstein gives. Feel free to talk about these problems with your classmates and TAs. You can even do an experiment if you want! Choose three problems that you like and write your own answer. Remember the list of taboo words for each question. Stroking (373) taboo: conservation Dividing the Void (374) dont write this one up Elbow Room (377) taboo: force Moon Dust (379) taboo: attraction, repulsion Under the Inuence (381) taboo: force, attraction, repulsion Jar of Electricity (383) taboo: charge, force Energy in a Capacitor (385) taboo: force, charge, eld Glass Capacitor (387) taboo: energy Attraction (418) taboo: charge, induction

Explain It To Your Imaginary Friend

Each day well take some of the main ideas from class and re-explain them for a unique audience. Today thats an orangutan, the reclusive great ape. Youll have to write in terms your audience understands, and an orangutan doesnt know what energy and forces and things like that are. The only way to write in a way that it understands is to understand it yourself! Be creative! We will skip this one today. Use the time to nish your proposal.

Experiment

Some of our experiments will involve careful measurements and data analysis. In others, our goal is to get an intuitive understanding of how things work. How much can you bend a stream of water with a comb? How does this depend on the distance of the comb from the water? How does it depend on the amount of water coming out of the faucet (how can you measure the rate 2

of water coming out)? Make two charts showing the eects of changing water ow rate and water-comb distance on how much the water deects. Plot your results.