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Physics: Weightlessness

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About this Lesson

  • Type: Video Tutorial
  • Length: 10:13
  • Media: Video/mp4
  • Posted: 07/01/2009
  • Use: Watch Online & Download
  • Download: MP4 (iPod compatible)
  • Size: 149 MB

This lesson is part of the series: Physics: Force of Gravity, Physics: Gravity, Physics

This lesson was selected from a broader, comprehensive course, Physics I. This course and others are available from Thinkwell, Inc. The full course can be found at http://www.thinkwell.com/student/product/physics. The full course covers kinematics, dynamics, energy, momentum, the physics of extended objects, gravity, fluids, relativity, oscillatory motion, waves, and more. The course features two renowned professors: Steven Pollock, an associate professor of Physics at he University of Colorado at Boulder and Ephraim Fischbach, a professor of physics at Purdue University.

Steven Pollock earned a Bachelor of Science in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Prof. Pollock wears two research hats: he studies theoretical nuclear physics, and does physics education research. Currently, his research activities focus on questions of replication and sustainability of reformed teaching techniques in (very) large introductory courses. He received an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in 1994 and a Boulder Faculty Assembly (CU campus-wide) Teaching Excellence Award in 1998. He is the author of two Teaching Company video courses: “Particle Physics for Non-Physicists: a Tour of the Microcosmos” and “The Great Ideas of Classical Physics”. Prof. Pollock regularly gives public presentations in which he brings physics alive at conferences, seminars, colloquia, and for community audiences.

Ephraim Fischbach earned a B.A. in physics from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. In Thinkwell Physics I, he delivers the "Physics in Action" video lectures and demonstrates numerous laboratory techniques and real-world applications. As part of his mission to encourage an interest in physics wherever he goes, Prof. Fischbach coordinates Physics on the Road, an Outreach/Funfest program. He is the author or coauthor of more than 180 publications including a recent book, “The Search for Non-Newtonian Gravity”, and was made a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001. He also serves as a referee for a number of journals including “Physical Review” and “Physical Review Letters”.

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Founded in 1997, Thinkwell has succeeded in creating "next-generation" textbooks that help students learn and teachers teach. Capitalizing on the power of new technology, Thinkwell products prepare students more effectively for their coursework than any printed textbook can. Thinkwell has assembled a group of talented industry professionals who have shaped the company into the leading provider of technology-based textbooks. For more information about Thinkwell, please visit www.thinkwell.com or visit Thinkwell's Video Lesson Store at http://thinkwell.mindbites.com/.

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Lets look at this contraption over here. What I have is a piece of wood hinged at one end with a cup at the other. Note the position of the cup: we have marked its final position by this piece of red tape. What I am going to do is support this hinged stick, like so. And I am going to put on this hinge at the very end a ball and if you look carefully, you will see that the ball is also located right above this red mark. Now on my count I am going to knock out this support, and let's see what happens. Ready... Set... Go.
Notice what happened, the ball landed right inside the cup, and both of them landed right next to this red mark. Now the ball started out over here, right above the red mark. How could it be that the ball would end up inside the cup above the red mark? The only way that that is possible would be if the stick accelerated faster than the ball, namely faster that the acceleration of the gravity G. In fact that is exactly what is happening. Lets see that again in slow motion. Watch carefully and you will see that that the stick in fact falls faster than the ball.
On your mark... Set... Go. Voila!
Force of Gravity
Gravity
Weightlessness Page [1 of 1]

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