Sunday, December 12, 2010
Goodbye, Good Friends, Goodbye!
We took the title of this post from a childhood television show. Farewell for now. We'll see each other again folks!
An EKstreme Adventure (Part 2)
There's more cause we are not done yet!
4. Grand Carousel and EK as viewed from the skies
The Grand Carousel sparkles with light. And so does Enchanted Kingdom. The two latter pictures were taken by Don while he is on top of the Ferris Wheel cursing...again. What would EK be without lights? How would it look like? Awful.
The Physics Behind:
Light is the portion of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, responsible for the sense of sight. Light, which exists in tiny "packets" called photons, exhibits properties of both waves and particles.
There are many sources of light The most common light sources are thermal: a body at a given temperature emits a characteristic spectrum of black-body radiation. Examples include sunlight, incandescent light bulbs (which emit only around 10% of their energy as visible light and the remainder as infrared), and glowing solid particles in flames.
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated.
Many of these lights in EK are incandescent.
More of the EKstreme Wanderers' antics in Enchanted Kingdom:
4. Grand Carousel and EK as viewed from the skies
The Physics Behind:
Light is the portion of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, responsible for the sense of sight. Light, which exists in tiny "packets" called photons, exhibits properties of both waves and particles.
There are many sources of light The most common light sources are thermal: a body at a given temperature emits a characteristic spectrum of black-body radiation. Examples include sunlight, incandescent light bulbs (which emit only around 10% of their energy as visible light and the remainder as infrared), and glowing solid particles in flames.
The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe makes light by heating a metal filament wire to a high temperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from air by a glass bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated.
Many of these lights in EK are incandescent.
More of the EKstreme Wanderers' antics in Enchanted Kingdom:
Don with the albino
Looks like the US
Don, is that you?
That's a friend from a far-away land whose name is unimportant
Incandescent mushroom! kidding, it's EKstreme!
An EKstreme Adventure (Part 1)
The EKstreme Wanderers tried the different stomach-lurching, brain-shaking, jaw-locking rides in Enchanted Kingdom.
1. EKstreme
Don isn't as brave as this what this picture depicts. Arriane and Sharmaine were the ones to try EKstreme. This outrageous disc will take you feet up in the air and when you're on the highest altitude, the "Earth is going to suck you to its core!" Nah, kidding. You'll experience an EKstreme free-fall though.
The Physics Behind:
Free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only or dominant force acting upon it, at least initially. Near the surface of the Earth, an object in free fall in a vacuum will accelerate at approximately 9.8 m/s2, independent of its mass. With air resistance acting upon an object that has been dropped, the object will eventually reach a terminal velocity, around 56 m/s (200 km/h or 120 mph) for a human body.
Free fall without air resistance is behind Galileo's experiment when he proved that all objects will drop at the same time on the ground regardless of the mass.
In this ride, however, free fall does not act alone. The falling is still somehow controlled by machines. If not, they would have already smashed right through the ground.
Poor Don. All he could do is watch from below. Screw you Acrophobia!
2. Anchors Away!
Finally, Don conjured up some guts to take on Anchor's Away. Mark the Moo-mar shows up again and persuades Don to sit with him in thee edge of the ship.After riding, however, Don pledged not to ride Anchors Away ever again. You wouldn't want to hear his monologue inside the ship. Just ask Mark. ;)
The Physics Behind:
Anchors Away takes the motion of a pendulum. A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely.
When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position. When released, the restoring force combined with the pendulum's mass causes it to oscillate about the equilibrium position, swinging back and forth. The time for one complete cycle, a left swing and a right swing, is called the period. A pendulum swings with a specific period which depends (mainly) on its length.
Real pendulums are subject to friction and air drag, so the amplitude of their swings declines.
Due to friction and air drag, the ship does not continuously swing back and forth. It stops after a few swings - fortunately for Don as we had overheard him cursing the ship. *oops*.
3. Flying Fiesta
Don (in 2nd picture) and Sharmaine (you could make her out in the 3rd picture) decided to try the Flying Fiesta. Here, they are strapped on to a "swing" attached to the roof of a circularly moving disc and is deliberately being sent away while buckled up. Hence they don't detach from the "flying circular motion".
The Physics Behind:
Any motion in a curved path represents accelerated motion, and requires a force directed toward the center of curvature of the path. This force is called the centripetal force which means "center seeking" force. Centripetal force is a force that makes a body follow a curved path: it is always directed orthogonal to the velocity of the body, toward the instantaneous center of curvature of the path.
Illustrative example:
A ball is tethered to a rotational axis and is rotating counterclockwise around the specified path at a constant angular rate ω. The velocity of the ball is a vector tangential to the orbit, and is continuously changing direction, a change requiring a radially inward directed centripetal force. The centripetal force is provided by the tether, which is in a state of tension.
Imagine that the people buckled up are the ball and they are tethered to the center by the swing buckles. They seemingly move away from the center because of the velocity that it tangential to the orbit. The swing buckles, however acts as the centripetal force which moves them towards the center, hence the slanted appearance in which they are inclined to the center head-on.
Centripetal force also acts on road curves and in this picture's case, river curves. This prevents the riders, like Arriane from flying away outside the borders of Rio Grande Rapids.
Part 2 narrates more of the team's mayhem in EK!
1. EKstreme
The Physics Behind:
Free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only or dominant force acting upon it, at least initially. Near the surface of the Earth, an object in free fall in a vacuum will accelerate at approximately 9.8 m/s2, independent of its mass. With air resistance acting upon an object that has been dropped, the object will eventually reach a terminal velocity, around 56 m/s (200 km/h or 120 mph) for a human body.
Free fall without air resistance is behind Galileo's experiment when he proved that all objects will drop at the same time on the ground regardless of the mass.
In this ride, however, free fall does not act alone. The falling is still somehow controlled by machines. If not, they would have already smashed right through the ground.
Poor Don. All he could do is watch from below. Screw you Acrophobia!
2. Anchors Away!
The Physics Behind:
Anchors Away takes the motion of a pendulum. A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely.
When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position. When released, the restoring force combined with the pendulum's mass causes it to oscillate about the equilibrium position, swinging back and forth. The time for one complete cycle, a left swing and a right swing, is called the period. A pendulum swings with a specific period which depends (mainly) on its length.
Real pendulums are subject to friction and air drag, so the amplitude of their swings declines.
Due to friction and air drag, the ship does not continuously swing back and forth. It stops after a few swings - fortunately for Don as we had overheard him cursing the ship. *oops*.
3. Flying Fiesta
The Physics Behind:
Any motion in a curved path represents accelerated motion, and requires a force directed toward the center of curvature of the path. This force is called the centripetal force which means "center seeking" force. Centripetal force is a force that makes a body follow a curved path: it is always directed orthogonal to the velocity of the body, toward the instantaneous center of curvature of the path.
Illustrative example:
Imagine that the people buckled up are the ball and they are tethered to the center by the swing buckles. They seemingly move away from the center because of the velocity that it tangential to the orbit. The swing buckles, however acts as the centripetal force which moves them towards the center, hence the slanted appearance in which they are inclined to the center head-on.
Part 2 narrates more of the team's mayhem in EK!
Meeting Elder the Wizard and His Kingdom
In our quest for Physics, Physics and more Physics, the EKstreme Bus traversed this strange path:
And led us to this Victorian-age facade and standing in front was an odd looking stout man sporting a long white beard and clad in a starry violet cloak
"Welcome to my kingdom, the Enchanted Kingdom," he told us while beaming. The place was really very inviting. It was like seeing your childhood dreams once again, this time in real life.
"By the way, my name's Elder the Wizard. Please step into my magical world!" At his beckoning, we entered through the gold-plated gates where we were gladly assisted by his little minions. Pink bands with the words, "ride-all-you-can" were wrapped around our wrists. They also gave us this map for us not to be lost in this 17-hectare majestic place:
Then t'was history! The three wanderers finally found what they have been looking for. Adventure. Amusement. Physics! All in one place. Food stalls, novelty items, parks, real-life sculptures, and rides were all over the place.
Watch out for the next post for the trio's adventure inside Enchanted Kingdom!
"By the way, my name's Elder the Wizard. Please step into my magical world!" At his beckoning, we entered through the gold-plated gates where we were gladly assisted by his little minions. Pink bands with the words, "ride-all-you-can" were wrapped around our wrists. They also gave us this map for us not to be lost in this 17-hectare majestic place:
Then t'was history! The three wanderers finally found what they have been looking for. Adventure. Amusement. Physics! All in one place. Food stalls, novelty items, parks, real-life sculptures, and rides were all over the place.
Watch out for the next post for the trio's adventure inside Enchanted Kingdom!
The Country of PaSay-ans: Science Entertainment (Part 2)
Here's the second part of our adventure in the country of Pasay.
Mystery Case No. 3: The Shadow-Catcher
That's Arriane again with other wanderers from different planets and nations. Starting from left is a boy from planet Yekok. Next one is from the Land of the Savannas. The girl beside Arriane came from Mount Makiling, wherever that is.
Anyway, that strange whitish panel is called the Shadow-catcher. Why? Basically because it is said to catch shadows. Arriane was asked to press her body into the panel when lights were turned on. After switching the lights off, they moved away from the panels only to reveal that their "shadows" were captured.
The Physics Behind:
Photoluminescence is a process in which a substance absorbs photons (electromagnetic radiation) and then re-radiates photons. Quantum Mechanically, this can be described as an excitation to a higher energy state and then a return to a lower energy state accompanied by the emission of a photon.
On the other hand, phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence in which energy absorbed by a phosphorescent substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light. This is in some cases the mechanism used for "glow-in-the-dark" materials which are "charged" by exposure to light. Unlike the relatively swift reactions in a common fluorescent tube, phosphorescent materials used for these materials absorb the energy and "store" it for a longer time as the processes required to re-emit the light occur less often.
These "shadow-catchers" contain phosphorescent substances that absorbs photons from the source of light and then re-radiates it when the source of light is switched off. When Arriane pressed herself to the panel, it blocked the passage of photons; hence when the lights were switched off, no photons were re-radiated in the region of her sillhoutte.
Those were some of the cases we had helped to resolve. Now, here are some silly things we did while we were around the place.
We never knew you were a scientist Meng! Look, she is holding a flask with some sort of chemicals in there. You're not trying to poison us, are you? Hmm...Better watch her actions closely. And Hey! Who's that albino you're with?
Arriane spotted some Physics! The biscuit model with the word "Maze" is actually the Quantum Mechanical model for the atom. Proposed by Niels Bohr in 1913, it depicts the atom with orbiting electrons and the nucleus at the center just like the solar system with the planets orbiting the Sun.
By the way, that's Clarabell Cow, a nomad from the Barnyard Country.
After helping solve some of the "scientific enigmas", it was time to leave. The natives were grateful to us now that they knew that nothing really haunted them. In turn, they gave us gifts of appreciation - new knowledge of Science. On to our next destination!
Mystery Case No. 3: The Shadow-Catcher
That's Arriane again with other wanderers from different planets and nations. Starting from left is a boy from planet Yekok. Next one is from the Land of the Savannas. The girl beside Arriane came from Mount Makiling, wherever that is.
Anyway, that strange whitish panel is called the Shadow-catcher. Why? Basically because it is said to catch shadows. Arriane was asked to press her body into the panel when lights were turned on. After switching the lights off, they moved away from the panels only to reveal that their "shadows" were captured.
The Physics Behind:
Photoluminescence is a process in which a substance absorbs photons (electromagnetic radiation) and then re-radiates photons. Quantum Mechanically, this can be described as an excitation to a higher energy state and then a return to a lower energy state accompanied by the emission of a photon.
On the other hand, phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence in which energy absorbed by a phosphorescent substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light. This is in some cases the mechanism used for "glow-in-the-dark" materials which are "charged" by exposure to light. Unlike the relatively swift reactions in a common fluorescent tube, phosphorescent materials used for these materials absorb the energy and "store" it for a longer time as the processes required to re-emit the light occur less often.
These "shadow-catchers" contain phosphorescent substances that absorbs photons from the source of light and then re-radiates it when the source of light is switched off. When Arriane pressed herself to the panel, it blocked the passage of photons; hence when the lights were switched off, no photons were re-radiated in the region of her sillhoutte.
Those were some of the cases we had helped to resolve. Now, here are some silly things we did while we were around the place.
By the way, that's Clarabell Cow, a nomad from the Barnyard Country.
After helping solve some of the "scientific enigmas", it was time to leave. The natives were grateful to us now that they knew that nothing really haunted them. In turn, they gave us gifts of appreciation - new knowledge of Science. On to our next destination!
The Country of PaSay-ans: Science Entertainment (Part 1)
Half an hour later after our travel to the Filipino country, our EKstreme GPS tells us that we are now 14°33'12"N; 120°59'13"E of the globe and exactly four kilometers away from the center of the so-called National Capital Region. T'was time to get off the bus again and an overly large sign welcomed us with the words "Boom na Boom".
Once again after asking the natives our location, we found out that we were now in the country of Pasay where the enigmas of "SCIENCE" are said to haunt them. Rings a bell, right? Being on the run for scientific stuff, this was an opportunity for us to gather loads of Physics-related things. Thus to the citizens we said, "Fear not to those who HAUNT you for we shall HUNT them down!"
Mystery Case No. 1: The Anti-gravity Mirror
What? We've just discussed how two objects with mass pull each other toward themselves. Now, Arriane found this mirror that breaks the law of gravity. She looks like she's floating.
The Physics Behind:
A mirror is an object with at least one reflective surface. The most familiar type of mirror is the plane mirror, which has a flat surface.
A beam of light reflects off a mirror at an angle of reflection equal to its angle of incidence (if the size of a mirror is much larger than the wavelength of light). That is, if the beam of light is shining on a mirror's surface at a θ° angle vertically, then it reflects from the point of incidence at a θ° angle from vertically in the opposite direction.
In a plane mirror, a parallel beam of light changes its direction as a whole, while still remaining parallel; the images formed by a plane mirror are virtual images, of the same size as the original object.
That's it! The plane mirror reflects only Arriane's other half! Furthermore, we discovered that she's standing on an elevated scaffold just behind the mirror. Hence, her "elevated half" is reflected, making her body look like whole and giving us the illusion that she is "floating".
Good one Arriane!
Mystery Case No. 2: The Reverberating Tubes
What's creepier? Don's face or the mysterious echoes from the different-sized tubes? Maybe the latter. As Don strikes the tubes, sounds seem to reverberate from the inside, as if some howls were trying to spook us.
The Physics Behind:
Sound is a regular mechanical vibration that travels through matter as a waveform. It consists of longitudinal or compression waves in matter.
Whenever an object in air vibrates, it causes longitudinal or compression waves in the air. These waves move away from the object as sound. Blowing across a bottle top can create sound. In this case, the air inside the bottle goes in a circular motion, resulting in sound waves being formed. Wind blowing through trees can also create sound this indirect way.
When the mouth of a tube is hit with the paddle, it vibrates; hence creating sound based on the explanation above. The resulting sound waves reverberates through the walls of the tubes.
Watch out for more cases and pictures in future posts.
What? We've just discussed how two objects with mass pull each other toward themselves. Now, Arriane found this mirror that breaks the law of gravity. She looks like she's floating.
The Physics Behind:
A mirror is an object with at least one reflective surface. The most familiar type of mirror is the plane mirror, which has a flat surface.
A beam of light reflects off a mirror at an angle of reflection equal to its angle of incidence (if the size of a mirror is much larger than the wavelength of light). That is, if the beam of light is shining on a mirror's surface at a θ° angle vertically, then it reflects from the point of incidence at a θ° angle from vertically in the opposite direction.
In a plane mirror, a parallel beam of light changes its direction as a whole, while still remaining parallel; the images formed by a plane mirror are virtual images, of the same size as the original object.
That's it! The plane mirror reflects only Arriane's other half! Furthermore, we discovered that she's standing on an elevated scaffold just behind the mirror. Hence, her "elevated half" is reflected, making her body look like whole and giving us the illusion that she is "floating".
Good one Arriane!
Mystery Case No. 2: The Reverberating Tubes
What's creepier? Don's face or the mysterious echoes from the different-sized tubes? Maybe the latter. As Don strikes the tubes, sounds seem to reverberate from the inside, as if some howls were trying to spook us.
The Physics Behind:
Sound is a regular mechanical vibration that travels through matter as a waveform. It consists of longitudinal or compression waves in matter.
Whenever an object in air vibrates, it causes longitudinal or compression waves in the air. These waves move away from the object as sound. Blowing across a bottle top can create sound. In this case, the air inside the bottle goes in a circular motion, resulting in sound waves being formed. Wind blowing through trees can also create sound this indirect way.
When the mouth of a tube is hit with the paddle, it vibrates; hence creating sound based on the explanation above. The resulting sound waves reverberates through the walls of the tubes.
Watch out for more cases and pictures in future posts.
A Spectacle of Filipino Valor
A new place fascinated our eyes first. We quickly got off the EKstreme Bus and stood in front of a welcoming facade that read, "Museo ng Katipunan".
We found out from the natives (who call themselves Filipinos) that it was a land in the country called Philippines. They told us that it was the country's capital city as it houses the stronghold of Philippine gallantry, the so-called Katipunan. Luckily, we didn't only find swords and shields but there was Physics too.
Apparently, curiosity struck Don when he found some water droplets falling freely from nearby faucet. Let's find out what disembodied force acts upon the "falling water".
The Physics Behind:
What Don thought to be a disembodied force was actually GRAVITY. Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon in which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped.
So that's why the water falls. It is attracted towards the Earth!
Interesting, huh? Anyway, we want to share to you some creepy and strange things we found at the museum. Here they are:
What the hell is a human skull doing in there?
Swords that paved way for Philippine independence. That's light reflected, see - Physics concept again. However, we'll be discussing that on yet another post ;)
Don's right in the middle. He's with some newfound friends along the way namely Rachelle the Hitchhiker (left) and Mark the Moo-mar (right). Behind them is the large ensemble of the Katipunan bravery.
Hurray for the Philippines! Mabuhay!
The Physics Behind:
What Don thought to be a disembodied force was actually GRAVITY. Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon in which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped.
So that's why the water falls. It is attracted towards the Earth!
Interesting, huh? Anyway, we want to share to you some creepy and strange things we found at the museum. Here they are:
Hurray for the Philippines! Mabuhay!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)