LSA E Mech 2017-18

Hammer Throw, along with other track and field events, were one of the first sports to partake in the Olympics. The idea of hammer throw and other field events is rather simple; for hammer, a 7.26 kg metal ball is attached to a 3 foot long steel wire and the thrower has to make the metal ball travel as far as possible. Olympic and professional hammer throwers have perfected the sport down to a science - and science it is. To make the projectile travel as far as possible, the thrower must spin. Throwing shoes are worn to decrease traction and the hammer is outstretched while travelling in an orbital pattern as the thrower spins.  According to   Brian LeRoy , University of Arizona associate professor of physics, taking home the gold in the hammer throw requires three things from athletes: throw as close to 45 degrees as possible, spin faster, and keep arms fully extended. LeRoy says, theoretically, throwing the hammer at a 45-degree angle is ideal. Grayson Flem

California's Musical Road In 2008, the city of Lancaster, California built its first musical road. Lancaster is about a 1-hour drive north of downtown LA. The town selected the finale from the  William Tell Overture , best known as the theme music from the old  Lone Ranger  TV program. That was an unfortunate choice of song, since the faster you drive, the better it sounds. What Went Wrong?   Sadly, this road was not done correctly. The grooves in the road were cut at the wrong length making William Tell Overture seem out of tune, but still having the correct rhythm. Every time the wheel hits a groove, it creates a little vibration. Where the grooves are spaced far  apart, then these impulse are created one after the other at a slow rate and a low  frequency note is created. When the grooves are close together the frequency of the note is higher because the impulses are created one after another more quickly.  The above graph shows the frequency of road when

Rocket Physics! Rocket physics, in the most basic sense, involves the application of Newton's Three Laws of motion to a system that has a variable mass.  A rocket has variable mass as a result of its fuel burning off during the course of the flight. There are many factors that must be considered in order to achieve a perfect launch. These factors include Earth's rotation, air resistance, the p ropellants specific energy, and maximum acceleration tolerable by the specific payload it is carrying. However, for this article, it will be easier to assume this rocket is not connecting to a satellite and is simply traveling into deep space.    To enable a rocket to climb into low Earth orbit, it is necessary to achieve a speed over 40,250 km per hour, which is called escape velocity. This specific velocity enables a rocket to leave Earth and travel out into deep space.  Newton's Laws of Motion: Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion in

Younger Stephen Hawking The Ph.D. thesis of the University of Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking was made freely available to read just this past month. Stephen Hawking is known for his groundbreaking work involving black holes and relativity and is the author of several popular science books including 'A Brief History of Time', which has sold over 10 million copies.  He studied cosmology at the University of Cambridge.  At age 21, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Hawking completed his Ph.D. – entitled “Properties of expanding universes” – in 1966 when he was 24 years old.  Stephen Hawking's thesis deals with the implications and consequences of the expansion of the universe.  The 117-page paper was posted on the university’s open-access repository, which is already home to some 15,000 research articles and 2400 theses.  Hawking's thesis is the most requested item in the entire repository.  Prof Hawking said by making it avai