Katie from Mansfield, Taxachusetts writes:
The first couple of questions from tonight’s physics homework, which I don’t feel like doing:
1) During a hard sneeze, your eyes might shut for 0.50 s. If you are driving a car at 90 km/h during such a sneeze, how far does the car move during that time?
2) The 1992 world speed record for a bicycle (human powered vehicle) was set by Chris Huber. His time through the 200 m stretch was a sizzling
6.509 s, at which he commented, “Cogito ergo zoom!” (I think, therefore I go fast.) In 2001, Sam Whittingham beat Huber’s record by 19.0 km/h.
What was Whittingham’s time through the 200 m?
What’s an ‘m’ and a ‘km’. I only solve problems with real measurement values… the types used by humans. Go ask some Frenchman, and, when he starts to answer, punch him.
Pdtray writes:
I have too questions for you.
1. who do you blame for the nhl lockout? do you care?
2. are your space lasers the kind that shoot really fast in burst like PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW or are they the kind that is one big beam that cuts stuff.
1. I don’t care, but I have to pretend because SarahK likes hockey. I blame… uh… the Jews.
2. That’s just silly. It’s a straight beam. Why would a laser have anything else? Well, some laser sights blink for better visibility, but other than that, the point of a laser is a continuous beam. It’s the best way to lase.
Drew writes:
Three questions: How can we get the Muslims to switch to our side so that they go after the terrorists themselves? How can we get CBS, NBC & CNN to switch to our side? Also, when the main-stream media has lost its last shred of credibility, who will tell us what to think?
Bombs, bombs, me.
Chuck F. Chadwick
Hey there Frank J! My name is Chuck! I’m writing to you from an undisclosed film school. My website is http://classmishaps.f2o.org
Anyway, my question: What’s the liquid inside a Magic Eight Ball? And if I drink it will I become powerful and all knowing too?
The liquid is mystical and magical in its properties, for within lie the secrets of the future. If you were to drink it, all would be known to you, and you would despair. For true knowledge of your future leaves you with no hope. So drink naught from the eight-ball. Ye be warned.
If you’ve got questions, I’ve got answers… maybe even answers to your questions. E-mail me your questions about politics, science, math, theology, or whatever with the subject “Frank Answers”. Include the name you want to be referred by, your town, and URL if you have one.
First
Wow. Now I feel like a college student again, except this time I’m living in my parents’ basement, and I’m even geekier than before.
I need a shower.
Not only will the fluid from the Magic 8 Ball give you ghastly visions of a horrible future, it’ll also turn your pee blue.
I wonder what my teacher would say if I handed in my physics homework with Frank’s answer. Only one way to find out!
Answer to the sneezing driver distance problem: 1 gesundheit.
Thank you.
Whoa. So is was not an apple. It was a magic 8-ball. Something must have been lost on translation. I’ve heard that old semitic for “apple” really means “middle sized round reddish or greenish thing”, this explains a lot.
For Katie:
1) 90 km/h = 25 m/s, so in 0.5 seconds, you travel 12.5 meters, or 41.0105 feet.
2) 200m /6.509s = 30.72669 m/s = 110.6161 km/h. That’s 68.73366 miles an hour in real units. 110.6161 km/h + 19.0 km/h = 129.6161 km/h = 36.00447 m/s. 200m / 36.00447 m/s = 5.554866 seconds. Sam’s speed on the bike was 80.53971 miles an hour, which regardless of how you count it, is pretty f’ing fast on a bicycle.
I couldn’t help it. Had to use the engineering degree for something today.
Just one second, sir, I beg to differ. Katie postulates an impressive mental challenge and the conversion to m is quite simple as well as flat out fun to do. To actually determine the true length of 1 meter all one must do is measure the distance a beam of light travels (in a vaccum, of course) in approx 1/300,000,000 of a second.
Childs play. Compare that to the antiquated British (dogrobbered from the Romans I might add) method of creating measurements analogous to various proportions of the human body and I am sure we’ll all agree that the French have fried your fritters on that one!
Frazier: Dogrobbered?
LibertyBob: I’ll not ask how you came by that info…
And I have to disagree with you on the laser issue. I’ve found pulsed lasers to be very useful for that whole “science” thing…
i thank you for pretending.
Yes, yes, of course I hesitated to use precise figures in the fear that it would disuade the casual reader into believing this was indeed some sort of arduous task, but mea culpa, mea MAXIMA culpa to all.
No Niles, easy now. Blow is only an expression, dear boy.
I’ve a feeling drinking the 8-ball juice would have quite another telltale sign: One would likely answer all questions with such things like, “Doesn’t look good,” “Don’t count on it” and “Not a good idea.” Therefore, not only would one lose their own hope but there’d be no way of keeping it to oneself. Everyone would know, whether they’d see yer blue piss or not, that you’d drank the juice of the AEB (Almighty Eight Ball). Bummer. I’m with Frank. Forget it!
Cutting lasers often pulse to allow the plasma to disperse. Otherwise you wind up with a little cloud hovering over where the laser is trying to cut, defocusing the beam and preventing the laser penetrating deeper.
Hunter’s right, too, about maximizing peak power without melting your equipment.
So there.
This is the real reason for the lock out
I posted this at SK’s.
Nothin’ like punching Frenchman. You could make it into a game! 10 points if he surrenders, another 10 is he uses his underwear to make a white flag of surrender, and another 10 if he yells, “Aah! Qui Qui! Zis face, she hurts!”
But I have a much more important question: My mom made me velcro mitts and I live on a sheepranch, is it O.K. if I am more nervous than the sheep?