Twists, turns, thrills and spills: the physics of rollercoasters
WEBAug 14, 2021 · A unit that might make purists wince, the G-force is the difference between the acceleration, a, that you experience as a rider and the acceleration due to gravity, g, (9.8 m/s 2) divided by g and expressed per unit mass: (a–g)/g.This force comes into play thanks to the movement you undergo on the ride– you experience a “positive” G-force when the train is at the bottom of a hill, and ...
The double-slit experiment – Physics World
WEBSep 1, 2002 · This article is an extended version of the article “The double-slit experiment” that appeared in the September 2002 issue of Physics World (p15). It has been further extended to include three letters about the history of the double-slit experiment with single electrons that were published in the May 2003 issue of the magazine.
The physics of blood spatter – Physics World
WEBTaken from the October 2019 issue of Physics World. Analysing the blood stains following a shooting can be key to finding the perpetrator, but it’s a field of forensics that is being called into question. Sidney Perkowitz explains how understanding the physics behind the blood distribution could help uncover the truth.
Graphene at 20: why the ‘wonder material’ is finally coming good
WEBApr 30, 2024 · The report estimates that the graphene market was worth about $100m in 2022 and is rising at a compound annual growth rate of 20–30%. The biggest potential applications, the authors reckon, lie in graphene electronics, where the market could be worth up to $1bn in the next few years. Growth rates of up to 40% are predicted – …
Lithium-ion batteries break energy density record - Physics World
WEBApr 21, 2023 · Lithium-ion batteries recharge in the cold. The researchers, who report their work in Chinese Physics Letters, explain that a trade-off always exists between the energy density, cycle performance, rate capability and safety of lithium-ion batteries.Safety is a primary requirement, but elevated energy density will increase the risks during battery operation, they say.
Breaking boundaries: how the physicist Ernest ... - Physics World
WEBSep 29, 2022 · Quite why Rutherford, the eminent physicist, should then have received a chemistry Nobel prize has been examined in detail by the theorist Cecilia Jarlskog from Lund University in Sweden, who dug into the Nobel archives.. She discovered that between 1907 and 1908, Rutherford actually received 12 nominations for a physics Nobel prize – and only four for chemistry.
Max Planck: the reluctant revolutionary – Physics World
WEBDec 1, 2000 · Planck initially believed that he had justified the irreversibility of radiation processes through the lack of time symmetry in Maxwell’s equations – i.e. that the laws of electrodynamics distinguish between past and present, between forward-going and backward-going time. However, in 1897 Boltzmann demolished this argument.
Delving into extra dimensions – Physics World
WEBSep 6, 2012 · Delving into extra dimensions. 06 Sep 2012. Henrik Melbéus and Tommy Ohlsson describe three different theories of extra dimensions – universal, large and warped – and how these unseen dimensions could be observed, if they exist at all. Delving into extra dimensions. We experience three spatial dimensions in …
The Casimir effect: a force from nothing – Physics World
WEBSep 1, 2002 · The Casimir force is the most famous mechanical effect of vacuum fluctuations. Consider the gap between two plane mirrors as a cavity (figure 1). All electromagnetic fields have a characteristic “spectrum” containing many different frequencies. In a free vacuum all of the frequencies are of equal importance.
The enduring mystery of the solar corona – Physics World
WEBSep 16, 2021 · It’s the solar corona – a hot plasma that extends millions of kilometres out into space. This region is a million times dimmer than the solar surface beneath, yet, strangely, it’s at least 1 million kelvin hotter. Seven decades after the unexpected observation was first made, it’s still one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.