Recent content by jmmccain

That is quite a list. I'm sure it could grow longer and/or shorter. So, 200 things that a smart-phone may replace. Is there any problem with listing 200 things that they may not replace? Just for fun? Here's one for the "not" list: a well secured, fire-resistant safe. There are some things one...

Again, "inert" is Latin. It means "no go". There is no connection to the word "mas"

I don't know why, but I picture a stratified, hyperbolic shape. I.e., cork or styrofoam (easily shaped) for the first, hyperbolic portion of the penetrator, followed by iron or lead disks. Overall, the object could weigh less than the water displaced. The idea is to create a wave with the...

It is historical. The word, "inertia", is Latin for "idleness", among other meanings. Latin was used by Newton, Kepler, and many others. The word carries on in modern treatises about motion because the original treatises were written in Latin and it's good to know the roots. The word is there to...

As a fellow artist, may I suggest the following paperback? It's inexpensive and it's very good for explaining how our eyes and brain interpret what we see (and what we think we see). Image, Object, and Illusion: Readings from Scientific American I used to have a copy, but I think I...

The entirely too short time between posting and editing may be detrimental. Nevermind the entirely too short time to write a post. Just trying to help... Don't mind me...

Wayne, May I suggest an experiment? Do you have access to a bathroom scale and two video cameras? Set up one camera to record the scale reading and perform your various fast and slow exercises. Afterwards, view the recording frame by frame and plot the scale reading for each frame (like...

Is it? A fluid supporting an aircraft carrrier and a piston is that different? In a general sense? The idea may be horrid, but even the piston is floating.

NascentOxygen's comment was meant to point out that there are other places where a small amount of fluid supports a large force. The bearings (oil) supporting an automobile's piston rod is another.

Perhaps a pair of nestable garbage cans would be large enough? That's a fair amount of water to be displaced and it's still cheap. Except for the coins... :smile:

Take all of the air away and the boat would still float.

Only as deep as they need to be... A boat doesn't care how close to shore it is - only that it has enough draft (or head, or whatever else floats your boat).

For a real life example of ships in a bucket, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax

Here is a simple, quick, and cheap (no aircraft carriers needed) experiment: Obtain two stackable drinking glasses, like those used at fast food restaurants. Fill one with water. Set the other, empty glass, in the water. The second glass, being empty (and light) will displace a small amount...

My apologies for the double post. A thunderstorm interrupted my effort to edit the previous post. "My original attempt predicted about 1 Watt" -meter! I'm a little obsessive-compulsive when it comes to writing. :rolleyes: I am now much better prepared to help one or several thousand...