Ideas Definition and 865 Threads

Hi everyone: I really want to enter the new-york Intel ISEF fair with a project related to phyical science or math. I'm open to any ideas, but keep these rules in mind: - The project must be original research on a specific topic -It needs to be feasible on a...

A 2.0 kg block slides along a frictionless tabletop at 6.0 m/s toward a second block (at rest) of mass 4.5 kg. A coil spring, which obeys Hooke's law and has spring constant k = 850 N/m, is attached to the second block in such a way that it will be compressed when struck by the moving block...

I need to build a vehicle for a contest in my physics class and need some ideas. I am going to build a vehicle that is designed to travel a distance between 5 and 10 meters and come to a complete stop without outside assistance. The distance chosen by the judge will not be announced until...

I don't really think this is a philosophy question, but what do you guys think of Noam Chomsky? His ideas on the U.S and such... I recently started to listen to a lot of his lectures on tape and I find them really interesting. I just wanted to know if any of you guys listen to him and if...

Hi, I am new here, but I am in need of some help. I am in a High School Physics Honors class, and I was wondering if anyone had some ideas on a good quick presentation with a demonstration that gets the class involved. Please note that the maximum time is set at 10 mins, so this must be a...

This thread is based on some reading I've done on decoherence (a lot of it by Zurek) and recent experiments involving decoherence and complementarity. One interesting item is the recent experiment by Anton Zeilinger and team involving C60 molecules interacting to produce and interference pattern...

I would appreciate people's opinion on Nottale's ideas. It looks fascinating to me. The more I read his papers, the less I understand the general indifference his work seems to be plagued with. I admit that his ambitions are huge. Nevertheless, his proposals are very elegant and natural, and...

It is known that it was Descartes the one that gave the symbol i the connotation of imaginary; in electrical engineering there is the concept of apparent power(MVA) S = P + i Q where P(MW)=generation or consumed power and Q(MVAR) = reactive power and they both can be measured, so they...

I am currently researching ideas for my final year coursework. I can do any experiment I like, as long as it is done at the lab, with the equipment that the lab has. I can buy/make equipment if I fund it myself. The trouble with this is that I don't know what experiment to do as the choice is...

I’m in the physics club at my college. We are looking for ideas for our “year project”. Last year we built a full size trebuchet. Our club is fairly small, 10-15 members. Any suggestions on what we can do this year?

hello guys, i have a question, but i don't know if i should post it in the computer section or this. I wanted to create a physics simulation or something like that using python for a science fair project, but i can't find any ideas.. and i am not a very good programmer either, but since i...

I would like to relate EM and Gravitation by trying to use energy and Quantum theory etc. Since I know nothing of Quantum Theory, you might think me a fool. To relate them, I will state one thing: Energy has direction. Now, I have seen a(and only one) Feynman diagram, and I probably...

During the Depression the New Deal government created various programs designed to provide worthwhile jobs for the unemployed. A program was developed under the guidance of Mortimer Adler that led to what is now called the Great Books. Adler’s efforts started with the development of the...

I am in a college-level Astronomy course this summer, and my final project topic is on the fate of the universe. I must present this in a creative, entertaining way for the class. But I also would like to have up-to-date, sound science in there, too. What I would like from you guys is some...

Tensors, a reason of great schism in physics? Yes, this application of that aristotelian principle, you have described so well, where the third is excluded and as so uncertainty is the reason why there won`t be a quantum gravitation theory, and a reason why physical laws must not be expressed...

I've got these ideas that seem to cohere with what I've read here from more knowledgeable people but I don't know what to do with them. I tried University but it was too hard, with too many extra things that I wasn't interested in and I failed at it. I've still got these ideas that may actually...

One of the many difficulties in haveing a manned deep space mission is that durring the course of the trip, you are very likely to be hit by a large number of micro meteorites, which would penetrate the hull and start decompressing your ship. Hence we need a solution that will match these...

I'm curious to what this transformation is exactly doing. I'm lead to believe by the context of the question in my text, that this transformation is simply doing something other than "transforming". What exactly, I'm unsure. \left(\begin{array}{ccc}0 & 0 & 1\\1 & 0 & 0\\0 & 1 & 0...

Hi. I've been wondering about these disposable CO2 capsules for airguns: Please share opinions on my reasoning, any hints or ideas of how to calculate this, what to look for and so on will be appriciated. What if I punched a hole in the seal of one of these capsules, how much thrust would...

This thought was inspired by reading the other thread "perpetuum mobile" where ZapperZ posted an interesting (but of course flawed) perpetual motion device. It was fun to analyze and to figure out why it didn't work and I was wondering if anybody else had neat ideas that seem to very...

I am doing a book report project (its actually a final project) for my English class. I chose The Elegant Universe. Anyway, one of the portions of the project that is killing me is the part where we have to make book marks for the whole class (32). I want to just make copies of a 2D book mark...

So here's the deal - I am applying for this special program at the university I am going to study at, and the next stage is to prepare a 10 minutes lecture about a scientific / technology / engineering subject. The shmucks in charge of this program printed the letters on May 9th but I only got...

Dear gentlemen, I am a fifteen-year-old who will be attending a legislative simulation this June; in this simulation each person is assigned the role of a senator or congressmen, I was assigned the role of Rob Bishop. And I am in need of some ideas and examples of bills to write, and bills...

(ok. I haven't given up with the relativity wrong thread. This is just something I'm thinking on meanwhile). Also please excuse my english as it is not my mother tounge. ok, for a moment let's forget about the wavelike properties of light (I had some ideas to explain light propagation like...

If a uniform wooden plank is resting on a smooth floor reared vertically against a smooth wall. The plank's lower end is pushed gently to start it sliding freely away from the wall. As the plank slides its angle to the wall increases. At what angle does the upper end of the plank leave the...

Any ideas on the potential overpopulation of the planet? How close are we? Solutions?

I have to write an 8-10 page paper for my modern physics class. I was hoping someone here with more experience could suggest an interesting and accessible topic. The paper is going to have to be pretty long, so I'm going to have to be able to study this topic without getting severely lost in...

Mind to Mind: Mr. Dennett & Mr. Gautama Exchange Ideas (NOTE: The main body of this thread, though written as a fantasy :cool:, prepares for earnest “test questions” posed at the end of the thread.) Good day ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mind to Mind! Sit back and enjoy as we utilize...

Last night my girlfriend was doing laundry when she let out a blood curdling scream. While I am quite used to this sound it usually only happens when I ask for sex, so I knew something was wrong. I went to investigate and found her holding a tangled mass of clothes hangers. "I hate clothes...

Does anyone here know anything about poetry? I've got an idea but I don't know how to say it. Suggestions?

Proof? why do we demand proof of philosophical ideas. when, by definition, they can not be proven. a philosophy is an idea or concept. wouldn't we get much further here if we exchanged ideas and asked for explanations of an opinion, rather than, asking for proof? i make a motion that the...

Hi guys, I'm in need of a topic to do for my math project. What's difficult about the project is that I need to demonstrate the power of mathematics through using the computer. I have no access to supercomputers, so any ideas that would involve a normal home computer would be great. I need to do...

“wave radius” used for spherical wave patterns, same as wave length. “Wave density” same as wave frequency. Gamma wave 1e-11 wavelength multiplied by 3e19 frequency rquals total mass Total “energy” of gamma wave = 2e-14 Radio wave length 1e-1, multiplied by 3e9 frequency equals total...

I'm thinking of throwing a party in three months or so. A fad that has been getting more popular lately is a foam party. To do this you need a foam machine. Rental for one of these units is well above $100, and sometimes around $400. That's a little pricy for my budget, but I figure that with a...

this is a great site for learning and discussing ideas... well i have two questions 1. Whats the objetive of the mission space probe b? was it launched yet? 2. Has been ever performed any experiment searching for the speed of gravity? (like fizeau's for light?)

I've got a question about astronomy and star collision : I have to make a project about a topic (in astronomy) which takes about half a year. Now one point is that you can't just collect data and write a a text about that. You also have to do some practical work. No first I wanted to choose...

Greetings Love Birds, Valentines(2-14-04) is coming up, 6 days from today. So what's in your boxes for your love ones? Post here! -

I have to take a Physics Project course where I would have to undertake a reserach endeavour whilst being supervised by a Professor at the university...any suggestions as to what this endeavour could be? This is a senior level underdergraduate course and my interest is in particle physics...

What type of Spacecraft would you design and what propulsion system would you use? Her are my thoughts, what are your? Can we, as Forum members, pool our ideas and come up with a feasible design? I say, let's try. 1. Crew size: 1. Commander and Pilot. 2. Spacecraft Systems...

For visual basic I need to write a term paper on any topic in computer science that is in depth enough to last four pages. Any interesting ideas?

What is time? This is a very hard question. Not even physics experts have a good anwser. I´d like to show you my ideas about this subject. The measure of time is the measure of some standard events. I think we all agree with this. However, this thought lead us to think that, in a region with...

Ok, I am not in any physics courses, programs, associations, nothing. I have never taken a physics course But I was just wondering a few things. 1) If you take two pieces of radioactive material, one of which is more radioactive than the other and put them beside each other, would anything...

Toys For Tots! Any other good ideas? Its that time of the year again...time to be nice to those less fortunate. You can start by scraping together some cash, and donating to http://www.toysfortots.org/2002/ ! You can send money, or donate toys for your community. Feel free to post other good...

we need new ideas, we need to move us (the human race) toward somthing at the moment it seems like a chaos of ideas which only help to give us more chaos. unless some takes us in a direction we are actual going around in circles I AM JUST MAD OR AM I RIGHT? where do we head...

Strange Sun-like Object... Any Ideas? A few days ago, my family and I were stuck in a traffic jam on the expressway about an hour before sunset. There were no clouds in the sky and my sister pointed out what appeared to be a small sun a quite a bit to the southeast of the larger one. I have...

Hi. I am not a physicist or a mathematician, but I am a Professional Licensed Electrical Engineer with a Masters Degree in EE. I did get through the Quantum Physics class but never pursued the theoretical sciences any further. I say all of this because I have come up with some rather odd ideas...

I would like to acquire white hat on Planck's constant and classical ideas regarding quantum mechanics and the origin of Planck's constant. For example, Timothy Boyer suggests a classical derivation of blackbody radiation by employing stochastic electrodynamics ideas. Dr. Hestenes proposes a...

We need to write down why knowing the speed of life would be important to us personally. Can anyone come up with suggestions? I would appreciate it. I would also like to find experiments or information on how to measure the speed of sound. I would appreciate it if you provide me with...

A group of us three are designing a "Herculean Chair" for Physics class. The chair must be made entirely out of cardboard, and the chair should be able to support 250 pounds. (Tape, staples, w/e can be used.) We are looking for some ideas on how to go about doing this, any type of cardboard...

Does anybody have any good ideas for easy science experiments? I have a proposal due tomarrow for a science experiment. I'ts a 7th grade science class, but I've just been coming up with ideas that are way to complex and ahead of the class. I need smoething simple, yet shows good understanding of...