Physics presentation ideas please for a senior in high school

[joshwarner]

Hi! I'm in my final year of high school and I need to present to a jury a 5 minute presentation on a physics question. I'm looking for a topic that would combine physics and everyday life , similar to explaining ball movement in a given sport through aerodynamics and movement trajectory. My preferred topics are mechanics and wave interference. Any suggestions for a question or topic, while keeping in mind that timing will be very limited? Thanks for your contributions!

 

[kuruman]

Structural coloration. This combines mechanics and wave interference and dispels the myth that the colors that people see are always the results of pigmentation.

 

[haruspex]

Structural coloration. This combines mechanics and wave interference and dispels the myth that the colors that people see are always the results of pigmentation.

Yes, colour is a rich area for things that people often get wrong.
- that although we have three colour receptor types, each is sensitive across a broad range of frequencies, just peaking differently.
- that because we only have those three, an infinity of different actual frequency combinations can produce any given colour sensation.
- that pigmentation is about absorbing frequencies, e.g. plants are green because they do not use the green part of the spectrum in photosynthesis.
- that even apart from structural coloration and pigmentation, a substance may look a different colour depending whether the light is reflected from it or filtered through it. I don't know what that is called.

 

[joshwarner]

Thank you so much for your answers, I ended up choosing to do my presentation on structural coloration.

 

[kuruman]

Have you done the presentation? If yes, please tell us how it went. If no, good luck.

 

[joshwarner]

Apologies for answering so late, completely forgot about this thread. It went really well, thanks a lot for your help, the questions I got at the end were in fact quite interesting and made me glad I chose that subject, despite not knowing much about structural coloration before that. Funnily enough, I have yet another physics subject to present for an exam next year and decided to delve into golf ball aerodynamics and dimple characteristics. Here's hoping it goes as well as the last!

 

[kuruman]

$\dots~$ and made me glad I chose that subject, despite not knowing much about structural coloration before that.

A subject worth learning about is one you know nothing about.