Saturday, May 11, 2013

Where does mass come from?

One of the many very good youtube channels on physics had a recent episode that tackles one of my favorite subjects:  most of our mass comes from energy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztc6QPNUqls

The bonus in that episode is that the strong force is better explained there than anywhere else I've seen.

For reference, my old post that links to my prezi on energy which is simpler but makes the same ultimate point:

http://riddicisms.blogspot.com/2011/03/prezi-on-energy.html

SMH at SHM

Really feeling the generation gap with my students these days.  Simple Harmonic Motion is a staple of physics and is frequently abbreviated "SHM".  I've been writing that on the board at the front of classrooms for over a decade now.  This year my students tell me they think of "SMH" every time they see "SHM".  Seeing my confusion, they have to explain to me that it is text speak for "Shake My Head".

Hmmm... I wonder if most head shaking can be modelled with Hooke's Law?