Questions tagged [everyday-life]
Concerns the application of the laws of physics to analyze common situations encountered in everyday life.
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How exactly does a seashell make the humming sound?
My little brother asked me where the ocean-like sounds came from inside of a sea shell. I told him that the air trapped inside the shell vibrates, making a sound. But then he asked me why the air had ...
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How does a vehicle's brake affect the friction between the vehicle and ground?
When brakes are activated in a vehicle it decelerates. Analysing its motion, there can be only one force that can be responsible for it: the friction between the car and the ground.
So does braking ...
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Motion of bowling ball
I'd like to model the motion of an asymmetric bowling ball thrown on a bowling lane. I know there's forward momentum and angular momentum that moment the ball is released, and there's of course ...
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Why do most fish wiggle their tails side to side, and not up-down?
Is moving a vertical fin side to side more efficient than moving a horizontal fin up and down in water for fish locomotion? The answer might lie in how fish propel themselves using vortices, but I don'...
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Why does my curry "bounce back" after stirring?
I recently cooked a big pot of curry, consisting largely of coconut milk, a bit of chicken stock and some vegetables. You can probably imagine that it was somewhat thick in consistency. The cooking ...
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Why do gaps in my blinds create multiple lines?
Multiple lines appear on my floor every morning from the gaps in my blinds.
Why does this happen and does it have to do with light being a wave, like in the double slit experiment? If so could it be ...
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Should I hold a baby formula bottle to cool it down faster?
This is an interesting and somewhat surprising physics problem - holding a hot object in your hand will cool it down faster, even if the air around is colder. I guess that 90% of people would be ...
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How is energy converted when matter is deformed?
This question pertains to a project we are doing in class. In the project, we are discussing the various forces governing certain sports. I chose basketball, and one of the main things to write about ...
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Why clothes keep us warm?
I want to understand why clothes keep us warm. I understand that they reflect back thermal radiation and also trap air thus significantly reducing cooling due to thermal convection. My question is, do ...
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The physics of swimming
How does the straight leg flutter kick provide propulsion for a swimmer? The mechanical symmetry seems to preclude generation of a net force.
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Is it possible to see thermal columns?
The most common way gliders gain altitude is to circle in a thermal. Thermals are often found below cumulus clouds, or above dark areas on the ground. Without these signs, they are harder to find and ...
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Rotating a Pot of Boiling Water on a Stove
I have just boiled a half dozen eggs and wanted to ask about a phenomenon I have witnessed for years but have bottled up inside for so long. Why, when the water is near boiling and nice and hot, does ...
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Why do large trucks have a longer stopping distance than cars?
It's common knowledge that large, heavy trucks can't brake as sharply as small cars. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration:
The average stopping distance for a loaded tractor-...
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Does a rubber mat reduce the impact to the floor below?
My lack of physics knowledge is preventing me from solving an everyday life problem. Please bear with me!
Say I have a second-floor apartment and I want to do deadlifts. I am afraid of the floor ...
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How does the mirror know what’s behind the paper?
I found this on social media. Although it was posted for fun, this is a valid question: How does the mirror know what’s behind the paper?
Show me how light reflected from the egg reaches the mirror.
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