Blog 4

So, today I went to the Doris Duke Theatre to listen to the famous professional pianist, Anton Kuerti.  For his performance, Mr. Kuerti played on a Steinway Model D Grand Piano, borrowed from Edward Eu.  Now, you’re probably wondering how in the world does this relate to physics!?!?!

In physics we’re learning about friction and Newton’s Laws.  In order to get the piano to the Doris Duke Theatre, it had to be moved and pushed and pulled multiple times.  For instance, in order to move the piano to the center of the stage, the force exerted by the person pushing it must be greater than the force of friction opposing it.  Considering that grand piano’s have a HUGE mass, the normal force of the piano would also be great.  From physics, we know that friction=(miu)(normal force).  Therefore, we know that there is a lot of friction to keep the piano from moving.

Physics really is EVERYWHERE!

Blog 3

In physics we are learning about Newton's laws.  Newton's second law states that, net force=mass * acceleration.  When an object is at equlibrium, there is no acceleration, and the net force is zero.  This is the chandelier that hangs above my dinner table.  The chandelier is at equilibrium because it is at a state of no change.  Also, it is not accelerating in either direction.  The reason the chandelier is not moving is because there is a chain holding it to the ceiling.  The pulling force of the chain is known as tension.  In order for the chandelier to be at rest, the y component of the tension (of the chain) must be equal to the weight of the chandelier, so that the y components will cancel out to zero.  I'm very glad that the chain has enough tension (net force) to hold up the chandelier!  If it didn't, we wouldn't have a dinner table, or light to see!