Into the Unkown

Like Joseph Kittinger, jumper for Project Excelsior, I am ready to jump into the unknown after what I have seen thus far of physics. After all, we won’t ever know the unknown until we go and see for ourselves right? Joseph Kittinger did not know what it was like to jump from over 70,000 feet above Earth, but that did not stop him from doing it, then doing it 2 more times until he reached 100,000+ feet. I feel that the groundwork has been established well for me this first quarter and hope that future concepts will become easier to learn as the year progresses. I really hope I don’t reach some sort of terminal velocity for my learning! I will strive to give it my all in physics throughout the entire year. I was lost throughout the year in chemistry. I got off to a weak start in chemistry and did not try hard enough to completely comprehend concepts, which I am sure is the reason why chemistry became progressively harder for me. I don't want to have a repeat of this this year. Although my experiences in chemistry were . . . not ideal, I am not letting that stop me from having fun in physics, and seeing and more importantly understanding all the physics I encounter in my everyday life is basically awesome. You really have to get yourself pumped for doing something like jumping from 20 miles above the Earth, and I am certainly pumped for the rest of physics!

Here’s a video with clips from the Project Excelsior jumps. The view from 20 miles up is amazing.

This Is Your Captain Speaking...

I am an avid flight simmer, with much too many hours logged in Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Falcon 4.0 Allied Force, and IL2 Sturmovik. One of the most important tools of this hobby is the joystick (I can’t afford a yoke, and you can’t fly combat with a yoke).


Yes, I like to flight sim

My primary joystick, the Saitek AV8R, uses a spring to hold the center stick in place and when I move the stick in any direction, the spring compresses like so:





Newton’s third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The force of the spring is equal to the product of the spring constant and the displacement away from the rest point of the spring. So if I push the stick in a way such that the force of the spring is 10N, I would have to push on the stick with 10N of force to keep the stick in place and prevent any sudden pitch changes with my plane. The amount of force is directly proportional to the displacement (how much the spring is compressed or stretched) of the spring, so the further I push the stick, the greater the force required to hold the stick in a steady position. The throttles on my controller also display another aspect of physics. Somewhere inside the controller where the throttle is connected, there is something that is creating friction so there is a certain degree of stiffness to the movement of the throttles, allowing me to make precise adjustments to the power of my aircraft. I was surprised to find that even my game controllers demonstrated different aspects of physics!


Name that school!