Question:
I'm new to this website. I'm a freshman physics major in college and I'm
preparing a paper to present at the
Society of Physics Students Zone Meeting this Spring.
The subject/title of my paper is physics in practical jokes. I may slighty
change it to something like Practical Jokes as a Method of Teaching Physics.
For example, get cans of shaving cream and place them in liquid nitrogen
until frozen. Take them out and peel off the can, leaving the solid white
mass inside. Throw x number of these white masses into the cab of someone's
truck. When the temperature rises, they should expand(I've never gotten to
try it, myself).
If you can think of any examples, please let me know - and remember, I'm a
freshman physics student, so let me know which priciples I should relate
them to. I can use all the help I can get.
Answer:
- My guess would be that they would thaw out and leave a puddle on the seat.
Now if you put one in a footlocker so that closing the lid pushes the button
you get the proper result.
What is nice about this is that after everything clears up there is almost
nothing left in the box but a few thin white lines.
- You should take this seriously even if the subject is not,
particularly if that happens to be anywhere near Atlanta in March.
My favorite was when one professor put another inside a Faraday cage
at very high voltage when he was allegedly there just to help be sure
the demo was done correctly, using a volunteer from the other prof's
class. Instead he said "Hey, he's been telling you all this stuff is
true, shouldn't he be the one inside?"
A theoretical practical joke? You would be laughed out of the
room. Physics is an experimental science. I would expect pictures,
at the very least. Look at the "TWINKIE" page to see how this sort
of thing is done when done well.
When I think of shaving cream, I immediately think of its various
cohesive and ballistic properties. Clearly you need more experience.
So it seems. How about looking into whether a "swirly" works the
same way in the southern hemisphere?
