excerpted from thinking physics

From times immemorial, man has used machines to help him in his work. Today, we are dependent on machine for almost every task. When we think of machines we always tend to think of big and complicated units with many moving parts like wheels and rollers and gears and shaft..

From times immemorial, man has used machines to help him in his work. Today, we are dependent on machine for almost every task. When we think of machines we always tend to think of big and complicated units with many moving parts like wheels and rollers and gears and shaft..

One of the greatest discoveries of the eighteenth century was the discovery of electricity. Think of life today without electricity and you will realize the part electricity plays in our day to day lif..

Two examples of the turning effect of two equal and opposite forces not acting in the same straight line are the steering wheel and the pedals of a bicycle. In the figure (a) below, the left hand is pulling with force F on the steering wheel while the right hand is pushing with the same force F. Th..

Heat Capacity - The heat capacity C of an object, is the proportionality constant between the heat Q that the object absorbs or loses and the resulting temperature change D T of the object. That is, -----(i) Where, T i and T f are the initial and final temperatures of the object. Heat capacity C is..

Consider a car and a bicycle moving at the same velocity. Now, if you could somehow use the same brake system on both vehicles, the bicycle will stop first. Why do think so? Is it because the bicycle is lighter? Yes, it is because the bicycle is lighter. This makes us think of a..

Now that we understand the importance of friction, let us understand its origin. Take two pieces of sandpaper facing each other. Now bring them in contact with each other and try to rub them against each other. You will find it difficult to move. Why do you think so? The answer is that ..

. By thinking whether or not an electric light is needed or by switching it off when not required the fuel resources of the world can be conserved. Modern homes are built to conserve fuel by using building materials and methods that insulate the house. In the colder parts of the world ins..

. These will be quickly stopped at the walls. Stimulated emission photons that are parallel to the axis, can move back and forth through the discharge tube many times by successive reflections from mirrors M 1 and M 2 . These photons can in turn cause other stimulated emissions to occur. A chain re..

We can think of a single fixed pulley as a lever of class I where the fulcrum is at the centre and the load and effort arm have the same length. (shown in the figure below) Fixed Pulleys If you pass a string over the pulley with one end carrying a weight and the other end attached to a sp..