Physics and Engineering Resources
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Contents
- Physics
- Engineering
Physics |
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General
- Amusement Park Physics Explores the science behind bumper cars, roller coasters, and free fall rides.
- Flipping Physics Former high school physics teacher, Jonathan Thomas-Palmer created a series of videos explaining key concepts of physics.
- How Stuff Works Learn how a variety of things work from computers to smoke detectors.
- Institute of Physics Discover how you can become a physics teacher or get a career in physics. You can also explore different areas of physics.
- Minute Physics A collection of short videos that explain concepts in physics.
- The Physics Abecedarium Elmhurst University's Physics Department presents a series of videos to explain the basics of physics.
- The Physics Aviary Frank McCulley, a physics teacher at Delsea Regional High School in New Jersey created this site with labs, simulation tools, games, physics problems, and more.
- Physics Classroom This site was designed to help students with Physics. There are tutorials as well as a Multimedia Physics Studio to help visualize concepts.
- Physics Discoveries The National Science Foundation provides the latest discoveries in the field of physics.
- Physics Girl A collection of videos relating to physics by MIT graduate Dianna Cowern.
- Physics High Physics teacher Paul Looyen has created a collection of videos to explain to high school students physic concepts.
- The Physics of Baseball Retired physics teacher Alan M. Nathan takes a look at how big of a role physics play in a game of baseball.
- Physics.Org Explore the world of physics from the Institute of Physics with current news, careers in physics, explanations of concepts, and more.
- Starts with a Bang Astrophysicist Ethan Siegel and a team of scientists created this site to explain the physics and complex astronomy concepts to the public.
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Famous Physicists and History |
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- Albert Einstein: His Life, Theories, and Impact on Science Takes a look at the life of Albert Einstein, his career, and the legacy he left to science.
- Andre-Marie Ampere Profiles the French physicist who is known as the father of electromagnetism.
- Benjamin Franklin and Science The National Park Service highlights Benjamin Franklin's scientific experiments.
- Biography of Amedeo Avogadro, Italian Scientist Highlights the life and scientific accomplishments of Italian scientist, Amedeo Avogadro.
- Biography of Christian Doppler, Mathematician and Physicist Provides a brief biography of the Austrian mathematician and physicist who first described the Doppler Effect on sound and later on light.
- Biography of Stephen Hawking, Physicist and Cosmologist Takes a look at the life and career of Stephen Hawking.
- Center for History of Physics The American Institute of Physics developed this great site about the history of physics.
- Charles Augustin de Coulomb and the Electrostatic Force Explores the life and career of the French engineer and physicist including the development of Coulomb's Law.
- Christiaan Huygens Documents the life of Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer Christiaan Huygens.
- The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein Princeton University presents this collection of Albert Einstein's writings.
- Einstein: Image and Impact Explores the life and work of Albert Einstein.
- Ernest Rutherford Profiles the "father of nuclear physics."
- Ernst Mach Gives details about the life of Ernst Mach and his accomplishments in psychology, philosophy, and physics.
- The Galileo Project From Rice University, this site provides a detailed look at the life and work of Galileo Galilei including the Catholic Church's view of his work.
- The History of Gravity Explores man's curiosity of gravity including Aristotle, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and Hawking.
- J. Robert Oppenheimer: Life, Work, Legacy Depicts the life and accomplishments of J. Robert Oppenheimer who oversaw the Manhattan Project.
- James Prescott Joule and the True Nature of Heat Profiles James Prescott Joule and his study of heat.
- Life and Work of Albert Einstein Outlines the life and accomplishments of the most famous scientist in the twentieth century.
- Life and Work of Gustav Kirchhoff, Physicist Sketches out the life of the Prussian physicist who developed the laws of current and voltage.
- The Life of Enrico Fermi The U.S. Department of Energy outlines the life of physicist Enrico Fermi and his work in nuclear physics.
- Marie and Pierre Curie and the Discovery of Polonium and Radium Presents the transcript of a lecture given by Nanny Froman at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, on February 28, 1996 which discusses the lives of Marie and Pierre Curie and their discoveries of Polonium and Radium.
- Michael Faraday The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion covers the life, scientific accomplishments, and the religious convictions of Michael Faraday.
- The Newton Project Compiles all of Sir Isaac Newton's writings including his notebooks and correspondence. There is also a section about his life.
- Sir David Brewster The Brewster Kaleidoscope Society presents this biography of the inventor the kaleidoscope and developed Brewster's Law.
- Snell, Willebrord (Physicist) Highlights the life and accomplishments of Danish physicist, Willebrord Snell.
- Thomas Young - The Last Man Who Knew Everything Describes the life as well as the many accomplishments of Thomas Young including his double-slit experiment and translations of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
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Motion |
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- Circular Motion The Institute of Physics takes a look at circular motion.
- Distance versus Displacement Defines distance and displacement, explains the difference, and tells how to calculate for each.
- How to Define Acceleration Discusses what acceleration is, the units of acceleration, and how to calculate acceleration.
- Linear Motion Introduces linear motion by explaining the different types of motion, the types of linear motion, and the differences between linear motion and other motions.
- Newton's Laws of Motion NASA's Glenn Research Center introduces Sir Isaac Newton's three Laws of Motion.
- What Are Momentum and Impulse? Takes a look at momentum and impulse and their relationship with force.
- What Are Newton's Three Laws of Motion? Briefly describes Sir Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion.
- What Is a Projectile? Tells about what projectile motion is, motion characteristics of a projectile, horizontal and vertical velocity, horizontal and vertical displacement, initial velocity components, horizontally launched projectile problems, and non-horizontally launched projectile problems.
- What Is Conservation of Momentum? Analyzes the conservation of momentum.
- What Is Velocity in Physics? Defines what velocity is and provides the formula used to calculate velocity.
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Field Forces |
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- Definition of Force in Physics Summarizes what force is in Physics and the types of forces.
- Gravity New Scientist takes a look at the fundamental force, gravity.
- Gravity: What Is It? Defines gravity, what causes it, and more.
- Newton's Law of Gravity Explains Sir Isaac Newton's Law of Gravity, gravitational fields, gravitational potential energy, and more.
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Matter |
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- Matter, Elements and Atoms Highlights what matter and the elements are and the structure of the atom.
- The Particle Adventure Explores the world of particles including quarks, neutrinos, antimatter, accelerators, and more.
- Properties and States of Matter (Physics): An Overview Outlines what atoms and molecules are, states of matter and their properties, phase changes, chemical properties, and atomic structure.
- States of Matter Physicist Ron Kurtus depicts the physical characteristics of solids, liquids and gas.
- The Structure of Matter Discusses the structure of matter, the history of atomic structure, and the application of atomic structure to static electricity.
- What Are the States of Matter? Describes what matter is and the states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
- What Is the Definition of "Matter" in Physics? Defines matter and gives examples of what is and what is not matter.
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Heat |
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- Heat Examines the relationship between heat and temperature and the methods heat is transferred.
- Heat and Temperature Explores the relationship between heat and temperature and how to calculate the amount of heat released or absorbed.
- Introduction to Heat Transfer: How Does Heat Transfer? Provides a brief description of what heat transfer is, the forms of heat transfer, the effects of heat transfer, heat capacity, and more.
- Laws of Thermodynamics Discusses the history, the concepts behind, and each of the three Laws of Thermodynamics.
- Methods of Heat Transfer Looks into how heat is transferred through conduction, convection, and radiation.
- An Overview of Thermodynamics Outlines the basic concepts of thermodynamics including heat transfers, thermodynamic processes, states of matter, heat capacity, ideal gas equations, Laws of Thermodynamics, and more.
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Waves and Sound |
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- Dan Russell's Acoustics and Vibration Animations Penn State professor, Dan Russell shares his animations to explain sound waves, acoustics, vibrations, and more.
- The Doppler Effect for Sound Waves Describes the Doppler Effect and how to calculate it.
- Let's Learn about Waveforms Investigates the physics of sound and waveforms.
- Vibrational Motion Takes a look at vibrational motion with examples, causes, defining restoring force, and lists other vibrating systems.
- Why Is Simple Harmonic Motion So Important? The University of Birmingham explores harmonic motion including frequency, period, and measuring oscillations.
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Light and Color |
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- Color in a New Light Examines the science of making of and using color, from the Smithsonian.
- Color Theory Covers what causes us to see color including the development of the color wheel.
- Diffraction of Light Discusses what diffraction is, how it is different from scattering, and more.
- Light Waves and Color This tutorial from The Physics Classroom delves into light waves, color and vision, and the mathematics of two-point source interference.
- Physics of Light Explores light and color including types of waves, their frequency, and their wavelength.
- Polarization Takes a look at what polarization is, how light is polarized, and more.
- Reflection and Refraction Defines reflection and refraction and explains Snell's Law.
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Electrical Energy and Circuits |
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- Coulomb's Law Introduces Coulomb's Law and electrical forces.
- Electric Current Defines what an electric current is and how it is generated.
- Electromagnetism Compiles a collection of videos created by a high school physics teacher about eletromagnetism.
- Electrostatics Physics teacher Paul Looyen presents videos explaining electric charge, Coulomb's Law, electric fields, voltage, and plasma balls.
- The Relationship between Electricity and Magnetism Introduces the basic principles of electricity and magnetism and electromagnetism.
- What Are Electrostatic Forces? Explains what electrostatic forces are, how they work, and how to calculate the electrostatic force using Coulomb's Law.
- What Are Magnetic Fields? Examines magnetic fields: what they are, how they are measured, their origins, and more.
- What Is an Electric Field?: Definition, Formula, Examples Discusses what an electric field, an electric charge, and Coulomb's Law are and explains the electric field formula.
- What Is Faraday's Law? Covers Faraday's Law about electromagnetic induction.
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Nuclear Energy |
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- How Nuclear Radiation Works
- The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History A comprehensive look at the history of the Manhattan Project and the development of atomic energy.
- Manhattan Project National Historical Park Narrates the story of the making of the atomic bomb. Park includes sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington.
- The Manhattan Project Timeline Covers the purpose of the Manhattan Project and presents a timeline of events from the project.
- Nuclear Fission Versus Nuclear Fusion Describes nuclear fission and nuclear fusion and how to distinguish between the two processes.
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Modern Physics |
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Relativity
Quantum Mechanics
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- Can Anything Move Faster than the Speed of Light? Examines the theory of relativity and the speed of light.
- Einstein's Theory of Relativity Presents an overview of Albert Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity, Lorentz Transformations, Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, and the Fundamental Principles of Relativity.
- Lorentz Transforms Explains what is Lorentz Transformations according the Special Relativity.
- Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein The online version of the 1920 publication by Henry Holt that discusses Einstein's theory of relativity.
- What Is Einstein's Theory of Relativity? Universe Today explains relativity starting with its history, Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity and Einstein's Theory of general Relativity, the Eddington Experiment, and more. Includes additional resources.
Quantum Mechanics
- The Basics of String Theory Summarizes the theory that tries to explain the unexplainable in quantum physics.
- Everything You Need to Know about Bell's Theorem Examines John Stewart Bell's theorem about whether or not particles connected through quantum entanglement communicate information faster than the speed of light.
- Quantum Entanglement in Physics Probes into what happens when two particles become entangled with one another.
- Understanding the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle Introduces Werner Heisenberg's principle which he developed in 1927.
- Understanding the "Schrodinger's Cat" Thought Experiment Offers an explanation of Erwin Schrodinger's thought experiment as well as the Copenhagen Interpretation and the Many Worlds Interpretation.
- What Is Blackbody Radiation? Defines Blackbody Radiation and electromagnetic standing waves.
- What Is Quantum Gravity? Presents a basic look at the theory of quantum gravity.
- What Is Quantum Optics? Provides an explanation of the study of photons and its interactions with matter and includes Photon Theory of Light.
- What Is the Compton Effect and How It Works in Physics Tells about the scattering of electrons after a high-energy photon hits a target which was first demonstrated in 1923 by Arthur Holly Compton.
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Engineering
General |
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- Beyond Curie Profiles forty women scientists that have made contributions in science, mathematics, and engineering.
- Civil Engineer Students will find a lot of useful information under the Publications tab and the Education tab including the Structural Engineering Library, the Online Geo-technical Engineering Library, Historical Database Civil Infrastructure resource, Calculation Examples and other educational websites.
- Crash Course: Engineering A series of videos that explores different concepts of engineering including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, laws, and more.
- Engineering.Com Explores the fields of engineering with articles explaining concepts as well as the latest news.
- Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century Examines twenty great achievements in engineering in the 20th Century including the automobile, airplane, radio and television, air conditioning, spacecraft, Internet, and more.
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Mechanisms |
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- Algodoo This free app allows students to design and experiment with simple machines virtually.
- Animated Engines This simple site contains colorful animations that explain how 19 different engines work.
- Gears Looks into the functions and types of gears.
- A Guide to Simple Machines Used in Cars Describes pulleys, wheels and axles, levers, inclined planes, screws, compound machines, and wedges.
- 6 Kinds of Simple Machines Tells about six simple machines and their functions.
- Types of Pulley Systems Features different pulley systems and their functions.
- What Is a Sprocket? Takes a look at what a sprocket is, how it is used, and the different kinds of sprockets.
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Commerical Applications |
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- Pneumatics: A Simple Introduction Explains what pneumatics is, how pneumatic machines work, how pneumatics are used, the history of pneumatics, and resources to find out more information.
- What Is a Hydraulic System and How Does It Work? Discusses what a hydraulic system is, its parts, were it can be found, and how it is used.
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