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For transcript, links and pictures, check out pwnphysics.blogspot.com Imaginary Numbers: What the heck is it really?? How can a number be imaginary?? Well friends, let me tell you, on this Halloween Night, they are real. There are INDEED numbers which are considered imaginary. They have very special properties which do not exactly line up with what one might consider the “conventional” theory of mathematics, but is now so embedded in it, that it matches theory to a T. Quantum Mechanics cannot be described without imaginary numbers. So what are they?? Well, imagine this. What is a square root? A square root is a number which, when multiplied by itself, equals another number, it’s square. So, the square root of 4 is 2. 2 multiplied by 2 is 4. The square root of 16 is 4. 4×4 = 16. Numbers whose square roots are a whole number are referred to as perfect squares. Now, let’s consider this. Consider negative four. -4 times -4 = 16. So, the squar [...]

Finally the complete episode….head on over to pwnphysics.blogspot.com for the embedded tweets referenced in this podcast episode. 

Alright friends, 2 weeks into the year for most of you, it’s time to get back into it. Included here are 5 older episodes of this podcast that you really shouldn’t miss out on, and are great for getting you back into the semester. Episode 024: Sines and Cosines by Counting to 4! Episode 063: 5 Critical Vector Properties for Components and the Importance of Coordinate Systems on Vector Operations Episode 080: Physics Review Brushup Vol. 01 Episode 081: Physics Review Brushup Vol. 02 Episode 082: Physics Review Brushup Vol. 03 Also, check out the article from the beginning of the show right here. Here’s the CNN article about the last Full Moon of the [...]

So this is the third in a three part series about my excursion to Brookhaven National Labs to tour their facilities for 4 “Summer Sundays” Sessions that took place during the month of July. If you’re just tuning in, I encourage you to go back to PWN E091, just two episodes before, and start there, to get up to speed. We’ll be here when you get back.   It’s kind of weird, but there was definitely something that kept me coming back to BNL this summer. Again, this time, the kids were in tow, so the main attraction, the tour of the RHIC, or the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, was off the table, but I didn’t care. There’s just something about the atmosphere and attitude of this place that I had to get my fill while I could. So what was available, you ask? Well, first on the docket was a trip to the cafeteria. It was at this point that I passed a table where, apparently, if you attended 3 of the 4 weeks, you were [...]

So this is the second in a three part series about my excursion to Brookhaven National Labs to tour their facilities for 4 “Summer Sundays” Sessions that took place during the month of July. If you’re just tuning in, I encourage you to go back to PWN E091, just one episode before, and start there, to get up to speed. We’ll be here when you get back.   So, this time, when I went, I brought my mom and my friend who were visiting, and my 2 little kids. Because of this lineup, I didn’t hit the lecture. When we got there, first thing we did was go to the cafeteria and hang out over there. Lovely nice open space, with a very friendly staff. Everything at this place is so laid back I love it. And the prices are very reasonable as well. I guess this is where the employees go to eat, so they try and keep the prices down.  From there, the purpose of this week was to feature their synchrotron light source. This system creates lig [...]

So this is the first in a three part series about my excursion to Brookhaven National Labs to tour their facilities for 4 “Summer Sundays” Sessions that took place during the month of July. So, one thing that I found out last year is that you are not allowed to go onto the BNL campus without authorization. I stopped by and asked if I could drive around, and I got a very stiff “no” from the security guard. I did not realize the gravity, no pun intended, of this facility.  BNL is a very serious science research facility. They do classified level research, have a particle accelerator, and at any given time are trying to be hacked by someone. Security is paramount, and so for obvious reasons they don’t want me driving around in my minivan to see the sights. However, for 4 glorious Sundays a year, you can visit and tour parts of this magical place and see what the scientists are up to, in very broad strokes. The first weekend is called [...]

What I’ve been up to over the last four months. Check out more at pwnphysics.blogspot.com If you’re listening, thanks so much for tuning in. We’re still going strong!

Dig deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com Pick up the app in question for only $1.99 at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pwn-physics-vectors/id1081806363?mt=8 The wonderful day is finally here! We’ve come a long way and are finally finished with how to handle vectors. Let’s wrap up by going through a tour of the new app.  The first thing you will come across is the welcome screen, and then the main menu which will direct you through everything you need for your introduction to vectors. The first place you want to start is answering the question “What’s a Vector?” Tap this to enter the what’s a vector menu. You can then get detailed explanations for the following: What’s a Vector? [...]

Dig deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com In today’s episode we continue digging into examples concerning our linear equation y = mx+b, where m is the slope, and b is the y-intercept. Our fourth example involves finding the equation from a graph. As usual, coffee-stained notes below. Enjoy!

Dig deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com In today’s episode we continue digging into examples concerning our linear equation y = mx+b, where m is the slope, and b is the y-intercept. Our third example involves some not-so-nice numbers, to show how it usually is in math, ugly numbers. Find the equation of a line with slope -0.36 and intersects the point (271,25). As usual, coffee-stained notes below. Enjoy!

Dig deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com In today’s episode we continue digging into examples concerning our linear equation y = mx+b, where m is the slope, and b is the y-intercept. Our second example involves finding the equation of a line which goes through the point (2,22) and has a y-intercept of 10. Below are my coffee-stained show notes which walk you through all the calculations. Enjoy!

In today’s episode we start digging into examples concerning our linear equation y = mx+b, where m is the slope, and b is the y-intercept. Our first example is find the equation of a line with the points (1,8) and (7,26). Head on over to pwnphysics.blogspot.com for my show notes for this example. 

So, last episode I had mentioned a really great article which mentioned how it’s currently possible to see 5 planets in the morning sky. Well, this weekend, I had a chance to check it out and managed to see Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter in the sky! Check out the pics below.  On to the line.  In this episode we dig deep into the three major “anatomy points” of a line: the slope, y-intercept and x-intercept.  The slope: The “angle” of the line. From 0-45, the slope [...]

Dig Deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon in 2 days. There’s a great New York Times article about how every morning for the next month, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter will be visible in the morning sky. FAQs that are answered on this podcast:

Dig deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com 1: The Vector- The arrow in magenta is the vector in question. Everything else in the image serves to describe this vector. It’s represented as an arrow and can be slid anywhere in the coordinate system and still retain its properties: the magnitude and direction. 2: Y-Axis- The black vertical arrow represents the y-axis in our coordinate system. This gives a reference point for all of the vectors in our system. 3: Origin- Most physical systems only make sense when [...]

Dig Deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com How To Overcome Getting Stuck In Physics Recently I’ve been working on an app. Which one doesn’t really matter. It’s about a topic that I really enjoy and I’m excited about it. In working on it, it has easily been the hardest app I’ve ever developed, although absolutely nothing about it is different. In general, my apps follow a formula, because they are modular; they deal with different sections of physics and offer a very similar solution. First, understand the topic. Next, break that topic into easy, doable, step by step solutio [...]

Dig Deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com This second part of Episode 085 is going through a subtraction and cross product example, to just get the gears moving again after the New Year. Check it out!

Dig Deeper at pwnphysics.blogspot.com I went back to Wardenclyffe Tower! Not much has changed since last I went (check out episodes 029 and 30 for the original Wardenclyffe pilrimage), except all of the conifers were decorated for the season. I also noticed a plaque with many Tesla pictures under plastic, including the classic photo of him  with the light bulb, as well as several pictures of the original tower. I can’t wait until this place opens for real. I hope I’ll be able to go decorate one of the Christmas trees there next year. So, during the “On this day in physics” section of PWN Physics 365, I wish a happy birthday to Issac Newton, born 04 January 1643. I post the episode, and then during my internet travels, came across a tweet from Neil Degrasse Tyson from Christmas which very cleverly alludes to the birthday of a very special man who will change the future of humanity, only at the end of the tweet [...]

The one where your host tells you about some exciting news for the upcoming year. Blog: pwnphysics.blogspot.com Twitter: twitter.com/pwnphysics Facebook: facebook.com/pwnphysics Apps: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/developer/elijah-hibit/id578486296 At the end of this year, I’d like to share a few things with the readers of this blog. First, thank you so much for tuning in this year. For me it was a lot of fun and I think we’ve covered a lot of ground, even though we’re still on the ground floor.  Next, we’re going to take things to the next level in 2016, starting with PWN Physics 365. It’s going to be a 3 segment podcast to tune into every day of the year. The first segment will be a “on this day in physics history” bit. The next will be the word of the day. Lastly, I’ll be sending you off [...]

The one where your host gets festive and electric at the same time.  Check out the blog at pwnyourhw.blogspot.com for more!  And if you’re so inclined, grab an app or two or three here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/developer/elijah-hibit/id578486296