If you watch a weather report on television, you may have heard of the term “Doppler radar” during weather forecasts. What exactly is a Doppler radar? Also, fundamentally, what is the Doppler effect? The Doppler effect is a phenomenon that can be observed with a moving object which is emitting waves. Many objects emit waves: [...]
Why is it that you press down the guitar string closer to where you pluck when you play a high note? The physics of sound can explain such phenomena. When you pluck a guitar string, you are essentially inducing what is known as a standing wave on the string. The plucked string is fixed at [...]
You drivers out there have probably heard of the ABS in your car (at least, if you are driving a car, you had better know about it!). ABS stands for “Anti-lock Braking System,” which should never be written as the “ABS system.” This is not a post about how ABS works, but rather one about [...]
We hear the word “engineer” often in our everyday lives, but where does the word come from? According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word dates back to the year 1325 in the form of the Old French word engigneor, which means “constructor of military engines.” Let’s take a moment to think about history. Back [...]
Earlier last month, the Journal of Experimental Biology published a study about fingerprints and that there is new doubt that fingerprints increase friction, which supposedly facilitates the grip by our hands. Now, they are saying that fingerprints actually reduce the amount of friction between the skin and other surfaces. This is probably contrary to everyone’s intuition. [...]