This week, we're highlighting resources that can help students learn physics. Yesterday, we discussed HyperPhysics, an on-line concept map, making it a great complement to your physics textbook. Now imagine what if your physics textbook illustrated the concepts of physics with ridiculous yet intriguing examples, such as "What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?" or "How hard would a puck have to be shot to be able to knock the goalie himself backwards into the net?" or "How quickly would the ocean's drain if a circular portal 10 meters in radius leading into space was created at the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest spot in the ocean? How would the Earth change as the water is being drained?" That's precisely what Randall Munroe, the creator of the web comic xkcd.com, sets out to do each week in his what if? blog (and now book).
Each week, what if? addresses a reader-submitted question with equal parts accuracy and ridiculousness. (Some readers may find this familiar.) Munroe explains the physics principles behind the scenario in question, shows or describes the calculations involved in determining an answer, and then extrapolates beyond the original question to ludicrous extreme cases.
Discussions like these help students learn physics in a number of ways:
- By showing that physicists don't always take themselves/their subject/life super seriously.
- By showing that our universe can be a weird place and physics explains that weirdness.
- By demonstrating that, with just a few core physics concepts, one can study and make predictions regarding physical scenarios, no matter how strange.
So, what's your favorite scenario discussed on what if? What's a scenario you'd like to send in?
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