Resource

Type

Text

Pages

Chapter 7 Resources

Resource Description

T - For Teachers S - For Students

Browser

Plug-in

• Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan - Saturn's rings like they have never been seen before. Plus much more!
• Cassini: Unlocking Saturn's Secrets - NASA provides great photos and multimedia features.
• Cassini-Huygens - covers all the intracacies of the mission.

• Periodic Motion Described - a concise definition of periodic motion and links to related concepts like elasticity, force and energy.
• Oscillation - an encyclopedia of types and examples.
• Bee Wing Oscillation - a computer dynamic animation of insect wings in flight shows an oscillating figure eight.
• Internal Combustion - a fantastic animation of piston movement.

347

S

T

S

• Elasticity and Hooke's law - simple diagrammatic explanations.
• Hooke's law - an encyclopedia of information!

T

S

354

T

S

358

Vertical Mass-Spring Systems - there's more to it than just bouncing up and down:

• Energy of a Vertical Mass/Spring System - an interactive animation of a spring with energy x time graph.
• Masses & Springs - explore the physics of vertical springs with this activity.

359

• A Revolution in Timekeeping - Huygens made a huge contribution.
• Christiaan Huygens - a very good biography - and the pictures, well, that's some great hair, Christiaan!

T

S

The Motion of a Pendulum - the swing motion is SHM:

• Simple Pendulum - how to calculate its period.
• MyPhysicsLab: Simple Pendulum - an animation with a graph of different functions you can choose.

T

S

• Pendulum Lab - very well constructed pendulum simulator.

Large Amplitude Pendulum - is it still SHM?

• Large Amplitude Pendulum - diagrams and formulae. Check out the lower box. Now increase the angle of swing and see what happens.
• The Pendulum with Small and Large Amplitudes - try this simple interactive animated comparison between a large and small amplitude pendulum.

364

365

• Accelerometer - a mass-spring system used for measuring acceleration, diagrams and explanation of how it works.
• Accelerometer Principles - what it is, how it works.

T

S

Period of a Pendulum - measurement of the period of a pendulum:

• The Pendulum - Galileo discovered that the period of the pendulum was a constant.  Was he right? A good scientific exploration.
• Pendulum Measurements - period is explained and a formula given to calculate it.
• Pendulum - properties and frequency and some applications, with an interactive applet to change length or angle of a pendulum and see what happens.

• Variation in gravity and apparent gravity - all the things that can affect gravity.
• MyPhysicsLab: Simple Pendulum - try it for yourself, change the gravity and see what happens.

Pendulum Clocks - a great advancement in timekeeping:

• Galileo's Design for a Pendulum Clock - the first attempt at a pendulum clock by Galileo - was he successful?
• Pendulum Clock - an encyclopedia of information!
• A Revolution in Timekeeping - Huygens made a huge contribution.

382

Forced Frequency - keeping the swing moving:

• The Forced Harmonic Oscillator - graphs show how the oscillator responds to an external force applied below, at or near, and above resonant frequency.
• Natural Frequency - what something natural vibrates at, excellent explanation.
• Forced vibration - the tuning fork example, another great page.

382-383

S

Mechanical Resonance - everything is getting a little shaky!

• Mechanical Resonance - an encyclopedia of information!
• Understanding Resonance - clarifying the terms.

T

S

385

Resonance Effects on Buildings and Bridges - always a challenge for engineers:

• Breaking Glass Sound? - the opera singer shatters glass - the concept proved on video.
• How Bridges Work - protecting bridges from resonance.
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge Oscillation - have to have a video of it somewhere!
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge - a huge encyclopedia of information. Follow the video link to find large videos of the collapse for download.

• Quartz Clock
• Crystal Oscillator
• Piezoelectricity
• How Do Quartz Watches Work - not an encyclopedia, but just as good!

387

S

Atomic Clock - extremely accurate:

• How Atomic Clocks Work - an excellent treatment of atomic clocks.
• Atomic Clock - an encyclopedia of information!
• Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock - a nation's standard for time keeping.

Resource

Type

Text

Pages

Chapter 8 Resources

Resource Description

T - For Teachers S - For Students

Browser

Plug-in

• Prenatal Ultrasounds – using mechanical waves to check on an unborn child.
• How Ultrasound Works – its all about the echo, echo, echo!
• Explore Ultrasound Technology – an interactive explanation of ultrasound technology. (Explore Learning offers only 5 free minutes per activity. Visit their subscription page for full access, or consider a 30 day free trial.)
• Bat echo-location – the night is alive with the sound of echos.
• Sound Waves Underwater – how underwater sound waves help search for the Loch Ness Monster. (Free Teacher's Domain registration required)
• Sonar - used in more ways than you think.

T

S

T

S

• Falstad Ripple - examine virtual waves in your own eRippletank (virtual goldfish not included).
• Interference Between Two Waves - good for seeing interference patterns.
• Standing Wave - this one takes a different approach, a nice side view of the wave pattern.

• The Nature of a Wave - an introduction to the mechanics of what we call waves.
• Properties of waves – the anatomy of a wave.
• Parts of a Wave -  good diagrams.
• How Tsunamis Work - excellent discussion of wave characteristics is included.
• Wave Characteristics - explains breaking waves quite clearly.

397

S

• Ripple Tank Sample Solutions - detailed explanations of different barrier interactions.
• Behaviour of Waves – how waves behave in different mediums, and when encountering a boundary.
• Shoaling - waves moving from deep water into shallow water.

397

398

T

S

401

Transverse and Longitudinal Waves - more info on these wave types:

• Longitudinal and Transverse Wave Motion - a simple explanation of each, with animations.
• Wave Types - each explained with a diagram.

401

• Springs and Energy - good explanation of an oscillating spring.
• Spring Force and SHM - classic play and learn applet.

404

T

S

404

• Longitudinal Waves - animation of a longitudinal wave where you set up pulsed compression and pulsed refraction.
• Longitudinal Travelling Wave - interactive animation of a longitudinal traveling wave where you can play with wavelength, frequency and amplitude.

404

• Reflection of a Pulse at a Fixed End - animation plus more.
• Reflection of a Pulse at a Free End - animation plus more.
• Echo vs. Reverberation - animation plus more.
• Characteristics of a Transmitted Pulse - animation plus more.

Human Ear and Sound - amazing structures transmit energy:

• How the Human Ear Works - great diagrams and animations.
• Sensitivity of Human Ear - fascinating facts.
• Sound Waves and the Eardrum - a well-structured explanation.

410

412

S

Superposition of Pulses - what happens when pulses run into each other?

• Superposition of Waves - amazing animations make things perfectly clear.
• Wave Interference - get interferences of several different sinusoidal wave forms.
• Interference - just facts, but very interesting ones.
• Interference of Waves - terrific coverage of a complex topic.
• Superposition Principle of Wave - a very good applet that allows you to change frequency and speed.

415

T

S

T

S

T

S

• Wave on a String - examine wave basics with this simple but excellent simulator.
• Wave Interference - make all sorts of waves and see how they interact.
• Sound - adjust the frequency, volume, and harmonic content from multiple sources.
• Fourier: Making Waves - see how changing the amplitudes of different harmonics changes the waves.

416-417

• Standing Waves in a Spring - a demo worth watching, good videos.
• Standing Wave - an interesting applet, give it a try.
• Standing Waves - an excellent site that explains this concept well.
• Slinky Standing Wave Video - amazing video, but be patient - it may take some time to load (realplayer required - VLC will also play this file).

418

• Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster - some good still pictures.
• Tacoma Narrows Bridge - very good coverage of all the details.
• Shock of the New - absorbing the problems of the millenium bridge.
• Millennium Bridge - has an excellent picture of the tuned mass dampers.
• Vibration of the Millenium Footbridge - a complicated but thorough analysis.

Digital Lessons are courtesy of the non-profit website ScienceMan.com.

Resonating Air Columns and Music - thanks to resonance, we can make beautiful music:

• Musical Instruments: Resonance - harmonics of air columns.
• Musical Instruments: Open-End Air Columns - more lovely harmonics.
• Musical Instruments: Closed-End Air Columns - lots of reading, but it's all good.
• Resonance and Standing Waves - Fundamental Frequency and Harmonics - you need to understand this if you are going to understand music.

T

S

T

S

Musical Pitch and Temperature – how temperature affects pitch, and why tuning an instrument is so difficult outside.

• Pitch and Temperature - short, but clear.
• Temperature and Instrument Pitch - answers from physics professors.

Two-point Wave Interference – drop two pebbles in a pond, and observe how the resulting waves interact:

• Interference of Waves - great applet with explanations.
• Two Point Source Interference - thorough explanation with animations, too.
• 2-Point Source Interference Patterns - where are those crests and troughs?

The Doppler Effect – how the perception of waves changes as movement is occurring:

• Doppler Effect - hearing pitch changes.
• An Example of Doppler Effect - very cute little ambulance!
• Doppler Effect - explained by NASA.
• Police RADAR - so that's how they catch you!
• Doppler Effect - an encyclopedia of information.
• Applet: Doppler Effect - simple, but provides a great visual.

T

S

• Low-Level Training Flights - the concerns of Labrador’s Innu peoples and the effects supersonic aircraft have on their lives.
• NATO Practices: Invasion in Labrador - an older article from Peace Magazine, but raisesvery good points.
• The Doppler Effect and Sonic Booms - great photos and animations.
• Breaking the Sound Barrier with an Aircraft - stunning photos, and good explanations.
• What is a Sonic Boom - the short and sweet explanation.

434