The Department of Physics at MIT pushes back the frontiers of human understanding of space and time and of matter and energy in all its forms, from the subatomic to the cosmological and from the elementary to the complex.
A Mylar balloon is held near a charged Van de Graaff generator. The balloon is moved radially away from the sphere and its deflection from the vertical is observed to decrease with distance. The same procedure is done with a conducting "infinite" plane. When the balloon is moved outwards from ...
A cutout of Massachusetts is hung in several orientations and a line is drawn straight downwards. The lines intersect at the center of mass.
A CO2 fire extinguisher is mounted on the back of a tricycle. When the CO2 is released, the tricycle is propelled forward.
A fluorescent tube swings at the end of a long plexiglass rod. It is made to rotate and then brought near the Van de Graaff generator. The tube lights up when there is a potential difference between its ends. This happens when it is pointing radially away from the Van ...
ESG student Joel Schneider teaches the problem "Gradients and Vector-valued Functions." Read more about the Experimental Study Group: http://esg.mit.edu/
Dr. Michael Fogler 200-2003 Pappalardo Fellow
This demonstration illustrates the earliest form of steam engine, as described by Hero of Alexandria around 150 B.C. A small amount of water is heated to produce steam, which accelerates out of small tubes. In turn, the steam creates thrust and the engine quickly spins up.
Two wood boards are connected by a hinge. A small cup is mounted near one end of the upper board with a tee for a ball on the end. The board is lifted to a certain height, and when released the ball ends up in the plastic cup. This shows that the board has moved farther than the ball in the ...
Harvard-MIT Center for Ultra-Cold Atoms Kids Day 2012 3/3: Local youth visit the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultra-Cold Atoms for demos, lab tours, and talks as part of the Cambridge Science Festival. Researchers demonstrate the principle behind an atom trap with a model, then bring the kids ...
The Council on Primary and Secondary Education 2002 summer program hosted 70 pre-college teachers at MIT to attend MIT Physics Professor Walter Lewin's inspired talk about physics.
First, a dipole consisting of two conducting balls connected by an insulating rod swings at the end of a long plexiglass rod. The two balls are charged oppositely by touching it to a conducting rod in the field of a Van de Graaff generator. The generator is negatively ...
A pendulum swings from a support post and another post is added to interrupt its swing. We desire to know the maximum height at which the pendulum will perform a full loop around the post. The pendulum requires both potential and kinetic energy in order to complete a full loop. Therefore, it ...
Dr. David Tong 2001-2004 Pappalardo Fellow
Department of Physics Senior Postdoctoral Fellow Winslow speaks on "Re?olution: Neutrino Oscillation and Beyond"
A laser is directed at an adjustable single slit and then a pinhole and the resulting diffraction patterns can be seen on a screen. A laser directed at two slits spaced closely next to each other creates an interference pattern within the diffraction pattern. Shining lasers of different ...
A ball rolls down an inclined track and around a vertical circle. All of the ball's initial potential energy is converted into three forms of energy when it reaches the top of the loop: potential energy corresponding to the height of the loop, kinetic energy corresponding to the ball's ...
MIT freshman Steven Fine explains the Lorentz Transformation. Read more about the Experimental Study Group: http://esg.mit.edu/
