4. What is Electricity?

Electricity is the flow of any particle with a charge - in the case of our household supply,
it is the flow of negatively charged particles called electrons (hence electricity).

In a simple circuit, the electrons are provided by the metal in the wires (usually copper).
The battery provides a potential difference (voltage) that provides the 'push' to move
electrons towards the positive terminal.

There are two types of electrical current available: Alternating Current and Direct
Current. The electical current that comes out of your plug sockets is the former. The
National grid provides electricity that reverses direction 50 times per second (50Hz) in
the UK. You can actually prove this with a slow motion camera - alternating current
explains why lights seem to flicker under slo-mo.

Fast Fact: A current of just 0.1 - 0.2 amps is sufficient to kill a person.

5. What is Radioactivity?
Radioactivity involves the spontaneous decomposition of an unstable atomic nucleus
into a more stable form, in one of three decays: alpha, beta, gamma. The nucleus
becomes more stable by releasing excess energy either in the form of particles (alpha
and beta) or as a wave.

Fast Fact: Lead is the heaviest stable element in the periodic table. All heavier
elements decay over time.
Sometimes sonic booms are visible: the high pressure area can cause water vapour to
condense, briefly forming a cloud around the plane.

Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

6. What is the Sound Barrier?

The sound barrier is broken by any vehicle exceeding the speed of sound: 660mph

Once thought to be an impossible speed, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier with
the Bell X-1 rocket plant in 1947. As an object moves through the air, it pushes nearby
air molecules causing a domino-effect on surrounding molecules. This causes a
pressure wave that can be interpreted as 'sound.' As a plane approaches the speed of
sound, its pressure waves stack up ahead of it to form a massive area of pressurized air
that we call a shock wave.
These shock waves are heard as sonic booms.

Fast Fact: Felix Baumgartner is planning a skydive from 36,500m - he will fall so fast he
will become the first person to break the sound barrier without mechanical help.

7. How long could you survive in

Space without a Spacesuit?
Contrary to popular belief, and numerous Hollywood movies, you could survive
unprotected in space for over a minute - provided you could get back to medical care
immediately after. There are one or two things you need to think about if you found
yourself in this situation:

1. Breathe out: Just like an ascending scuba diver, if you hold your breath, the gas
expanding in your lungs due to reduced pressure would cause them to rupture.
2. Stay out of the sun: without protection, serious sunburn can ensue.
3. You are going to swell up: In the vacuum of space, your body fluids will
vaporise, causing tissues to swell up.
4. You have ten seconds: Of useful consciousness that is. Due to oxygen
depletion, you will also start to lose your vision after this time
NASA has limited experience of this phenomenon, but experience from training
accidents suggests that injuries can be reversed. if astronauts are returned into a
pressurized oxygen environment within 90 seconds.

Fast Fact: 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the few films to deal with vacuum
exposure correctly. The film's human protagonist, Dave, jumps out of a space pod to re-
enter his spacecraft. At no point does his head explode.
Temperature is a scale by which we measure the heat energy of atoms.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

8. What is Temperature?
Temperature is a measure of how hot an object is...but what does that mean?

All atoms have kinetic (movement) energy because all atoms move. Even the atoms in
a solid vibrate around a fixed spot. How hot an object is reflects the amount of kinetic
energy in its molecules.

You cool an object down by removing some of this kinetic energy. Eventually, you will
get to a point where the atoms are not moving at all - this is the lowest theoretical
temperature and is called 'Absolute Zero.' This theoretical temperature stands at 0K, or
-273.15°C (-459.67°F).
Fast Fact: While the temperature of the Southern Ocean stands between -2°C and
10°C, it contains much more heat energy than a boiling kettle. This is because there are
many more water molecules in the ocean; even though their individual kinetic energies
are lower than those in a kettle, when taken together the overall energy is much higher.

9. What is Gravity?
Gravity is one of the four fundamental forces that apply in our universe:

1. Gravity
2. Electromagnetism
3. Weak Nuclear Force
4. Strong Nuclear Force
Gravity is the force exerted by anything that has mass. Even sub-atomic particles exert
a gravitational pull on nearby objects. Isaac Newton proved that objects with a greater
mass exert a stronger gravitational pull. Weirdly, however, gravity is pathetically weak!

"Weak!? But gravity holds planets in orbit around the Sun, and holds us on the Earth's
surface" Correct, but look at it this way - a tiny magnet can hold a paperclip against the
gravitational pull of our planet. A newborn baby can defeat Earth's gravity by lifting a
block off the floor.

Gravity has undergone some modifications since Newton, with Einstein's General
Relativity providing an explanation of how gravity worked. Here is a helpful (although
flawed) analogy:

 Space and time form a 2-D fabric analogous to a trampoline.

 Stars, and other objects of great mass, are like bowling balls sitting on the
trampoline.
  Roll a ball bearing too close to the bowling ball and it will curve around it like a
ball in a roulette wheel - this is a smaller mass being caught by the gravity of a
greater mass.
Einstein stated that objects of mass bend and warp the fabric of space-time (bowling
ball on trampoline). Large masses move in response to this curvature in space time;
move too close to the curve and you are forced to move in a new direction. Matter tells
space how to curve; curved space tells matter how to move. Gravity is thus the result of
all the collective wrinkles in the fabric of the Universe.

Fast Fact: Even on Earth, gravity is not even. The Earth is not a perfect sphere, and its
mass is distributed unevenly. This means that the strength of gravity can change slightly
from place to place.
With the force lines moving in opposite directions, the two magnets push against
each other and repel.

Geek 3, CC-BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons

1/2

10. How do Magnets Work?

Magnetism is a property of materials that makes them experience a force in a magnetic
field. But what makes a metal magnetic? It is all down to unpaired electrons: moving
electrons create magnetism due to their magnetic charge, but in most atoms electrons
are paired and so cancel each other out.

Most people know the basics of magnets:

 All magnets have two poles - North and South.

 Like poles repel, opposite poles attract.
 Surrounding every magnet is an area that will exert a force: the magnetic field.
 The closer together the magnetic field lines, the stronger the magnet.
What most people don't know is how this works. Unlike poles attract because the
magnetic forces are moving in the same direction. Like poles repel because the forces
are moving in opposite directions. Think two people trying to push a revolving door:if
you push a door while someone pushes from the other side, the door wont move. If you
both push in the same direction the door will swing round.

Fast Fact: The only definitive way to determine if a metal is a magnet instead of

just magnetic is to see if it can repel a known magnet.
Comments
Wilma k on May 15, 2020:

Thanks for the questions they are good for practice

SAMI on March 06, 2020:

NICE QUESTION BUT INSUFFICIENT ANSWERS

student on January 22, 2020:

Can I ask a question about a physical issue?

XxBabySuexX on September 12, 2019:

Good questions but not what I was looking for

Priyanshu panwR on August 08, 2019:

This is véry nic question but i want some tough questions

hello.94 on July 13, 2019:

nice one

pooja patel on July 08, 2019:

which is best book for eleventh in science

mayur patil on July 03, 2019:

tell me most difficult question as a MSC leavel

musa stone g@gmail.com on May 11, 2019:

how would be good in physics

Ab110 on February 27, 2019:

It was good the energy mass equivalence equation just shows mass and energy are
equivalent not exactly equal

Time is a tensor and it does not flow it just process as the quantum wave process and
every event has a probability to occur according to quantum mechanics

Naywoon Thit on November 16, 2018:

I want to study amazing physis facts and answers.Thanks!

BATMAN on October 22, 2018:

Even Forest Gump can anwser this questions easely!

Abhik on September 08, 2018:

These things can easily be answered.

idothiscauseimbored on August 27, 2018:

im just here but its really cool to read

Shreya Rana on August 22, 2018:

Good questions and very interesting answers.keep it doing and help us to know more
information about physics

Nathaniel Barhill on April 25, 2018:

Most of these questions are a bit basic, but indeed they are good time grenades to
throw at a teacher when you don't feel like doing that "busy" work he gives you :D

Layla Blaze on April 10, 2018:

I'm too dumb to understand ANY of this.

pushpak on March 10, 2018:

Can u give information regarding about superconductor. Formula for creating strong
repulsive force using superconducting magnet.?

Can u please give complete details of work of maglev train.

Which scientific instruments used in maglev train.?

How to create strong repulsive force using electromagnet??is it possible

Superconductor can achieve critical field at room temperature??

Chol on August 24, 2017:

I'm really inspired by this random questions from some section of physics ....but wishing
to learn more things from this subject because am really fascinated about how the
natural phenomenon works

Bigjumpus on August 20, 2017:

Since mass and energy can be equated (E=Mc2), and all mass has gravitational force,
does energy also have gravitational force? If not, then what happens to the force upon
conversion of mass to energy in a nuclear reaction?

WILLOW JOSHUA VARGHESE on July 14, 2017:

Amazing facts and explanations. Keep up the great work!

John Bravo on May 26, 2017:

Lets just imagine that these are two magnets with dimensions 100cm x 20cm x 20 cm,
this is in a square / rectangular metal form, with the extreme ends of the 100cm being
North / South magnetically, using Physical force you insure that the North of one
Magnet has a force of 1 tonne pushing against the North of the other magnet, and
aligned so that they push up against each other as if they were one piece of material
(and not enough to breakdown the structure of the metal which the magnetic force is in)
What happens, do the two magnets combine and then have just one North and South,
or is this a magnet with two South's, until something allows these two magnets to
separate, or does the force of pushing the two North's together, reduce the magnetism
of the two bars over time (What's the decay rate?)until they are not magnetic, or if one
magnet was stronger than the other in the first instance, does it continue until all
magnetism has been cancelled out in the weaker one.

Proffeser James on November 19, 2015:

This is one thing that we physicist know but another thing is that we need to discover
what our unerverse holds so keep up the good work guys.

Marcy Goodfleisch from Planet Earth on June 13, 2012:

Great stuff! This is good reading material for kids who are home for the summer.
Everything here is interesting, well-written and sparks curiosity!

Holle Abee from Georgia on June 13, 2012:

Perfect timing - I saw a boomerang just yesterday and wondered how the things work!
Voted up and shared!

Jessee R from Gurgaon, India on June 10, 2012:

Relative mechanics or Einsteins World of Physics clearly proves time to be a relative

quantity...

I have one question though... Does the M theory seriously uses 26 applied dimensions
to prove its theories??

I loved your hub as it answered all questions thoroughly from the basic level... There
was a time I failed in Physics ad had no love for the subject.. Then suddenly one day I
read about Newton and started on a chapter of Classical Mechanics... I topped my
physics class after a while and won a scholarship too !!

You are right about mathematics... it is the language of science,,, and language and
subjects are two different phenomenon..

Great hub!

Rhys Baker (author) from Peterborough, UK on June 10, 2012:

@Chris: I, of course, disagree because it has been scientifically proven that Biology is
the most awesome and important science* But physics is ok...it is still better than
Psychology ;)

(*that may be a lie)

Rhys Baker (author) from Peterborough, UK on June 10, 2012:

@Chris: thank you for your kind words - I'm not sure the kids would agree :) Nice to
know where you came across my hub - maybe I should publish their more often?
Thanks for the share!

Rhys Baker (author) from Peterborough, UK on June 10, 2012:

@alliemacb: that was my goal - physics is not dull or boring but fun. Glad I could clear
up a mystery for you :)

alliemacb from Scotland on June 09, 2012:

Always wondered why a boomerang comes back and now I know. Thanks for the great
hub. Really informative and fun.

Lela from Somewhere near the heart of Texas on June 09, 2012:

Personally, I think time is relative to how you measure it. In other words, time doesn't
really exist. Only clocks, watches, metronomes, etc. measure 'time', but like quantum
mechanics, time is an artificial construct of mankind and only exists to the observer.

How gravity works is still quite the mystery. The bowling ball/trampoline example doesn't
work for me either. An entire planet would have to be completely surrounded by the
trampoline (in a sphere of directions) as are all of the other bodies with mass in the
universe. This drives me crazy just thinking about it.

Chris Hugh on June 09, 2012:

Whoa, what a fascinating Hub. I was a math major and later a HS math teacher back in
the day. Your students are so lucky to have you. Voted up and shared. I saw you on the
Facebook group, btw.

scottcgruber from USA on June 08, 2012:

Voted physics. It's the fundamental science that underlies every other discipline of
science. Physics ultimately governs everything from quarks to superclusters, and all the
rocky, spacey, and squishy stuff in between.

Rhys Baker (author) from Peterborough, UK on June 08, 2012:

Because I hold mathematics to be the language of science :)

And no - special relativity states that the flow of time is relative to the speed you are
travelling at.

FitnezzJim from Fredericksburg, Virginia on June 08, 2012:

I'm curious as to why you did not include Mathematics in your list of sciences. It is by far
the most important. Given the choices though, I voted for Physics.

Well written.

Does time flow at a constant rate?

BY
 RHYS BAKER
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