The Flying Circus of Physics is a book about curious events and effects of the everyday world. This site is an extension of the book.
Spotlight story for this month: Click on the title down below here
Secondary stories for this month: Click on "News/Updates" in menu at the left
Archived stories and links (hundreds): 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Index to this site and the book: A-C, D-K, L-Q, R-S, T-Z
Store (books, tee shirts, mug): click on "Store" in the menu at the left
New --- Facebook Flying Circus of Physics site: new videos from me every month. The first in the series: the Cheerios effect. Plus old television videos and many photos. Here is the link. Come for a visit, and consider signing up as a fan of the site.
Jay Waller stories: Physics for
Citations (over 11,000) and links (over 2000) for items in the book (pdf files):
Chap 1, Chap 2, Chap 3, Chap 4, Chap 5, Chap 6, Chap 7
A random sample from the book appears at lower right each time you come to this site.
---- Jearl Walker
ps. If the biplane at the top of the page doesn't have sound and motion, download the free flash player from Adobe.com.
Flying Circus of Physics Spotlight
A draining bathtub will develop a vortex over the drain, which can be amusing. In some settings, however, much larger vortexes can be developed over drains, with far more energy. In fact, in 1990 a bathtub-like vortex almost emptied an entire lake into an underlying salt mine, pulling down large barges and tall trees as if the entire surroundings were disappearing into a netherworld.
Flying Circus of Physics Sample
Run or walk in the rain?
Should you run or walk when crossing a street in the rain without an umbrella (Fig. 1-1)? Running certainly means that you spend less time in the rain, but it also means that you may be intercepting more of the raindrops. Does the answer change if a wind blows the drops either toward or away from you? MORE
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