Index R
red number --- takes you to an archived story here at this web site, complete with video links and journal citations. Once there, scroll down or use Ctrl-F to search.
blue number --- takes you to a PDF file of support material (video links and journal citations) for the stories published in the book. Once there, scroll down or use Ctrl-F to search.
R
Rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland, 1.141
Race cars
dragster starts, 1.151
dragster tire, severe distortion, 1.151
pit stop sparking, and fires, 5.9, 5.9
sling shot pass (Junior Johnson), 2.2
slip streaming and drafting, 2.2
sparking danger while fueling, 5.9, 5.9
turns, 1.15
upside down racing, 2.1, 2.1
Racquetball,
zing echo, 3.77
Z shot, 1.77
Radiation (nuclear and cosmic)
banana, potato, potassium-40, 4.101
cosmic radiation, 7.46
polar route exposure, 7.46
visual sensations from cosmic rays, 7.46, 5.17
Radiation, thermal
animals huddling, 4.4, 4.4
bees killing hornet, 4.3, 4.3
beetles detecting forest fires, 4.2
rattlesnakes, 4.1, 4.1
water frozen by sky, 4.13
Radioactive gun sights, 6.161
Radiometer toys, 4.91, 4.91
Railroad
aerodynamics, passing trains, tunnels, 2.3
head-on collision, 1.13
hunting (swaying), 1.182
jackknifing, 1.72
sonic boom from tunnel, 3.55
tanker collapse, air pressure, 4.54
track crossing accidents, 7.59
train size illusion, danger of, 7.59
train surfing, 1.199
Rain calming ocean waves, 2.133
Rain harvesting, lizard, 2.82
Rain runoff system, powerful geysers, 2.163
Rain, walk or run, to reduce wetting, 1.1, 1.1
Rainbow pouring, pub drinks, 2.187
Rainbows
artificial bows, 6.3
first and second order, 6.1, 6.1
fog bow, 6.2
moonbow, 6.2, 6.2
red bow, 6.2
reflection bow, 6.2
searchlight bow, 6.3
shotgun rainbows, 6.1
single drop of water, 6.2
third and fourth order, 6.1
vertical bow, 6.2
white bow, 6.2
Raisin in champagne, pub trick, 2.177
Raki, pub trick, color shift in aniseed-based alcoholic drinks, 6.113
Random-dot patterns illusions, 7.29, 7.30
Rattenberg, Austria, midwinter illumination by mirrors, 6.82
Rattleback toy, 1.109, 1.109
Rattlesnake, infrared detection by, even after death, 4.1, 4.1
Rayleigh-Taylor instability, 2.143
Rayleigh waves, St. Paul's Cathedral whispering gallery, 3.63
Rays of Buddha (bright and dark shafts across sky), 6.15
Razorbacks, Martian and kitchen, 5.53
Razor blades
floating, 2.85
reflections, shiny becomes black, 6.69
shadow in water, 6.99
Reading in the dark, 7.15, 7.15
Rear-end collision, 1.11
Rear-view mirrors, car, switching between day and night, 6.73
Recoil, rifle and gun, 1.168
Records, vinyl, reflection pattern, 6.107
Red Bull pub trick, 2.120
Red-eye effect in photographs, 7.17
Reflection, light waves
Archimedes death ray, 6.81
airplane windows, 6.79
air traffic controller window, 6.63
art, 6.75
crown flash (reflection by cloud ice crystals), 6.27
diamonds, 6.94
glitter paths on water, low Sun or Moon, 6.39
glare off printed page, 6.160
graveyard, 6.83
haloes, atmospheric, 6.34
heiligenschein, bright outline of shadow, 6.44
loops on water surface, 6.40
mirrors
Bar at the Folies-Bergere, 6.75, 6.75
headless woman illusion, 6.62
illumination of town in midwinter darkness, 6.82
laser shoot out game, 6.67
maze, 6.66, 6.66
multiple mirrors
clothing store arrangement, 6.64
kaleidoscope, 6.65
maze or labyrinth, 6.66, 6.66
one-way, 6.72
orbiting, shining on ground, 6.81, 6.82
Pepper's ghost, 6.62
prank, 6.60
rear-view, vehicle, 6.73, 6.73
side-view, vehicle blind spot, 6.73, 6.73
stage mirror orientation, 6.61
sunlight death, Arthur C. Clarke story, 6.82
wooden, 6.165
multiple glass panes, 6.79
museum glass, elimination of reflection glare, 6.88
razor blades, shiny turns to dark, 6.69
retroreflectors, 6.70, 6.71
reversal of image, 6.60, 6.60
shadows on water, spokes, 6.41
sun dogs, 6.34
tree decoration, 6.68
vehicle mirror blind spots, 6.74, 6.74
vinyl record reflection pattern, 6.107
wet road darkness, 6.52
Reflection, sound waves
culvert whistlers, 3.77
echoes, 3.64, 3.65, 3.65
retroreflector, 3.25, 3.64
Saint Paul's Cathedral, 3.63
Slinky whistlers, 3.78
shower singing, 3.67
sound mirrors,
bats, 3.24, 3.24
World War I, airplane detection, 3.85
whispering galleries, 3.62
tones, 3.17
Reflection, water waves
ocean wave reflections, 6.150
Refraction, light waves
Also see Mirage
airplane shock front, 6.100, 6.100
bath tub physics, 6.85
coin trick, 6.84
diamonds, 6.94
firnspiegel, 6.54
fish and fishermen, 6.84, 6.84, 6.85, 6.85
fleeting dark shadows, 6.32
halo, atmospheric, 6.34
ice lens, 6.93
magic trick, 6.89, 6.89
moonbows, 6.2
rainbows, 6.1, 6.1
road bent by, 6.91
shadows on bottom of water pool, 6.41
snow sparkles, 6.54
urban mirage, 6.28, 6.28
water walking trick, 6.89
Refraction, sound waves
elephant calls, 3.10
long distance sound, 3.18
distant train
hopping sound waves (Mount St. Helens explosion)
World War I mine explosions
submarine sound channel, 3.20
Relativistic length contraction, 6.162
video, calculations
Renaissance art, 6.76
Resonance
Also see Music
bottle, blown across top, 3.41
bridge cable oscillations, wind-induced, 2.129
coffee cup, frequency shift when stirring in powder, 3.40
corrugated tubes, 3.39
cricket playing a burrow, 3.13
dinosaur sounds, 3.9, 3.9
drum, hearing the shape of, 3.73
frog playing a tree, 3.13
jar, noise when filling, 3.46
pendulums
bell that would not ring, 1.121
building oscillations, 1.133
coupled pendulums, 1.119
incense swing, 1.114, 1.114
inverted pendulum, 1.116
pumping playground swing, 1.113
spring pendulum, 1.120
suspended pocket watch begins to swing, 1.180
unicycle rider, 1.116
Wilberforce pendulum, 1.150
plumbing rumbling, 3.17
purring and roaring, 3.8
sand bar, ocean waves, 2.132
silo honking, 3.38
snoring, 3.7
speaking and singing, 3.4, 3.4
helium effects, 3.5
Tacoma Narrows Bridge oscillation and collapse, 2.4, 2.4
throat singing, 3.6
transmission line galloping, 3.2
wineglass rubbing, 3.43, 3.43
wineglass shattering with voice, 3.44, 3.44
Respiratory sounds, 3.32
Restaurant, physics in
See also Pub physics and Food
baked Alaska, 4.98
balancing a wobbly table, 1.268
cereal noise (Rice Krispies), 3.53, 3.53
coffee
bad coffee appearance, 2.87
cooling rate, 4.60
cup vortex when milk is added, 2.24
drinking hot coffee, 4.42
mug acoustics, 3.40
patterns on surface, 2.90
percolators, 4.51
sloshing, controlling, 2.199
stain patterns, 2.91, 2.91
cookie dunking, proper way, 2.95
eggs standing on end, 1.138, 1.138
video of me, Cleveland State University
hot chocolate effect, frequency-shifting acoustics, 3.40
video of me, Cleveland State University
inflating long sandwich bag, 2.174
ketchup
flow, viscosity, non-Newtonian, 2.58
pack as Cartesian diver, 2.172
meringue,
formation, 5.36
insulation, 4.98
pizza
eating hot, 4.42
tossing, 1.222
popping plastic straw, 3.93
raisin trick, 2.177
self-pouring teapot, 2.198
soup reversal after stirring, 2.59
spaghetti effect, slurping, 1.222, 1.222
video of me, The Daily Planet show
tea
leaves collecting at cup's center, 2.25
roll patterns in, 2.90
secondary flow, 2.90
tortilla sounds, fresh versus old, 3.52
Retinal detachment
bungee jumping, 1.11
headbanging, 1.11
high deceleration, 1.11
Retroreflector
acoustical
bat finding a flower, 3.25
echoes
ancient structures, 3.65, 3.65, 3.66, 3.66
fences, 3.65
forest groves, 3.64
stairs, 3.65, 3.65
walls, 3.64
optical
removing distortion in an image, 6.70
roadway signs, 6.70
World War II airplane guidance behind enemy lines, 6.71
Reynolds ridge, monolayer on moving water, 2.148
Rhino-optical visual effect, nose blocking view, 7.21
Ribboning, liquid, 2.62
Rice Krispies, snap-crackle-pop sounds, 3.53, 3.53
Rice, lifting with a rod, 2.125, 2.125
video of me, The Daily Planet show
Richards, Frank "Cannonball," catching a cannonball in stomach, 1.46
Rifle sighting with pinhole, 7.33
Rime ice, 4.19
Ring hitch, knot physics 1.223
Ring vortex
air cannon, 2.40, 2.40
dolphin play, 2.40
explosions, 2.40
interactions, 2.40
Rings in mirrors, colored, 6.110
Rings of light in reflections off outdoor water surfaces, 6.40
Ripples along icicle, 4.17, 4.17
Ripples in sky, 6.146
River
crash landing airplane on the Hudson River, 1.218
erosion, 1.194
meander, 2.26, 2.26
oxbow lake formation, 2.26
secondary flow, 2.26, 2.26
Road
bumps, 1.185, 1.185
corrugation, 1.185, 1.185
dark when wet, 6.52
mirage of water on road, 6.28, 6.28
music from road noise, 3.88
Roaring, 3.8, 3.10
Robbie Maddison, upward motorcycle jump, 1.81
Robots, wall-climbing, 5.54
Rochester Institute of Technology stairway illusion, 1.258
Rock art, echoes near, 3.66, 3.66
Rock climbing
big horn sheep, 1.61
chimney climb, 1.60, 1.60
clinging by fingers, 1.243
fall factor, 1.60
Rockets,
fire extinguisher (fake video), 1.168
matchstick, 1.168
sled, 1.11
shock wave, 3.54
Stapp, John, 1.11
Rockfalls
air blast, 3.58
seismic waves, 2.116
sorting of rocks, 2.116, 2.116
Rod-climbing fluids, 2.61
Rodeo
bull riding, 1.92, 1.92
bullwhip, sonic boom, 3.59
lassos, 1.84
Rodgers and Hart, songwriters, Blue Moon, 6.50
Rod stacking, circus, 1.238
Rogue waves, 2.64, 2.64
Roller coasters, 1.19, 1.19
scariest car
vertical
Roller derby, whip move, 1.231
Rolling wheel image, 1.247
Rope twirling, lassos, 1.84
Rossini, G., overture, played with road noise, 3.88
Rotor, amusement park rotating vertical cylinder, 1.19
Rotor, notched stick toy, 1.161, 1.161
Rotating snakes illusion, 7.13
Rotation sequence, the order matters, 1.103
Rover, Martian tumbleweed, 2.186
Rower, Holton, poured art, 2.188
Royle's self-pouring teapot, 2.198
Rubber bands
entropy changes and force, 4.94
heating and cooling, 4.86
machine motion, 4.86
sounds, 3.33
Rude noises, 3.90
Rugby, 1.24
Running, Groucho, 1.259
Running or walking on water,
Criss Angel magic act, 6.89
liquid mountaineering (fake video), 2.169
lizards, 2.42, 2.58, 2.169
water and corn starch slurry, 2.58
water striders, 2.80, 2.85, 2.169
Run-outs, landslide mystery, 2.115
Russell, John Scott, solitary waves, 2.31
Russian style leverage, 1.261