The Physics of Santa Claus

Luckily for children everywhere, a group of physicists believe Santa is real, and have worked out how he is capable of giving toys to children around the world. They deal with the issue of his bag, seeing millions of children, if not a billion, children on a single night, and of course making all his […]

they-physics-of-santa-claus_52ba4c0bb950c_w1500.pngLuckily for children everywhere, a group of physicists believe Santa is real, and have worked out how he is capable of giving toys to children around the world. They deal with the issue of his bag, seeing millions of children, if not a billion, children on a single night, and of course making all his toys.

Wormholes, relativity, and an ever moving North Pole are the answers to these questions, and a great opener to these subjects in an introductory physics class. While many of the answers are theories, it is important to remember that ideas such as gravity were also once simple theories.

Blog: http://visual.ly/physics-santa-claus

Winter Storms

The weather is an area of science that has only recently been fully understood. For centuries, people have known the difference between rain and snow, have recognized the change in temperature throughout the year, and have even realized the impact of air pressure on weather. However, only since modern satellites and other weather surveillance has […]

WinterStormsbyWeatherUnderground_52aa95fb5aa0dThe weather is an area of science that has only recently been fully understood. For centuries, people have known the difference between rain and snow, have recognized the change in temperature throughout the year, and have even realized the impact of air pressure on weather. However, only since modern satellites and other weather surveillance has the ability to predict the weather and further understand it been made possible.

This infographic goes into some of the advanced information on weather patters, specifically winter storms. Arguably, winter storms can be some of the most destructive due to the period of time their effects reside. Hurricanes are very destructive as well, and especially on islands can cause a great deal of destruction, however, the affects of winter storms (the snow and ice) can last for days if not weeks, while the affects of other storms (rain and wind), only last for a matter of hours. For this reason, it takes longer to be able to recover from such a storm.

What do your students think about this statement? What have they learned from this infographic?

Blog: http://visual.ly/winter-storms

Inside the International Space Station

To go up into space and live for a period of time is the dream of many children, but one that is reached by few adults. It takes a peak of physical health, a high level of intelligence, and a great deal of training. There are also a great deal of people who meet these […]

life-on-the-international-space-station_52af966d06edaTo go up into space and live for a period of time is the dream of many children, but one that is reached by few adults. It takes a peak of physical health, a high level of intelligence, and a great deal of training. There are also a great deal of people who meet these criteria, and so they then must go through a stringent weeding out process, following by intense training.

Once one reaches the space station, it is a tight fit with little human contact. Thanks to modern technology, the astronauts are able to communicate with their colleagues, and maybe even family back on Earth. But even modern technology cannot give these astronauts a gourmet meal, a luxurious bed, or an overly pleasant experience. These men and women are there to work, and work during the majority of their waking hours.

But the space program does now have an education program for grade schools. It allows schools to submit experiments to be performed in space, which the astronauts will record and discuss in a short segment. Do your students have any experiments they want to happen in space?

Blog: http://visual.ly/life-international-space-station

Fascinating Magnet Phenomenon

This guy always manages to find the coolest little toys I’ve ever seen. This time he’s found a set of magnets that create a kind of magnetic connection I’ve never seen before. Embed This Video

Fascinating Magnet Phenomenon

This guy always manages to find the coolest little toys I’ve ever seen. This time he’s found a set of magnets that create a kind of magnetic connection I’ve never seen before.

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100 Years of Change

Ask your students to imagine the world in 1913. Do they think of fashion, lack of modern technology, impending world crisis? Would any of them chose to go back and live in 1913? Based on this infographic, life was very different 100 years ago. Choose a few of the ways life has changed and ask […]

Ask your students to imagine the world in 1913. Do they think of fashion, lack of modern technology, impending world crisis? Would any of them chose to go back and live in 1913? Based on this infographic, life was very different 100 years ago.

Choose a few of the ways life has changed and ask your students to share how they think it is different. For instance, what is on the list of top five companies today and 100 years ago. What was the average income, and what was the percentage of people with a high school diploma. Do your students think this is better or worse?

Blog: http://visual.ly/100-years-change

Superbugs

There is a growing problem in the United States, and that is the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. For several decades nearly every concerned parent has brought their children to the doctor for every cough, sneeze, and minor infection. Antibiotics are among the most prescribed category of medications (this information is based on experience […]

Superbugs_52b5e064389f0There is a growing problem in the United States, and that is the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. For several decades nearly every concerned parent has brought their children to the doctor for every cough, sneeze, and minor infection. Antibiotics are among the most prescribed category of medications (this information is based on experience in a pharmacy a few years ago).

Because of this overmedication, an increasing number of bacteria are resistant to common antibiotics. New medications are having to be created, but some bacteria seem to be adapting faster than the new medications can be developed.

This infographic goes into the science behind the the resistance of bacteria, and what can be done about it. Poll your class about whether this is a problem that needs to be addressed, or if it is simply a hiccup in human existence. Also, what can be done to help this problem? What do your students already do that is suggested, and can your students come up with any other solutions?

Blog: http://visual.ly/superbugs-0

The Majestic Bellowphone

Leonard Solomon has manages to create an instrument that both looks and sounds like it came from a cartoon. But not only that, he has a arranged a very emotional rendition of Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 for that very instrument. This guy is living the dream. Embed This Video

The Majestic Bellowphone

Leonard Solomon has manages to create an instrument that both looks and sounds like it came from a cartoon. But not only that, he has a arranged a very emotional rendition of Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 for that very instrument. This guy is living the dream.

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Gravity Visualized

These were always my favorite kinds of lessons in school. I think there’s something about getting up and watching something happen that kicks your mind out of bored at a desk mode and in to a more engaged and interested mindset. I never took a physics class, so I don’t have much of an understanding […]

Gravity Visualized

These were always my favorite kinds of lessons in school. I think there’s something about getting up and watching something happen that kicks your mind out of bored at a desk mode and in to a more engaged and interested mindset. I never took a physics class, so I don’t have much of an understanding of this lesson, but I do know that something like this would have gotten me very excited to learn that day.

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A Perspective of Time

In history, perspective is very important. It is important to realize that our lives take up a very small portion of time, and even modern era, no matter when historians put the beginning of modern time, is a very small portion of time. However, in that time, many significant events have occurred. Have your students […]

APerspectiveonTime_526027e81ba41In history, perspective is very important. It is important to realize that our lives take up a very small portion of time, and even modern era, no matter when historians put the beginning of modern time, is a very small portion of time. However, in that time, many significant events have occurred.

Have your students brainstorm some of the most significant events in all of history that have helped create life as it is today. Do your students only think back as far as cell phones, or maybe the personal computer, do they go beyond to the colonization and later independence of America, or even further to early theorists such as Aristotle. Do they recognize the events that had to have occurred in order to for America to be colonized, and then for computers to be handheld?

Blog: http://visual.ly/perspective-time

What are the Odds?

What are the odds that you exist? No doubt this is something few people have thought about, but according to this infographic, the odds are 0. Luckily, this world has you, and hopefully luckily, the world has every one of your students. In teaching odds, this would be an interesting infographic to share. Beginning with […]

what-are-the-odds_50290d9b95578What are the odds that you exist? No doubt this is something few people have thought about, but according to this infographic, the odds are 0. Luckily, this world has you, and hopefully luckily, the world has every one of your students. In teaching odds, this would be an interesting infographic to share.

Beginning with the chances of your parents meeting the odds are increasingly less likely. Then, once your parents have met, the infographic goes into the odds of a specific egg and sperm meetings (this infographic may be reserved for only the most mature of students), and creating you. On top of this, as this infographic shares, your existence is dependent upon not only these events, but these events occurring for every one of your ancestors.

Dealing with odds, exponents, and other various mathematics, this would be a great infographic for the math classroom. Share this infographic with your students, and hopefully they will realize how lucky they are. And hopefully this feeling of luck will make them want to learn more, rather than live a crazier life.

Blog: http://visual.ly/what-are-odds