Category: macroscopic concepts

Waves

Imagine you’re at the beach watching the sea. Waves in the water go up and down in a rolling motion. Waves aren’t just in water: there are waves in light and sound, and even in waves you can’t see, like radio waves. What is a Wave? A wave is just a way that energy moves from one place to anoth...…
in macroscopic concepts
Waves

Milli, micro, nano, and pico

Millie's shrinking formula was not chosen at random. Milli, micro, nano, and pico are prefixes (= a group of letters added before a word to modify its meaning) used in the measurement of smaller and smaller quantities. People are more familiar with the prefixes used in the measurements of larger an...…
in macroscopic concepts
Milli, micro, nano, and pico

Diffraction

When waves move toward the shore, they usually go in a straight line. But what if there’s something in the way, like a big rock sticking out of the water or an opening in a wall like in the image above? Instead of just stopping, some of the waves go around the rock or though the opening and spread...…
in macroscopic concepts
Diffraction

Measurement scales and vectors

We often talk about quantities and measurements. When we say Millie weighs 6 kilograms, her tail is 25 centimeters long, and today it’s 23 degrees, we are using numbers and units of measurement: kg, cm, and degrees Celsius. Each unit of measurement refers to a measurement scale. Here are some exampl...…
in macroscopic concepts
Measurement scales and vectors

Electromagnetism

Magnetism and Electromagnetism are two related but different concepts. Here's a simple way to understand them: Magnetism is the property of magnets or materials like iron that can attract or repel certain objects. It's what makes fridge magnets stick or compasses point north. For all details re...…
in macroscopic concepts
Electromagnetism

Magnetic materials

A magnetic material is a special kind of metal that can pull certain objects toward it, even without touching them! Most magnetic materials contain iron, nickel, or cobalt. In these materials, some electrons have their spins naturally line up in the same direction creating a magnetic field...…
in macroscopic concepts
Magnetic materials

Magnetic poles

In Book 2, Millie feels confused when the electrons mention their North and South poles. She’s surprised to learn there are two types of poles: geographic poles and magnetic poles and they’re not the same thing! Let’s use Earth as an example to understand the difference. 🌍 Geographic...…
in macroscopic concepts
Magnetic poles

Magnetism

A magnet is a special metal that has the invisible power to "pull" certain objects toward it without even touching them. This pulling power, called the magnetic attraction force, works mostly on specific metals like iron, nails, and paper clips, as well as on other magnets. But not all metals a...…
in macroscopic concepts
Magnetism