Books etc

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

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

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

Angular momentum

Angular momentum is about how things spin. It's a sort of “spinning power” of something that’s turning or rotating. Big heavy things that spin quickly have a lot of spin power. Imagine you’re on a playground merry-go-round. If you’re sitting near the edge, and the merry-go-round is spinning, you...…
in macroscopic concepts
Angular momentum