These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

The higher you are (building-wise), the faster time will go.

Time is a hard concept to understand when you look at it through the lens of physics. A couple of seconds while standing on the ground will go slower than for someone who sits on a high building, like the Empire State building. It is best explained by Einstein and his famous theory of relativity.

The screens of smartphones work thanks to the electrics charge leaving our fingers.

Touch phones work thanks to the physics behind the human body itself. When we touch the screens with our fingers, we let out a small number of electric charges that register with the mechanics and allow us to interact. For this reason, things like rubber, fingernails, and others don’t register .These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

Light gets much slower in water.

Water is not only a refresher at the end of the day, but also a great stopper for the wavelengths of light. Light travels through air at a very high speed, and that is thanks to its small density. Water, however, is thicker. Since every molecule has surface tension, light gets distorted due to the amount of energy needed to pass through.

The universe is growing every second.

The universe is already a vast space full of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies. But it is still not big enough. The universe is growing at a high rate every second, expanding in every direction, getting colder and faster at the same time. This expansion has been going on for billions of years.

Hard steel tends to be more elastic than rubber.

The capacity of a substance to assume its original form upon the application of an external force is known as its elastic property. For this reason, steel is seen as a more elastic material than rubber. Since steel can return to its original form faster, it is commonly used as a building material in bridges. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the whole universe.

The water we drink, the sun that shines its rays onto us, and even human beings have hydrogen inside. Hydrogen is everywhere and is one of the essential elements in the whole universe. It is estimated that the Milky Way, our galaxy, is composed of around 74% of hydrogen atoms.

Its nearly impossible to sink in the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is popular for the number of tourists that visit it, but also for having a large amount of salt in it. Salt is not only good for food, but also a good way of making the water much denser. There is so much of it in that sea that people who swim there have little to no chance of drowning. Of course, it is still important to keep things safe.

Wind casts an invisible shadow.

Shadows are not always cast by objects, and winds can do it too. The only problem? We cant see them with the naked eye. Wind, a movement of a gas that varies from a small gust to full-on thunderstorms, can cast a small shadow only visible with the help of machines and physics.

Galileo Galilei proved his theory of free fall with the help of the leaning tower of Pisa.

While Galileo Galilei might have created the theory of free fall, he had to prove it by experimenting. He did it by throwing two cannonballs of the same material, but different masses, from the leaning tower of Pisa. His theory would be further supported by missions to the moon.

Space is not entirely a vacuum.

While the darkness of it might hint that it is empty, that’s not the truth, but actually, there is something there. About three atoms are present in every cubic meter of space. Sadly, it is so small that it doesn’t make a difference. A cubic meter of air contains roughly 2.5 x 1025 molecules at sea level.

Heat gets generated from sound waves.

While we might associate heat with burning fires and hot water, sound can also generate a small amount of heat. When a sound wave gets emitted, it travels through the air till it hits an object. Once it hits something, it gets absorbed into it, and in return, a small amount of heat gets produced. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

A bike stays balanced thanks to the gyroscopic effect.

Bikes get ridden everywhere, yet few know how they can keep their balance for a long time. After all, two wheels connected by metal don’t always equal stability. We can thank the gyroscopic effect for it. It explains the tendency of objects to maintain the same direction when an external force affects them.

The myth of an apple falling on Newton is wrong.

Wave all heard the story of an apple falling on Isaac Newton’s head, but few know it was a myth. In reality, Newton drew inspiration from apples, not because one hit his head, but because they fell straight down and not sideways. This observation helped him develop the theory of universal gravity.

Saturn might float on water as ice does.

Saturn is one of the biggest planets that is full of gasses. Saturn has a small density, less than water, which has a larger one. When an object of a smaller density falls into a thick liquid, it should float, according to theory. So, if we were to place Saturn in water, it should float in it like ice does. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

Water can boil and freeze at the same time.

At the same temperature, water can either boil or freeze. A triple point is a point where the temperature, pressure, and pressure value all coincide. The fact that all three statesliquid, ice, and water vaporware present at this time allows water to boil and freeze at the same temperature.

All of humanity could fit in a sugar cube.

When we look at a person like a walking pile of atoms, there is a lot of free space to work with. We are so empty (atom-wise) that if we were to remove all of the free space from all of the humans, we could fit in a single sugar club. However, its weight would be massive, around 5 billion tons.

The World Of Science Report

Seatbelts work thanks to inertia.

Accidents happen, and its important to prepare for them in the best possible way. Seatbelts in our cars protect us from serious injuries during an accident with the help of physics. When a vehicle comes to an instant stop, inertia kicks in by keeping our lower body on the seat while the top, thanks to the seat belt, moves forwards, distributing the energy.

Its impossible to make a perpetual motion machine run indefinitely.

According to Newton’s first law, unless another force is acting on an item, it could continue to travel at the same speed forever. Thus, if an object gets pushed, it should move indefinitely. Sadly, we live in a world of multiple forces. When an object moves, air resistance and other forces work against it, thus making an indefinitely running machine impossible.

The color of the sun doesn’t change during the sunset.

The sunset is a beautiful sight, yet we contribute the yellowish-red color to the sun when in reality, it doesn’t change. The sun emits wavelengths every second, and they change color. When they hit the atmosphere at a certain angle, we tend to see a change of colors, and during that period, the sun seems to emit another color.

It is possible to see sound.

When we play the guitar or push some buttons on a piano, we emit sound waves. We know they are there because we hear it, but we cant see it or can we? Vibrations, part of the classic mechanic’s branch of physics, can be musical instruments. When the water in a cup moves in a fun way you can thank vibrations for that.

Bodies of people who passed away float in water due to gas.

The reason why bodies float in water is a sad one. When lungs fill up with water, bodies sink to the bottom. However, when the person passes away, gasses are released that cause the body to rise and float. Because the density of the body changes, it becomes light enough to lift to the surface. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

Common basilisk has the same abilities as Jesus Christ (water-wise).

Walking on water is not reserved for Jesus Christ alone. Some living things on Earth can do it too. A common basilisk, commonly known as Jesus Christ of the lizard world, can run on water. It is thanks to the momentum they gather while fleeing from predators. Yet, they have to break the surface of the water to walk unlike Jesus Christ.

You might age at a slower rate if you travel at light speed.

The best way to beat the unavoidable is to travel as fast as possible. Light speed has been a subject of many physicists to reach since it would allow us to travel through the universe quickly, but also due to its benefits to the world of science. It is believed that if we were to travel at light speed, we might age at a slower rate than we do at the current speed, which is zero.

Particles tend to act differently when we observe them.

When we look at particles from the lens of quantum physics, they get pretty weird. For example, electrons act like spread-out waves. This characteristic causes them to seem differently as a wave when we are not looking at them compared to when we are looking at them. Scientists like to call this phenomenon duality.

You would weigh less on the Moon.

The weight scale is one of the scariest things in the world as it shows how much we weigh. It can cause a feeling of anxiety in some people. However, it works thanks to gravity and shows how much we weigh on Earth. If we were to go to the Moon, our weight would be much more different because the gravitational force there is weaker than on Earth.

Inertia is what makes roller coasters fun.

Its all fun and giggles on the roller coaster ride before inertia disappears, and all you are left to do is hang in a bubble of fear. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen because inertia keeps us in place. Inertia, a force that keeps an object in motion in one direction, is seen everywhere, especially on roller coasters.

Leucippus was one of the first people to reject religious explanations for natural occurrences.

In the good old days, religion was used to explain everything happening in the world, even natural occurrences like thunderstorms and earthquakes. Leucippus rejected this idea, instead insisting that the events were happening due to nature itself. He is credited as the first philosopher to embrace atomism. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

The Heliocentrism mathematical module was created in 1514 by Nicolaus Copernicus.

Many people in the old times believed that Earth, the celestial body we live in, was the center of the universe and that the sun revolved around it. It is far from the truth. While some philosophers and scientists stated that Earth, not the sun, was turning, Nicolaus Copernicus created the first mathematical module proving this theory to be correct.

It is possible to make diamonds at home.

Diamonds are the keys to any heart. We dig them up from the ground and stick them into necklaces, rings, and other accessories. Yet very few know it is possible to make them without digging them up. If you apply enough pressure and heat, graphite gets transformed into diamonds. However, the process is very expensive.

Surface tension stops gelatin from breaking when we touch it.

Gelatin we eat it and sometimes watch for hours as we see it jiggling up and down. It keeps jiggling and doesn’t break apart when we touch it with a spoon due to surface tension. The elastic membrane that is seen on the top protects the structure from collapsing and provides some fun entertainment for eaters.

Sound waves could heat up a cold soup.

Sound and soup are two things we might not think could mix, but if one tries hard enough, a soup can be heated up using sound waves. However, since sound carries a small amount of heat, it will take some time before your cold bean soup will heat up enough for you to eat. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More

Physics’ meaning comes from the Greeks.

The Greeks did a lot for the world we know. They created the idea of democracy, philosophy flourished with people like Socrates and Diogenes, and they also created the name of physics we use every day. Greeks have been studying nature, and this is why physics is constructed based on the word physic, .a.m., knowledge of nature.

Physics became a separate discipline only in the 19th century.

When we think of philosophy, we tend to think about the mind and understanding of different views. Nature philosophy sought to look at the world through the same lens to explain why nature acted the way it did, a.m., physics. In the 19th century, physics got separated as a discipline.

The first physicist is credited to be Thales.

Philosophers get credit for being the first people to view the world through the lens of science. Thales, a Greek philosopher, broke away from the idea that mythology can explain everything in the world. Instead, he stated that natural philosophy gives us a better understanding of the world, making him the first physicist in history. He also believed that everything was built from water.

John Philopenas formulated the theory of impetus.

One of the people who drew from Aristotelian dynamics theories was John Philopenas, a Byzantine Greek. His theory of impetus talked about how objects move in a direction that the mover wants them to move. If an object gets pushed to the right, it will move in that direction.

In 1687, Newton came out with his laws of motion.

A body stays in one place unless a force gets exerted onto them, which would cause the object to move in a straight line. The first law of motion that many physics teachers like to preach. Issacs Newton, one of the most famous physicists in history, created it and two others in 1687, and changed physics in a major way.

Blame the Doppler Effect for your speeding ticket.

Speeding is illegal. That said, we can blame the Doppler Effect for giving police the ability to give us tickets. Law enforcement uses a tool called Doppler radar to detect speeding. The radar works thanks to the Doppler Effect and assesses the pitch of sound from a car as it moves closer to a person.

Black holes can stop time.

Black holes are already scary things when we think about the gravitational force they possess, but when you add the fact that time itself seems to freeze in them now they are horrifying. Because of their massive gravitational pull, even a second would feel never-ending. It is due to space and time shifting roles.

A tiny bit of the sun on Earth would be lethal to anyone around.

The sun a boiling ball of plasma floating in the sky is not only eye-blinding but also quite dangerous if we were close to it. If we were to place even a small amount of the suns core, about a pinhead’s worth, it would be lethal to anyone standing around a 145 km (90 mi) radius. The lethality comes from the fact that it would have a lot of energy inside it.

Aristotelian physics was developed in 300 B.C., but later proven wrong.

Aristotle was one of the most famous philosophers whose theories left a long-lasting legacy in the world of science. One of the most important ones is Aristotelian physics. In this theory, Aristotle tried to set up an explanation for general principles for all natural bodies, but his words would later be proven to be wrong by other philosophers.

The statement Eureka! comes from the discovery that Archimedes had.

As mentioned before, the discovery of buoyancy was discovered by Archimedes, who was sitting in a bath. When he couldn’t hold back his emotions, he ran outside, naked overall, and yelled out like a crazy man Eureka! Eureka is not just some random word and means I have found it.

Buoyancy was discovered by Archimedes in 250 B.C.

Archimedes discovered that some things have a buoyancy tendency in water. It’s rumored that Archimedes discovered buoyancy while sitting in a bath of water. He used this discovery to test out the purity of a crown. The founding of buoyancy is seen as the first fundamental discovery in the field of physics. These 42 Fun Facts About Physics Might Pull You In To Learn More