Today 4HR spoke with Dr. Anthony Boyd via Skype. He is a physicist who works at a Naval Research Laboratory near Washington, DC. He talked with us about how he became a physicist, what his work day looks like, and answered our questions.
This is what we learned today:
- For a short time, we are stronger than gravity (lifting foot off ground)
- If there was no gravity, there would be no friction. The exception is in space when planets can rub against each other.
- If there is too much friction, we can't move.
- If there is no friction, you would slide a lot.
- Friction always works in an opposite direction.
- There is a relationship between the moon and tides.
- Gravity is stronger than friction
- Gravity is an attractive force, so it pulls not pushes.
- We need to gravity to stay down.
- Even if the mass is different, in space objects falls at the same rate.
- You can fit more than 1,000 Earths inside Jupiter.
- There is only one kind of gravity. Sometimes it is safe, sometimes it is dangerous.
- People can't combine their strengths to push ourselves to space.
- Floods are connected to high tide and low tide.
- If there was no gravity, it would be hard to breathe because dust particles would stay in the air.
- We are pulling against the Earth, but since the Earth's mass is so much greater, the Earth pulls us.
- Momentum doesn't help us gain acceleration, but it does help us gain velocity.
- We need a lot of space to get out of the Earth's gravity.
- Distance affects gravity and mass affects gravity.
- When an object is falling, air resistance is pushing up against the object. When there is larger surface area, there is more air resistance.
