Big A** Fans at Le Jardin Gym

When our Div. II basketball team traveled over to Le Jardin for a basketball game, we couldn't help but notice how breezy the gym was - until we looked up and saw the "Big A** Fans" they had on the ceiling. If we treat the fan blades as the objects going in a horizontal circular motion, we can calculate the centripetal force assuming we know the mass of the fan, the velocity at which it spins, and the length of the blades, or the radius. By increasing either the speed of the fan, or the radial distance, we can increase the amount of air that is circulated throughout the gym to keep us athletes cool as we play. Furthermore, the banked blades increase the amount of circulation possible in the gym because the normal force is broken up into components and the one pointing towards the center of the fan is the centripetal force. The bank minimizes friction and allows for the fan to spin at a greater speed.

This type of environment was much easier to play in rather than air conditioning - and probably more cost effective too. Our school should look in to getting fans like Le Jardin and Punahou rather than air conditioning. Maybe it will help us win since we won our game that day :)

Momentum in Football

This past unit in physics was all about momentum and how it is conserved between two objects during a collision. This reminded me of tackles in football (seeing as at Iolani we’re pro at football – 4peats!). Tackles are a pretty frequent occurrence when it comes to football. Ideally, when two people hit each other the momentum should be able to be calculated using the equation for the change in p: MVf – MVi(player 1) = MVf – MVi(player 2). Assuming we know the mass of both players and their initial and final velocities we can prove that momentum was conserved. Furthermore, if we assume that when player 1 makes a tackle and lands on top of player so that this is a sticky collision, we can use the following equation to calculate any of the variables or to help find the momentum: M1V1 + M2V2 = (M1 + M2) Vf. However, if the players hit each other then fall backwards, we can use the bouncy collision equation to help calculate the momentum: M1V1i + M2V2i = M1V1f + M2V2f. Anyways, way to go Raiders! :)