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Description/Comment |
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Illustrating the chaotic Bunimovich Stadium. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 17k. |
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The
logistic map, which demonstrates the bifurcations of the population
levels preceding the transition to chaos. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 15k. |
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Looking at
the Lorenz Attractor in a chaotic regime, allowing the attractor to
be rotated. Requires Flash 6; file size is
550k. |
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Three-body Gravitational Interaction
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2 fixed
suns and 1 planet. Initial conditions are controllable, and up to 4
different independent planets may be displayed. Requires Flash 6 and
a computer with reasonable power; file size is 50k. |
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Displacement and Distance
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A simple
animation showing the difference between the distance and
the displacement. Requires Flash 5; file size is 5k.
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1-dimensional kinematics of a body undergoing constant acceleration.
Includes visually integrating the acceleration and velocity graphs,
and visually differentiating the position and velocity graphs.
Requires Flash 6; file size is 30k. |
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A car with
a non-zero initial speed has a constant acceleration whose value can
be controlled by the user. Requires Flash 6; file size is 27k. |
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Dropping Two Balls Near the Earth's
Surface
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Two balls
falling near the Earth's surface under the influence of gravity. The
initial horizontal speed of one of the balls may be varied. Requires
Flash 6; file size is 11k. |
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Illustrating Galilean relativity using his example of dropping a
ball from the top of the mast of a sailboat. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 22k. |
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Firing a
projectile when air resistance is negligible. The initial height and
angle may be adjusted. Requires Flash 6; file size is 36k.
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Kinematics of Projectile Motion
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A
visualisation exploration of the kinematics of projectile motion.
Requires Flash 6; file size is 9k. |
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The Monkey and the Hunter
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An
animation of the classic lecture demonstration. The actual
demonstration is preferable if possible; then this animation can be
given to the students for later review. Requires Flash 6; file size
is 21k. |
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Two balls
roll down two different low-friction tracks near the Earth's
surface. The user is invited to predict which ball will reach the
end of the track first. This problem is difficult for many beginning
Physics students. Requires Flash 6 Release 79; file size is 140k.
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The "Racing
Balls" animation which is accessed via the above line sometimes
triggers cognitive dissonance and rejection in beginning students.
For some of these, changing the balls to skiers helps to clarify the
situation, and that is what this animation does. The "Racing Balls"
one should be used with students first. Requires Flash 6 Release 79;
file size is 145k. |
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Elastic and
inelastic collisions on an air track, with different masses for the
target cart. Requires Flash 6; file size is 70k. |
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A small
animation of Newton's Cradle, sometimes known as Newton's Balls.
Requires Flash 6; file size is 1k. |
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A simple
animation illustrating Hooke's Law. Requires Flash 6; file size is
13k. |
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Coordinate System for Circular Motion
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An unusual
coordinate system for describing circular motion. Requires Flash 6;
file size is 94k. |
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A mass is
in circular motion in the vertical plane. We show the weight and
force exerted by the tension in the string. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 7k. |
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The weight,
force due to tension, and total force exerted on the bob of a
pendulum are shown. Requires Flash 6; file size is 8k. |
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A simple
animation that traces the motion of a point on a rolling disc.
Requires Flash 6; file size is 31k. |
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The
direction of the angular velocity vector given by a right-hand screw
rule. Requires Flash 6; file size is 196k. Also linked to from the
Vectors section. |
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Direction of the Angular Velocity
Vector
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A simple
animation of the direction of the angular velocity vector. Requires
Flash 6; file size is 125k. |
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Curling
rocks and tori sliding across surfaces. Requires Flash 6; file size
is 601k. |
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How Does a Cat Land on its Feet?
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The saying
is that cats always land on their feet. This animation explains how
they do this. Requires Flash 6; file size is 81k. |
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Precession of a Spinning Top
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A simple
animaiton of a spinning top which precesses. Requires Flash 5; file
size is 739k. |
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Demonstrating that one component of uniform circular motion is
simple harmonic motion. Requires Flash 6; file size is 10k. |
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Simple Harmonic Motion II
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Illustrating and comparing Simple Harmonic Motion for a spring-mass
system and for a oscillating hollow cylinder. Requires Flash 5; file
size is 20k. |
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Damped Simple Harmonic Motion
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The damping
factor may be controlled with a slider. The maximum available
damping factor of 100 corresponds to critical damping.
Requires Flash 6; file size is 12k. |
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Driven Simple Harmonic Motion
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A harmonic
oscillator driven by a harmonic force. The frequency and damping
factor of the oscillator may be varied. Requires Flash 6; file size
is 199k. |
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Coupled Harmonic Oscillators
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Two simple
pendulums connected by a spring. The mass of one of the pendulums
may be varied. Within mathematical rounding errors, the resolution
on the screen of one pixel, and a frame rate of 12 frames per second
the animation is correct, not an approximation. Requires Flash 6;
file size is 47k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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A
simulation of an experiment to determine the dependence of the
electrostatic force on distance. Requires Flash 6; file size is 15k.
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Comparing a DC circuit to the flow of
water.
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A simple DC
circuit has a DC voltage source lighting a light bulb.Also shown is
a hydraulic system in which water drives a turbine. The two systems
are shown to be similar. Requires Flash 6; file size is 51k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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A simple
animation of how a common light Switch works. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 4kb. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Illustrating representing an electric field with field lines.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 22k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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A simple
buzzer consisting of a battery, a flexibile metal strip, a piece of
iron, and some wire. Requires Flash 6; file size is 20k.
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Electric Field of an Oscillating
Charge
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An electric
charge is executing simple harmonic motion, and the animation shows
the electric field lines around it. Requires Flash 6 and a computer
with reasonable power; file size is 40k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Electric and Magnetic Fields of an
Oscillating Charge
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A 3
dimensional animation of the "far" fields of an oscillating charge.
Requires Flash 6; file size is 120k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Circular
polarisation generated from a linearly polarised electromagnetic
wave by a quarter-wave plate. Requires Flash 6; file size is
785k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Spinning Charges and an Inhomogeneous
Magnetic Field 1
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A spinning
charged object passes through an inhomogeneous magnetic field. This
animation is also used in a discussion of the Stern-Gerlach
experiment. Requires Flash 6; file size is 74k. |
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Electricity and Magnetism
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Spinning Charges and an Inhomogeneous
Magnetic Field 2
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A spinning
charged object passes through an array of 3 magnets each producing
an inhomogeneous magnetic field. This animation is also used in a
discussion of the Stern-Gerlach experiment. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 79k. |
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Measuring with a Micrometer
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A simple
animation of using a micrometer to measure the width of a pencil.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 13k. |
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An Exercise in Reading a Micrometer
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Provides
controls to position the micrometer, and when a button is clicked
displays the reading. Requires Flash 5; file size is 30k |
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A Simple Piston and Boyle's Law
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A small
animation showing a piston compressing a sample of gas. As the
volume of the gas goes down, the density and therefore the pressure
goes up. Requires Flash 5; file size is 3.9k. |
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Derivative of the Sine Function
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An
animation illustrating that the derivative of a sine function is a
cosine. Requires Flash 6, file size is 20k. |
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Area of a Circle As a Limit
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Illustrating that the area of a circle is a limit of the sum of the
areas of interior triangles as the number of triangles goes to
infinity. Requires Flash 5; file size is 12k. |
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Illustrating the meaning of the integral sign, including an example.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 124k. |
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Simulating
nuclear scattering experiments by scattering ball bearings off
targets. This is based on an experiment in the First Year Physics
Laboratory at the University of Toronto. Requires Flash 6 Release
79; file size is 182k. |
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The decay of 500 atoms of the
fictional element Balonium. Uses a proper Monte Carlo engine to
simulate real decays. Requires Flash 6, file size is 27k.
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A simple
illustration of electron-positron production and annihilation.
Requires Flash 5, file size is 21k. |
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The Interaction of X-rays With Matter
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Illustrating the 3 principle modes by which X-rays interact with
matter. Requires Flash 6; file size is 47k. |
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Rotating a Mirror and the Reflected
Ray
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Illustrating that when a mirror is rotated by an angle, the
reflected ray is rotated by twice that angle. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 20k. |
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Reflection and Refraction
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Illustrating reflection and refraction, including total internal
reflection. Requires Flash 6; file size is 33k. |
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Object-Image Relationships
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Ray tracing
for a thin lens showing the formation of a real image of an object.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 17k. |
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A
simulation of an optical bench with a light source, object, thin
lens and an image. The screen that displays the image is moved.
Requires Flash 5, file size is 14k. |
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Shows the
effect of changing the time base control on the display of an
oscilloscope. There is no input voltage. Requires Flash 5; file size
is 10k. |
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Shows the
effect of changing the time base control on the display when there
is an input voltage varying in time. Requires Flash 5; file size is
12k. |
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Shows the
effect of changing the time base control on the display when there
is an input voltage varying in time when the frequency of the
voltage is high. Requires Flash 5; file size is 17k. |
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Shows the
effect of changing the voltage control on the display. Requires
Flash 5; file size is 10k. |
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Shows the
effect of changing the trigger level on the display. Requires Flash
5; file size is 5.9k |
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The photon
excitation and photon emission of the electron in a Hydrogen atom as
described by the Bohr model. Requires Flash 6: file size is 77k. |
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Here we
visualise a hydrogen atom, which consists of an electron in orbit
around a proton. In one view the electron is a particle and
in the other view it is a probability distribution. The
reality is neither view by itself, but a composite of the two.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 15k. |
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The Double Slit Experiment 1
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The famous
"Feynman Double Slit Experiment" for electrons. Here we fire one
electron at a time from the electron gun, and observe the build-up
of electron positions on the screen. Requires Flash 5; file size is
15k. |
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The Double Slit Experiment 2
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Here we
illustrate Complementarity using the double slit
experiment. We view the path of the electron from the gun to the
observing screen as a particle and as a wave. Requires Flash 5; file
size is 33k. |
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Up to three
Stern-Gerlach filters with user-controlled orientations are placed
in an electron beam. Requires Flash 7; file size is 130k.
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Based on an
analysis by Mermin, this animation explores correlation measurements
of entangled pairs. Requires Flash 6; file size is 38k. |
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Michelson-Morley Experiment
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A simple
analogy involving two swimmers that sets up the Michelson-Morley
Experiment. Requires Flash 6; file size is 15k. |
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A
demonstration that the phenomenon of time dilation from the special
theory of relativity necessarily follows from the idea that the
speed of light is the same value for all observers. Requires Flash
6; file size is 55k. |
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Deriving Length Contraction
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A tutorial
that shows how relativistic length contraction must follow from the
existence of time dilation. Requires Flash 5; file size is 37k. |
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Length Contraction is Invisible
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This series
of animations demonstrates that the relativistic length contraction
is invisible. Requires Flash 5; file size is 90k. |
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Deriving the Relativity of
Simultaneity
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A tutorial
that shows how the relative nature of the simultaneity of two events
must follow from the existence of length contraction. Requires Flash
5; file size is 39k. |
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There are
many ways of approaching this classic "paradox". Here we discuss it
as an example of the relativistic Doppler effect. Requires Flash 6;
file size is 116k. |
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Foucault Pendulum and Mach's
Principle
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This began
as an animation of the Foucault Pendulum, but then I generalised it
to illustrate Mach's Principle. Requires Flash 6, file size is
1.5M. |
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Advance of the Perihelion
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A simple
animation showing Newton's and Einstein's predictions for the orbit
of Mercury. Requires Flash 6; file size is 7.0k. |
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Illustrating beats between 2 oscillators of nearly identical
frequencies. Requires Flash 6; file size is 215k. |
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Doppler Effect: Wave Fronts
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Illustrating the wave fronts of a wave for a moving source. There
are a few similar animations on the web: this is my re-invention of
that wheel. Requires Flash 6; file size is 11k |
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Illustrating the classical Doppler Effect for sound waves. Requires
Flash 6; file size is 43k. |
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A small
animation of a vibrating tuning fork producing a sound wave.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 2.7k. |
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Pressure and Displacement Waves
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This
animation shows air molecules vibrating, with each molecule
"driving" its neighbour to the right. It is used to illustrate that
when the displacement wave is at a maximum then the density of the
molecules, and thus the pressure wave, is at a minimum and vice
versa. Requires Flash 5; file size is 30k |
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A very
brief introduction to the physics and psychophysics of music, with
an emphasis on temperament, the relationship between notes. Requires
Flash 6 and sound; file size is 151k. |
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A simple
demonstration of adding 2 vectors graphically. Also demonstrates
that vector addition is commutative. Requires Flash 5; file size is
7k. |
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A simple
demonstration of adding 3 vectors graphically. Also demonstrates
that vector addition is associative. Requires Flash 5; file size is
10k. |
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A simple
demonstration that subtracting 2 vectors graphically is the same as
adding the first one to the negative of the second one. Requires
Flash 5; file size is 4.5k. |
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A simple
demonstration that to add 2 vectors numerically, just add the
cartesian components. Requires Flash 5; file size is 16k. |
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A simple
animation of unit vectors and vector addition. Requires Flash 6;
file size is 12k. |
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A simple
demonstration of the relation between the dot product of 2 vectors
and the angle between them. Requires Flash 6; file size is 8k. |
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The
direction of the angular velocity vector given by a right-hand screw
rule. Requires Flash 6; file size is 196k. Also linked to from the
Classical Mechanics section. |
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The
direction of the cross product of 2 vectors is demonstrated. The
magnitude shown is correct but not discused. Requires Flash 6; file
size is 44k. |
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Illustrating the sign of the time term for traveling waves moving
from left to right or right to left. Requires Flash 6; file size is
42k. |
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Reflections From a Barrier
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A wave is
reflected from a barrier with a phase reversal. This is the
behaviour for transverse waves and the displacement aspect
of a longitudinal wave. Requires Flash 5; file size is 42k. |
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Reflections From Two Barriers
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A wave is
reflected back and forth between two barriers, setting up a standing
wave. Requires Flash 5; file size is 41k. |
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Standing Waves With a Node on Both
Ends
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The first
three standing waves for nodes at both ends. The frequencies of the
waves are proportional to one over the wavelength. Requires Flash 5;
file size is 11k. |
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Standing Waves With a Node on One End
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The first
three standing waves for a node at one end and an antinode at the
other. The frequencies are proportional to one over the wavelength.
Requires Flash 5; file size is 18k. |
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