Hockey and Physics

Ice hockey is one sport that has the widest array of physics elements in it. One of the most exciting events in hockey is the slapshot. The hockey players use this technique to send a puck flying through the air at over 150 km/h or more. The slapshot is a collision between the puck and the hockey stick. The upper body has to wind up and begin an acceleration of the middle of the body, shoulers, and arms. Then the stick black comes into contact with the puck and the ice, causing the stick to bend accumulate potential energy. Finally, the puck leaves the stick and returns to its origanal shape as the puck heads towards the net. The scientist assume the collision to be an elastic collision with the stick and the hockey player, and the puck. The is plenty of elasticity in the stick to make it a fair approximation. Iwi=Iwf + rmv, where I, wi, and wf are the moment of inertia of the player and stick system, and its angular velocity just before and after the collision. The puck of mass lies at a distance of the axis of rotation of the player and leave with a velocity. The puck speed is proportional to the spinning velocity of the player. The larger I is, the faster the slapshot, and this is where body mass and positioning come into play. In the limit when I mr^2, the puck reaches a max velocity of v=2wir. The speed limit as close to that of what occurs in linear collisions. The trick to getting the speed on a slapshot would be the ice. The stick must hit the ice and glide on the ice before hitting the puck. The thing is to hit the ice with the stick about thirty centimeters away from the puck. The outcome is more bending of the stick and more power to the puck. The player pushes against the ice to let the stick bend, and then they let the stick do the rest of the work. Hockey is the fastest and most contact sport in the world. Hockey players complete a lap around the rink in about fourteen seconds starting from rest. They are getting an average velocity of forty km/hr. Though rarely happening at maximum speed, collisions send significant impact forces to the body. In the collision the amount of kinetic energy used is the factor determining the impact force and injury to the player. Hockey is a very contact sport. Scientist have found equations and ways to figure out the forces of hockey. Hockey is a sport where potential energy is turned into kinetic energy.

Too Good to Play

A nine-year old Connecticut boy was banned from pitching on his little league baseball team because the oppositions said he was too good.One team went as far as to forfeit the game when he took the mound. A pitch was never thrown. This to me is showing the other kids how to quit and not work hard to beat the kid. Many people see competition as a challenge and try to work harder at beating the competition, not quitting. It's sad the kid cant use his talent at his young age. The more successful one becomes, the more confidence they build up for the future.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-08/26/content_6970889.htm

Cell Phones Harmful?

Cell phones have become a part of the body for some, but now they may become harmful to the body. Many people are taking precautions these days with using cell phones due to the analysis of USPMC Cancer Centers. It is said that the long term use of cell phones may cause cancer. We thought texting while driving was bad, it is nothing compared to cancer. One way to limit this is keeping a device away from the head and using text messages more often. The cell phone will never be banned I believe, it is a part of too many people's lives. Companies are just gonna have to make adjustments to the devices.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08205/898803-114.stm

My mother is on Facebook

My mother has seemed to find out how to get and use a Facebook page. Yeah I know it is a little scary. That is what happens when you have more than one computer at home. You get your mom and your whole entire family on there, and of course you cannot ignore them. I did like Facebook when it started because it had a less “we want your money” feeling than now. There were no advertisements or anything of that sort and we actually loved it more when we would chat with our friends. Nor did everybody find the nerd who started it added to their profile already. But now Facebook went downwards more than ever, with its lame layout that is not going to change at all and with everyone knowing what you did last night. For example, one of my friends supposedly commented on another friends profile about a party; let’s call him John. Well apparently John’s mom, dad, and pretty much the rest of the family have Facebook. So what my friend did was pretty stupid because he knew they would see it. He went to John’s Facebook and wrote, “JOHN! Last night was awesome until we were run away from the party by the cops.” Well John is underage and has a very conservative family, so he gets chewed out by his dad, mom, and the rest of the family. You know it’s hard when your mom knows everything that is going on your Facebook. I do check it of course, so that I do not get in too much trouble. All of my mom’s friends have one and you know women gossip about everything among each other, so I usually end up getting caught by them. Now with all the applications, stalking, boring stuff that slows your computer down, and everybody finding out your life story and what you did last night, I don’t visit it very often. It became more of a here and there weekly check. I still talk to my friends and try to stay out of pictures as much as possible.

No Garfield?

What would Garfield comics look like without Garfield? They would look just plain weird. The comic just would not be the same. Some of the strips are pretty funny, some are sad, others seem kind of weird, and some look like the struggle of everyday life for people. He is fighting loneliness without anybody there to keep him going.

http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/page/6

Boston knocked off

The Angels and Vladimir Guerrero shrugged off their postseason failures and swept away the Red Sox on Sunday, scoring three runs off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to beat Boston 7-6 and advance to the AL Championship Series. It was the first postseason sweep in Angels franchise history. And they did it against the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the previous four times they met. Papelbon was one strike away from extending the series with three different batters, but Aybar singled on a two-strike pitch, Chone Figgins walked after fouling off a full-count offering and Bobby Abreu fouled off three straight pitches before doubling in one run. Hunter was walked intentionally before Guerrero singled the first pitch to center and Figgins and Abreu raced home to give Los Angeles a 7-6 lead. Major league saves leader Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth, and when Aybar caught Dustin Pedroia's popup to end the game, pumping his right arm even as he tracked the ball with his left, the Angels advanced. The Red Sox had been dominating and won 12 of 13 postseason games against the Angels heading into the series, including an 11-game winning streak that dated back to Dave Henderson's homer off Donnie Moore in the 1986 ALCS. Henderson, not coincidentally, threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Sunday, even adding a little jump and twist like the one he did after he helped propel Boston to within one strike of the 1986 World Series title. For the AL West champion Angels, it was a chance to extend their tribute to pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed in an April car crash with a man who has been charged with drunken driving. As they streamed out of the dugout to celebrate, and Jered Weaver carried Adenhart's jersey onto the field.
An eight-time All-Star and former AL MVP, Guerrero has a .321 career batting average, 407 regular-season homers and 1,318 RBIs. But he had managed only one extra-base hit in 69 at-bats going into Game 3, and he had one RBI in 19 playoff games since his grand slam against Boston in the 2004 division series. And he came through in a clutch spot against Papelbon , who had never before allowed a run in 27 postseason innings and had seemed to be unstoppable. Guerrero dedicated his gaming winning hit to Adenhart saying, “When it comes down to honoring Nick Adenhart, and what happened in April in Anaheim, yes, it probably was the biggest hit of my career, because I'm dedicating that to a former teammate, a guy that passed away.”

The Angels are scheduled to play the ALCS on Friday against what it looks to be the New York Yankees as they lead their series against the Minnesota Twins 2-0.

Is Favre ready for the Packers?

Brett Favre looks to start his record two hundred seventy-third start against his former team, but now rival, Green Bay Packers Monday night. The Vikings and Packers have one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL, with Green Bay holding the all-time series lead 49-46-1. This is about as big as a regular season game can get. Favre says there is no way a sore right foot will keep him out of the game. Favre has defeated 31 different NFL teams during his career and can become the first player in league history to beat all 32. The only team in his way is the Green Bay Packers. The Minnesota Vikings are 3 and 0 this season with Brett Favre as the quarterback. But are Favre and the Vikings ready for his old team, the Green Bay Packers, and Aaron Rogers?
With Favre's 16 prolific years throwing passes for the Packers and departure on bad terms last summer, the intrigue has exploded up. Vikings QB Brett Favre will play his first game against the team he called home for 16 years. “It's a Monday game and obviously people are going to be excited for that,” linebacker Chad Greenway said. “Obviously Brett playing Green Bay is going to be the biggest headline. We're aware of all those things that go on. We hear about it every day. We've just got to maintain a level of consistency as far as the way we practice and prepare. We have a pretty veteran locker room here, and I think that's going to help us out this week.”
Brett Favre is getting on down the line a little bit in the age department. The game winning touchdown pass from Favre last week with seconds to go saved the game against the San Francisco 49-er’s. “I think he still throws the ball with good velocity. I think it was clearly evident just on the last throw of the San Francisco game. It was an excellent throw and a great catch. I think he still has good feet. He's always had great command of the line of scrimmage, just the way he has handled that aspect of it. I think he looks sharp,” said the Vikings head coach. Age does not seem to be a factor for Brett Favre, as he has 566 yards through the air this season and a QB rating of 94.5, both are above the NFL average. Favre was known for his velocity when he was in his younger days. At this age in his career he has focused more on being a crafty quarterback and not the gunslinger his image as circled around. As Favre has aged, his style has evolved. The Packers have added a new defense to their arsenal this year to try and cut down the passing game. This leaves the Packers 23rd in the NFL against the ground game. We look for Brett Favre to hand the ball to Adrianne Peterson a little more against Green Bay Monday night.
A win for the Minnesota Vikings would put them at 4 - 0. This would give them the first 4 – 0 start since the 2003 season. The win will definitely be a confidence booster and motivator for the Vikings. The Vikings are looking strong behind Favre this season.