hey guys
deadlines in like 5 hrs and I have a whole nother application to do
Thanks a lot in advance... be harsh
What is an academic experience, project, class or book that has influenced or inspired you?
I run towards the edge of the precipice. My hands clasp the rail on the very edge as my quad muscles exert a vertical forceon the ground. I sail over the rail, a hostage of projectile motion. The moment my center of mass passes over the rail, I enter the realm of circular motion. My biceps centripetally accelerate my body so that I land on the very edge of the drop, facing in the opposite direction. I spot the 15 foot drop and release, using my triceps to provide torque, so that I will land facing away from the wall. As the ground approaches at an alarming speed, I spot my landing. THUD! The instant my shoes make contact with the ground, my knees bend, decreasing the deceleration by increasing the distance over which it occurs, thereby reducing the force of the impact. I begin to roll, converting a portion of my linear momentum into rotational momentum, absorbing more of the impact of my fall. I squeeze tight to lessen my moment of inertia, ensuring that I complete the roll. As I come to a stop I spring up and continue running.
Physics is everywhere, especially in every motion we make, be it the complicated parkour move above or simply writing our name. I was oblivious to this until I took Honors Physics in my junior year. The physics class profoundly influenced the way I approach problems and how I view the world. I no longer view a movement as simply that, instead, I view the motion as a result of forces. For example, a projectile will travel the farthest distance if fired at a forty-five degree angle, so when I ran cross country, I would attempt to push off at that angle, rather than making long strides low to the ground. In this way, physics has altered the very way I move.
Physics introduced me to inductive reasoning because the problems are unique in that one can already see the answer. For example, if a car hits a man at high speed, he begins to move in the direction of the car, and the car slows down. This interaction is observed, so conjectures and equations can be produced based on the results of this collision. This form of thinking has served me in many other subjects including calculus, where many of the problems require it.
My enthusiasm for the subject is also a result of its ubiquitous nature. Other subjects, such as history and English, are mostly concerned with events that occurred or books that were written in the past. Higher-level math, such as calculus, is rarely used in day-to-day life, unless one makes a concerted effort to use it. Physics, however, is all around us all the time. That I can open my window at any moment and observe a law of physics in action is exciting because it constitutes one of those moments when one can link the teachings of the classroom to observations of the outside world.
Most importantly, physics intrigued me because it does not attempt to provide any answers. Instead, it describes the relationships between elementary, measurable components (such as time and velocity), to explain vast, complicated occurrences (such as planetary motion). I have always been interested in "how things work" at a deeper level than simple functionality; therefore, physics, which explains the functions of nature itself, fascinated me in a way no other class ever had.
