How we describe the World around us? (January 2019)

(one of our Physics Bout)

This Session gives a general introduction of what Physics is, and challenges the students with basic problems for the Physicist, such as figuring out if an egg found in the fridge is cooked or not. We then play with momentum and the two equations that capture its linear and angular versions, $\vec p=m\vec v$ and $\vec L=I\vec\omega$. We discuss with this particular case how Physics use such formulas to account for, and sometimes bring to good use through applications (such as launching rockets or detecting rotation), the strange phenomena taking place around us. A final session gives the students the opportunities to confront themselves to an actual student-research question: how should we best measure the period of oscillation of a pendulum to minimize uncertainty?