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The Flying Circus of Physics is a book of questions and answers about curious events and effects of the everyday world. The "Spotlight" lead story and samples from the book are given below. At the left, click on the menu for the following:

Store:  books, tee shirts, mug
News/Updates:  more new stories added around the first of each month. Many archived stories, all free. Many hundreds of video links, including me on television.
Topics:  Click on a chapter and then the PDF icon near the armadillo to find all the new stories, almost 2000 links to videos and photos, and over 10,000 references. View them on screen and save or print anything you want, all free. To print something, highlight it, copy it (control-C), and then paste it (control-V) into a word document. Also, under "Physics for...", catch the minor adventures of physics major Jay Waller, who shows that physics is everywhere.
Blog:  Links to photos of me (bed of nails and fingers in molten lead), messages to/from me. I would love new ideas and references.
----  Jearl Walker

ps. If the biplane at the top of the page doesn't have sound and motion, download the free flash player from Adobe.com.

Flying Circus of Physics SpotlightFlying Circus of Physics Spotlight

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Thursday, May 01, 2008

As of May 1, details of the new Indiana Jones movie (due out on May 22) are closely guarded, but speculation based on the released title is that it centers on the crystal skulls that first appeared in the hands of archaeologists and would-be archaeologists about 60 years ago. Such a skull . . .

Flying Circus of Physics SampleFlying Circus of Physics Sample

Run or walk in the rain?

Should you run or walk when crossing a street in the rain without an umbrella (Fig. 1-1)? Running certainly means that you spend less time in the rain, but it also means that you may be intercepting more of the raindrops. Does the answer change if a wind blows the drops either toward or away from you? MORE

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