Index F
red number --- takes you to an archived story here at this web site, complete with video links and journal citations. Once there, scroll down or use Ctrl-F to search.
blue number --- takes you to a PDF file of support material (video links and journal citations) for the stories published in the book. Once there, scroll down or use Ctrl-F to search.
F
Fabric
body armor of Alexander the Great, 1.130
Kelvar, 1.130
velvet, optics of
black velvet gloss, 6.131
green turns to red, 6.132
Fake videos,
catching a melon with your face, 2.169
cell phones popping popcorn, 4.101
free standing water, 2.181
jumping out a beach, 1.235
liquid mountaineering, 2.169
Nike football commercial, 1.78
riding fire extinguisher, 1.168
setting an orange on fire, 4.107
smooth pouring, 2.75
Falkland Islands battle, 1.136
Falling
airplane, falls from, 1.49
bungee diving, 1.52
faster than g, 1.240
cats, surviving long falls, 1.51, 1.51
elevator (lift) falling, 1.53, 1.54
judo and aikido, 1.55
LaMonthe dive into shallow water, 1.49
long fall survival, 1.49
video of me, my first video effort
Niagara Falls, going over, 1.195
parachute
landing, 1.55
rescue in midair, 1.50
rock in very deep hole, 1.255
slinky, 1.249
through Earth's center, 1.141, 1.141
Farm and ranch
cow magnet, 5.43
cow tipping, 1.266
ducks stay dry, 2.97
prairie dog burrow ventilation, 2.22
silo quaking and honking, 2.38
sound of corn growing, 3.75
tumbleweed attack, 2.186
waves on grain and tall grass, 6.45
Fata Morgana, large-scale mirage, 6.30
Feathers
nonwetting, 2.97
optics, 6.115
Feline high-rise syndrome, 1.51, 1.51
Fence-behind-fence moire pattern, 7.12
Ferns, iridescent, 6.118
Ferris wheel, 1.19
Ferromagnetic materials, 5.49, 5.51
Feynman, Richard, dry spaghetti strand breaking into three pieces, 1.220
Fighting
see War
see Weapons
aikido, 1.55, 1.111
boxing, 1.46, 1.46
judo, 1.55, 1.111, 1.24
video of me, Newton's Apple show
video, calculations
one-inch punch, 1.45
swords, 1.198
tae-kwon-do and karate, 1.45, 1.45
video, calculations
Fillings, dental
thermal expansion and contraction, 4.53
tingling with aluminum foil, 5.27
Filling station fire, 5.9, 5.9
Fingernail
cracking, 1.144
scraping on chalkboard (stick and slip), 3.42
video, demonstration of the sound
speckle pattern, optical, 6.124
Finger sliding beneath stick, center of mass trick, 1.172, 1.172
Fire walking, 4.8, 4.9
Fire, by sparking, 5.9, 5.11
Fireballs, sounds, 3.80
Fire devils, 4.82
Fireplaces, 4.77
Fire
aerosol flames, 5.12
balls, sounds, 3.80
backdraft, 4.79
brush fire, 4.81
candle flame (colors, soot), 4.78
car, 5.9, 5.9
coal fire and magnetic field, 5.51
cooking-oil, 4.80
crown fire, 4.81
devils, whirlwinds of fire, 4.82, 4.82
Dresden fire vortex, World War II, 4.82
electrostatic sparks causing fire, 5.9
eyeglasses starting fire (Lord of the Flies book), 6.93
fireplace, 4.75, 4.77
firestorm, 4.82
forest fire, 4.81
ice lens starting, 6.93
mushroom cloud, 4.76
powder explosion, 5.11
row vortex, 2.138
smoke signals, 4.76
spraying, 4.79
spreading, 4.8
tunnel, 4.95
walking on hot coals, 4.8, 4.9
Fire extinguisher ride (fake video), 1.168
Fireplaces, 4.77
Firestorm, 4.82
Fire walking (walking on hot coals), 4.8, 4.9
Fireworks illusion, 7.49, 7.49
Firnspiegel, 6.54
First date, physics for a
candle flame, 4.78, 4.78
caustics from glass of wine, 6.98
coffee patterns, 2.90
coffee stain patterns, 2.91, 2.91
dance floor oscillations, 1.124
eyes, color of, 6.122
ghost light illusion, 7.16
glow in the dark
chewing wintergreen mint, 5.19, 5.19
peeling adhesive tape, 5.17
hanging spoons or bottle caps from the face, 1.57, 1.57
looking at the ceiling, illusion of being a floor, 7.50
miniature golf, 1.75
moonbows, 6.2
reading in the dark, 7.15, 7.15
spaghetti effect, 1.122, 1.122
video of me, The Daily Planet show
teapot effect, 2.51
Twinkies, glowing in UV light, 6.134
Fish
Anableps anableps, seeing in air and water simultaneously, 7.19
archer fish, 6.85
electric fish, 5.28
fishermean seeing a fish, 6.84, 6.126
fish seeing fisherman, 6.85
lens, 7.19
Fishing, 1.135, 1.159
Fizzing of bubbles, 3.84
Flag fluttering, 2.117
Flames, candle
colors, 4.78
glow around, 7.6
Flash freezing, 4.16, 4.16
Flashovers
electrical, 5.22
fires, 4.79
Flatulence noise, 3.89, 3.93
Flea circus, 1.200
Flettner’s ship, propulsion by rotating vertical cylinders, 2.145
Flight 1549 landing on the Hudson River, 1.218
Floaters, visual, 7.5, 7.5
Floating
orientation of container gradually filled with water, 2.44
orientation of floating bar, stable and unstable, 2.44
puzzle, lead bar in floating boat, 2.43
ship in dry dock, 2.45
water striders, 2.80, 2.85, 2.169
Flocking, bird, 2.166
Floor, physics to do on a, 7.50
Flowers
bees and Van Gogh painting, 7.54
color saturation, 6.120
detection by bat (acoustic mirror effect), 3.25, 3.25
greenhouse warmth, 4.84, 4.84
Fluorescence
colors under fluorescent lights, 6.125
laundry brightener, 6.137
tonic water, 5.19, 5.19
wintergreen mints, 5.19, 5.19
Flute, 3.3
Fluttering
bridge, 2.4, 2.4
flags, 2.117
fountains, 2.118
Fly
adhesion, 5.35
in shock wave, 2.185
Fly ball, catching, baseball, 1.21
Flycasting, fishing, 1.135
Flying
birds
flocking, 2.166
vee formation, 2.18, 2.18
lawn chairs strapped to helium balloons, 2.56, 2.56
plastic rings, 5.59
Foam, lack of color, 6.130
Foehn, wind warmed by increased air pressure, 4.87
Fog basking by beetles, 4.67
Fog, champagne and soda when opened, 4.24
Fog devils, 2.39
Fog lights, 6.51
Foghorns, diffraction of sound, 3.21
Folding paper, limit of, 1.145, 1.145
Food
See also Beer
apples
optical speckle, 6.124
pressure distribution beneath a pile, 2.140
sound of fresh versus mealy when bitten, 3.52
baked Alaska, 4.98
banana, radioactive potassium, 4.101
béarnaise sauce, 5.37
Brazil nut effect, 2.108, 2.108
butter, viscosity behavior, 2.58
cake baking at high altitude, 4.71
campfire cooking, 4.46
catchup
flow, viscosity behavior, 2.58
packet as Cartesian diver, 2.172
cereal sound, 3.53, 3.53
Cheerios effect, 2.85, 2.85
video, demonstration
chicken, campfire cooking, 4.46
chicken fat oscillator, 2.154
churning ice cream, 4.41
coffee
bad coffee appearance, 2.87
cooling rates, 4.60
cup vortex, 2.24
drinking hot, 4.42
evaporation pattern, 2.91
Middle Eastern, 2.91
mug acoustics, 3.40
video of me, Cleveland State University
patterns on surface, 2.90
percolators, 4.51
stain rings, 2.91, 2.91
cookie dunking, proper way, 2.95
cooking
in a stove or over flames, 4.45
on coals, 4.46
on hot sidewalk or dashboard, 4.97
cornstarch
oscillation behavior, 2.58
polygonal fracturing, 1.143
viscosity behavior, 2.58, 2.58, 4.99
walking across, 2.58
crushing sounds (tortilla chip), 3.52
egg
béarnaise sauce, 5.37
behavior, fresh versus hard-boiled, 1.107, 1.107
boiling, 4.44
bottle pub trick, 2.176
cooking on hot sidewalk, hot dashboard, 4.97
cooking on stove, 4.45, 4.46
flipping in tequila glass, pub trick, 2.50
meringue formation, 5.36
peeling, 2.176
scrambled, 4.50
spinning, 1.107, 1.107
video of me, Cleveland State University
standing on end, 1.138, 1.138
water climbing the sides, 2.28
foam color, 6.130
frozen Florida, desert, 4.98
fruit, musical, 3.91
herbs, used in spark patterns, 5.18
honey
draining patters, 2.159
rope-coiling of stream, 2.62
hot chocolate effect, 3.40
ice cream, home made, churning, role of salt on the ice, 4.41
ketchup
flow, viscosity, 2.58
packet as Cartesian diver, 2.172
lemon battery, 5.27
meat, colors
cooking, 4.45
in store, 6.135
meringue
formation, molecular bonds, air bubbles, water separation, copper bowl, 5.36
insulation in baked Alaska and frozen Florida desserts, 4.98
microwave,
frozen foods, 4.11, 4.11
heating and exploding, 4.48, 4.48
milk optical properties
clear band outlining shallow milk, 6.61
colors with milk drops in water, 6.111
kinetic speckle in shallow milk, 6.124
Nestea granular behavior, 2.106
orange on fire (fake video), 4.107
parsley used in spark patterns, 5.18
peanuts, Brazil nut effect, 2.108, 2.108
pepper grains and surface tension, 2.150
pie, 5.36
pizza
cooking, 4.47
eating hot, 4.42
tossing, 1.222
plastic wrap, electrical effects, 5.34
popcorn
cell phones heating (fake video), 4.101
popping, 4.49
popped rice, Asiatic street food, 4.49
potato
cooking nails and heat pipes, 4.64
deep fried, oil absorption, 2.96
raisin trick, 2.177
rice, lifting with rod, 2.125, 2.125
video of me, The Daily Planet show
rosemary used in spark patterns, 5.18
sage used in spark patterns, 5.18
salt layer, why nontransparent, 6.130
sauce béarnaise, 5.37
sandwich bag trick, 2.174
soda
freezing, 4.24
gushing and bubbles, 2.76, 2.76
sound
biting tortilla chips and apples, 3.52
cereal (Rice Krispies), 3.53, 3.53
soup reversal after stirring, 2.59
spaghetti
breaking, 1.220
slurping and slinging, 1.122, 1.122
video of me, The Daily Planet show
Tang breakfast drink, granular behavior, 2.106
tea
leaves collecting at cup's center, 2.25
pouring on rotating platform (Coriolis effect), 1.242
roll patterns, 2.90
secondary flow, 2.25
thyme used in spark patterns, 5.18
Tia Maria wormy action, 2.89, 2.89
toast, tumbling to be jam-side down, 1.99, 1.99
tomato, optical speckle on surface, 6.124
tonic water glow, 5.19
tortilla sounds, fresh versus old, 3.52
turkey, deep-fat frying, 4.80, 4.80
Twinkies in UV light, 6.134
vegetables, musical, 3.91
whiskey trick, 2.157
wine,
evaporation pattern, 2.193
tears above strong alcohol, 2.88
wintergreen Lifesavers glow, 5.19
yogurt (yoghurt) draining pattern, 2.159
Football (American),
cheerleader horn, 3.21
field goal kick, controversial, 1.77
Marshawn Lynch running through defenders, 1.275
spin on long pass, 1.112
wave, stadium, 1.129
Football (soccer),
banana kick, curved flight, 2.14, 2.14
Clarke, Arthur C., referee story, 6.82
goal, bounce back, controversial, 1.78
header and brain damage, 1.241
Roanaldinho fake video, 1.78
throw-in, angle, 1.162
throw-in, longest, 1.228
wave, stadium, 1.129
Forest
Aspen tree leaf colors, 6.121
fires
row vortex, 2.138
spreading, 4.81
negative pressure in trees to lift water, 2.136
pine needle music, 3.2
seeds that spin, 2.11, 2.11
sounds transmission, frequency dependence, 3.2
tree oscillations in wind, 1.132
Formats, vocal tract resonance, 3.3
Fosbury flop, high jump, 1.38, 1.38
Fountains
fluttering, 2.118
pulsating, 2.119
Fracture
balloon, 1.212
drill bit, 1.179
fingernail, 1.144
pencil point, 1.70
polygonal patterns at Giant's Causeway, 1.143, 1.143
Franklin, Benjamin,
glass harmonica, 3.43
kite myth, 5.2
lightning rod, 5.7
oil and waves, 2.73, 2.73
phosphene displays, 7.7
Free diving (no air supply), 2.54
Freezing
See also Ice
by the sky, 4.13
carbonated drinks sudden, 4.24, 4.24
flash, 4.16, 4.16
hot water thrown into very cold air, 4.16, 4.16
ice cream, churning homemade, 4.41
ice cubes, 4.21
ice spikes, 4.21
nucleating agent, 4.10
pointy ice drops, 4.20
ponds and lakes, 4.23
prevention of orchard freezing by water spraying, 4.15
rate, warm versus hot, 4.12, 4.12
salting effect, 4.40
supercooled water, 4.10
Fresnel focusing by a ball, 6.151, 6.151
Friction
cars
minimum trailing distance, 1.4
on ice, 1.202
stopping for yellow light or running through it, 1.5
Death Valley sliding rocks, 1.58
fingers sliding under meter stick, 1.172, 1.172
hanging spoons, bottle caps, 1.57, 1.57
pole climbing, 1.264
snake
climbing wall, 1.243
slithering, 1.233
tablecloth pull, 1.164, 1.230
welding, 4.112
Frog
brain cooling by evaporation from eyes, 4.61
bullfrog croaking through eardrums, 3.11
magnetically levitating, 5.48
transparent, 6.90
tree-cavity sounds, 3.13
Frost circles and danger of sinkholes, 4.96
Frost flowers, 6.129, 4.111
Frost heave, 4.27 – 4.29
Frostbite, 4.56
Frozen Florida, desert, 4.98
Fruit, musical, 3.91
Frying, 2.96, 4.80
Fuel fire, 5.9, 5.9
Fuller, sword, 1.198
Fulgurites, sand fused by lightning, 5.4
Fungus catapult of spores, 2.99