Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: superposition



Ludwik's heater example is good, but I wonder if students will have a
feel for it. I think they will have even less feel for the magnetic
field example. I am looking for examples of supression and synergism
that students will clearly understand. I have used fake math and
biological examples because they understand these.

Superposition
2+2 = 4
try to lift something with one arm, then with both arms. The two forces
just add.

Synergism
2+2 = 5
Take a barbiturate and drink alcohol and get more than you bargained
for.
Look with either eye alone, then together. Gain depth perception.

Suppression
2+2 = 3
Take tetracycline for an infection at the same time as taking Tums
(calcium) for an upset stomach. Tetracycline is ineffective because it
binds to calcium and is not absorbed into the bloodstream from the small
intestine.

I like the idea of physics examples because I don't want students to
think that superposition is always the rule in physics. But often, it
is. Do people know of other examples beyond what Ludwik mentioned?
Does anyone have physics examples for synergism?



Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu