Re: [Phys-l] Fun/cool unit conversion example?

[Jeff Loats <jeff.loats@gmail.com>]

Thanks to everyone for their great ideas. This was exactly what I was
looking for and you all delivered admirably!

Cheers,

Jeff

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 5:39 PM, Richard Tarara <rbtarara@sprynet.com>wrote:

> While it is only about 30 earth diameters, in scale, that really is a long
> way.  What I do first day is to bring in a globe (about a foot in diameter)
> and a second ball that is roughly the size of the moon--relative to the
> globe.  I ask the students to raise their hands when I've moved the ball to
> a distance that is approximately in scale for where the moon is.  Not
> surprisingly they start raising their hands when I'm three feet away and by
> the time I'm 10-12 feet away, all the hands are up.  I keep going until I'm
> thirty feet away (sometimes I place the globe so I have to go out the door
> into the hall.  When you view this IN SCALE, 3 dimensionally, it becomes
> more amazing that we sent men to the moon and landed them a few kilometers
> from the nominal target--all 40 years ago!
>
> Rick
>
> [A new piece of software is available that mimics the old Environment and
> Energy Simulator (DOE and Montana State)--multiple control panels to divide
> up student input.  Go to www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html ]
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Jeffrey Schnick" <JSchnick@Anselm.Edu>
> Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 4:21 PM
> To: "Forum for Physics Educators" <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Fun/cool unit conversion example?
>
> > How many earth-diameters is it from here to the moon?  I was surprised
> > at how few it is.
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-
> > > bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Loats
> > > Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 4:17 PM
> > > To: Forum for Physics Educators
> > > Subject: [Phys-l] Fun/cool unit conversion example?
> > >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > On the first day of class I do a brief example to illustrate unit
> > > conversion
> > > (snore) and I usually spice it up by making it very silly (such as
> > > density
> > > measured in gigaslugs per parsec cubed).
> > >
> > > I thought I would ask here to see if anyone had a neat unit conversion
> > > example that left you with a sense of "huh, I didn't know that" or
> > > "that was
> > > cool!" or something similar.
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > Jeff
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>
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