Thursday, December 4, 2014

Escape Velocity and Satellites


Escape Velocity and Satellites

Week 14

If we ask our self why the moon not fall on the earth? Why the earth and the planets are orbiting the sun, what force is keeping them in orbit?
 

This question was answered by Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.
“Any two objects attract each other with a gravitational force, proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
 

1.      If Earth is a uniform sphere with mass 𝑀 the gravitational force between Earth and the body near the earth is:

𝐹=𝐺 (𝑀𝑚 )/𝑟^2

 

2.      If the body is far from the Earth, the gravitational potential energy is:

𝐹(r) = -𝐺 (𝑀𝑚)/𝑟^2
 
 

3.      If the body’s initial kinetic energy is equal to the potential energy at the Earth’s surface, it means their total energy will be zero. So the velocity is called the Escape Velocity.
 
 

4.   The Satellites are usually put into orbit around the Earth. If the tangential speed high enough, so the satellite put into orbit around the Earth. It does not return to Earth, but not so high that it escapes Earth’s gravity altogether.
 
 

Friday, November 28, 2014

Saddle Point


 

Saddle Point

Week 13

Thanksgiving was yesterday and I ate turkey dinners at home with my family. Today several stores such as Target, Walmart, and Kmart are opening their doors hours during Black Friday. Hundreds shoppers will be able to take advantage of special deals available during this time.

As usual, I am thinking mathematically how can see this procurement. How to minimize the total procurement cost considering discount prices.
 

I can find the saddle point which is a point in the range of a function that is a stationary point but not a local extremum. So, I can find the saddle point for a one-dimensional function, for example:

f(x)=x^3,

 f^'(x) = 3x^2

f^('')(x) = 6x  

f^(''')(x) = 6.

This function has a saddle point at x0=0 by the extremum test since:

f^('')(x0)=0 and f^(''')(x0)=6≠0.

In one dimension, a saddle point is a point which is both a stationary point and a point of inflection. Since it is a point of inflection, it is not a local extremum.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Contour Map


 


Contour Map

Week 12
Contour map is another name for a topographic map. It is a map that shows the elevation of land on a flat paper surface. The contour map contain an imaginary lines which connects points of equal elevation called contour line. Such lines are drawn on the plan of an area after establishing reduced levels of several points in the area.

 
For example, to sketch a contour line given equation  

Using level curves corresponding to:

k = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 where k is any number

From the equation

Z2 = X2 + y2

We know that we have a cone, or at least a portion of a cone.  Since we know that square roots will only return positive numbers, it looks like we’ve only got the upper half of a cone.

 So the contour lines in an area are drawn keeping difference in elevation of between two consecutive lines constant.

Z = (x2 +y2)1/2
 
 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Dreamy Draw Recreation Area


Dreamy Draw Recreation Area

Week 11

The Fall 2014 S-STEM Field Trip was to the Dreamy Draw Recreation Area which is the gateway into diverse desert landscapes that offer everything from fantastic views to secluded valleys. We went to the Peak Summit Trail to enjoy the area -- the area boasts dozens of miles of trails to enjoy the glory of the Sonoran Desert in relative solitude.


While I'm looking at those mountains, I tried to calculate the directional derivatives and gradients by using mathematics theories.

First, how to find ‘The directional derivative”:

If the function f(x,y) be the height of a mountain range at each point x=(x,y) and I stand at some point x=a, the slope of the ground in front of me will depend on the direction I am facing. It might slope steeply up in one direction, be relatively flat in another direction, and slope steeply down in yet another direction. The partial derivatives of f will give the slope ∂f∂x in the positive x direction and the slope ∂f∂y in the positive y direction. We can generalize the partial derivatives to calculate the slope in any direction. The result is called the directional derivative.
 

Second, how to find “The gradient”:

There is one direction where the directional derivative Duf(a) is the largest. This is the “uphill” direction. Let's call this direction of maximal slope m. Both the direction m and the maximal directional derivative Dmf(a) are captured by something called the gradient of f and denoted by f(a). The gradient is a vector that points in the direction of m and whose magnitude is Dmf(a). In math, we can write this as

 f(a)∥∇f(a)=m and ∥∇f(a)=Dmf(a).

 

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Newton's cannonball and Gravity


Newton's cannonball and Gravity
Week 10

in this week we will see when the curvature of the Earth is taken into consideration, the direction of gravity changes with the distance traveled. 
 
 Isaac Newton in 1687 in 1687 imagined shooting a cannonball parallel to the Earth's surface from the top of a very high mountain. It would strike the ground at some distance from the mountain top, depending on the velocity of the cannonball, fly off into space or go into orbit around the Earth.

If a cannonball is fired parallel to the Earth's surface from a cannon on the top of a high mountain, the ball will usually travel for some distance until it hits the ground.

If the velocity of the cannonball is only sufficient to carry it several kilometers or miles, the curvature of Earth does not really come into play. For greater distances, the curvature of the Earth becomes a factor.

When the ground is considered flat, the force of gravity is perpendicular to the horizontal velocity of the cannonball. However, when the curvature of the Earth is taken into consideration, the direction of gravity changes with the distance traveled. It is assumed that the force of gravity is concentrated at the center of the Earth.
 

Thursday, October 30, 2014

CURVATURE


Week 9

In this week after I know to find the arc length, I learn how we find the curvature that means the measure of how sharply a curve bend.
 
 The circulars the same curvature at any point. Also, the curvature and the radius of the circle are inversely related. This is a circle with large radius has a small curvature, and a circle with small radius has a large curvature.
Many modern roller coasters features loops. Roller coaster loops are often not circular. If we looked closer at roller coaster loop, we will notice how the top is look like a half-circle, whereas the bottom looks different, with an increasing radius of curvature closer to the ground.
 
 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Arc Length of a Curve in Space


 

Arc Length of a Curve in Space

Week 8

In this week I learned how to calculate the arc-length of a space-curve. For example the arc length of helix.  A helix is also known as a cylindrical coil or solenoid coil. In mathematics, a helix is a curve in 3-dimensional space.
 

 To find the total length of the wire that is used to make the spiral helix of the spring, we need to know the axial height of the helix (h), the diameter of the helix (d), the number of turns in the helix (n).

The formula for arc-length of a helix or arc-length of a space-curve is  

 L = sqrt((n*Pi*d)^2 + h^2)

I noticed that the equation of calculating the arc length for a curve in space is very similar to calculating the arc length for a curve in the plane. We just need to add a z term to the formula for the arc length of a plane curve.
 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

POSITION VECTOR FOR PROJECTILES


POSITION VECTOR FOR PROJECTILES

Week 7
In this week regarding to use calculus for designing a roller coaster? I found some information about “Derivation of the position functions for projectiles of mass m when it launched from an initial position r_0 with an initial velocity v_0 ".

 
 
We know that the acceleration a in the time t is:
a(t) = -gj
Where:
g is the earth gravity
Then if we integrate twice:
v(t) = ∫a(t)dt = ∫-gj dt = -gtj+ C_1
r(t)= ∫v(t)dt = ∫(-gtj+C_1)dt=-1/2 gt^2 2j+C_1 t+C_2
We know that: v(0) = v_0, and r(0) = r0, to solve for the constant vectors C_1  and C_2, doing this produces: C_1  = v_0,and C_2  = r_0. Therefore, the position vector is:
r(t)= -1/2 gt^2 j + tv_0  + r_0      Position vector
Now I know how to find the ‘Position vector”. It helps me to find the position of the costar in any time when it works. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

ROLLER COASTER


ROLLER COASTER

Week 6

In this week I am looking for resources to do a research about how we can use calculus to design a roller coaster, for example; the “BATMAN: The ride” . I know from physics and math classes that the coaster's initial ascent is to get a potential energy. As the coaster gets higher in the air, gravity can pull it down a greater distance. This potential energy can be released as kinetic energy which is the energy of motion that takes the coaster down again by gravity force. Gravity applies a constant downward force on the coaster.
 

The roller coaster's energy is constantly changing between potential and kinetic energy. At the top of the curves of the first loop, there is maximum potential energy because the coaster is as high as it gets. As the coaster starts down of this loop, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. The coaster speeds up. At the bottom, there is maximum kinetic energy and little potential energy. The kinetic energy propels the coaster up again to the second loop, building up the potential-energy level. So the coaster tracks serve to channel this force. The math calculation control the way the coaster cars fall. If the tracks slope down, gravity pulls the front of the car toward the ground, so it accelerates. If the tracks tilt up, gravity applies a downward force on the back of the coaster, so it decelerates. Currently I am looking for resources to find mathematic calculation to design loops that will make everybody safe.
 

Friday, September 26, 2014

THE NANOTECHNOLOGY

Week 5

THE NANOTECHNOLOGY
What is Nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is the study and application of extremely small things. It can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering. Nanotechnology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers. For example; a sheet of newspaper is about 100,000 nanometers thick.

The ideas and concepts behind nanotechnology started with a talk entitled “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at the California Institute of Technology on December 29, 1959, long before the term nanotechnology was used. Later in 1981, with the development of the scanning tunneling microscope that could "see" individual atoms, that modern nanotechnology began. Nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms and molecules. The microscopes needed to see things at the nanoscale were invented relatively recently—about 30 years ago. Once scientists had the right tools, such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM), the age of nanotechnology was born.
Everything on Earth is made up of atoms, our own bodies, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and houses we live in.
Today's scientists and engineers around the world are finding a wide variety of ways to deliberately make materials at the nanoscale to take advantage of their enhanced properties such as higher strength, lighter weight, increased control of light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts. The Nanotechnologies are even used in tennis balls and golf balls for flying straighter. In electronic items like MOSFET they are used in small nanowires that are having the longest ~10 NM. Many cars are manufactured using nanomaterials so the stability of the car is maintained. When using this technology they only require less fuel and the usage of lesser metals for manufacture in the future. The Chips based on the Nanotechnology are used in the personal computers and in other electronic system that make the items faster, larger size memory with the reduced size and becomes cheaper. The medical applications that are existing could be cheaper if the Nanotechnology is used for these applications.


 
Many countries are investing billions of dollars in the research as wide potential applications such as in military and industries. As they also have a wide application in the fields like electronics, medicine, many energy production and in biomaterials. The Nanotechnologies also helps in the treatment of wastewater, groundwater and in the surface water which contains metal ions, organic solutes, inorganic solutes and various other microorganisms that are toxic to human health.
 

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

SURFACES IN SPACE


Week 4
In my Math 240 class, I studied the subject of “Surfaces in Space” during this week. It is about drawing an object in three dimensions. Although drawing curves and surfaces in three dimensions by hand is more like an art, but it helps us to get better understanding about dimensions and surface areas. It eases solving the more complex math problems and calculations. I am interested in this class because I enjoy the challenging aspect of drawing three-dimensional objects on two-dimensional papers. This skill will be beneficial for my future career as a mathematician because it will enable me to calculate surface areas of various objects like a car or an airplane...etc..
The type of surfaces in the space are:
S


1.      Spheres: a sphere with center at (x0, y0, z0) and radius r is defined to be the set of all points (x, y, z) such that the distance between (x, y, z) is r.

 
2.      Planes: the plan containing the point (x1, y1, z1) and having normal vector n = (a, b, c) can be represented by the standard form of the equation of a plane.
 
 
3. Cylinder: the equation of a cylinder whose rulings are parallel to one of the coordinate axes contains only the variables corresponding to the other two axes.
 
 
4. Quadric surfaces: the equation of a quadric surface in space is a second- degree equation in three variables.
There are six basic types of quadric surfaces:

a.       Ellipsoid:
b. Hyperboloid of one sheet:
 
 
 
 

c.       Hyperboloid of two sheets:
 
d.       Elliptic cone:

 


e.       Elliptic paraboloid:
 
a.       Hyperbolic paraboloid: