2001/09/13 by P. Fraundorf, Fraundorf, P.
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics Education (physics.ed-ph) #physics.ed-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0109030
2 pages, 1 figure, 7 refs, see also http://www.umsl.edu/~fraundor/fastrak.html
arxiv created 2001/09/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Simple airtrack simulations, like those now possible with web-based 3D environments, can provide explorers of any age with experiential data sufficient to formulate their own models of motion. In particular, with a compressable spring, two gliders, a moving clock and two gate pairs with timers (pre and post collision), Newton's laws (or one's own version thereof) may emerge (or be tested) in the lab. With a high speed simulation, one may find instead Minkowski's spacetime version of Pythagoras' theorem (the metric equation) in the data, along with ``anyspeed'' expressions for momentum and kinetic energy.