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PHYSICS PRINCIPLE TO CONSIDER:

The second law of thermodynamics states that the closer a system gets to equilibrium the more disordered it becomes.  It is a basic principle of physics that we must spend energy to impose higher order.  The amount of disorder in a system is called entropy.



THE CURRENT, TROUBLING PHYSICS/ ENGINEERING
QUESTION TO PONDER:


Why don't we have to add some form of energy to a glass prism to separate the entering white light into the color bands we see when the same light exits the prism? 
  Clearly, the light is more organized (possessing higher order) when it exits the prism than when it entered.
  The color bands, or "rainbow" we see represents an organization of the photons by energy level (wavelength/ frequency), yet the prism spent no energy doing this task.

  How does this make sense from the perspective of entropy?


PLEASE RESPOND TO:


mantissa3@oocities.com
Read responses to listed discussion topic...
PHYSICS DEFINITIONS :

radiation
: the transport of energy via electromagnetic waves

specific heat
: the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Centigrade

The rate at which an object radiates energy is determined by the difference in temperature between the object and its surroundings, the surface area of the object, and characteristics of the surface.
The change in temperature of the object depends primarily on the amount of energy radiated away, the mass of the object, and the specific heat of the material being cooled.


RUNNING HOT WATER ON A JAR LID LOOSENS IT BECAUSE THE METAL OF THE LID EXPANDS MORE THAN THE GLASS AND THE LID PULLS AWAY FROM THE JAR.
  INTERESTING PHYSICS WEBLINKS:

(JUST CLICK ON THE UNDERLINED WORD TO GO TO THE WEB PAGE LISTED)
ONLINE PHYSICS TUTORIAL:
Test your physics knowledge on a broad range of topics.  Submit your online quiz and receive a grade and direct feedback about the answers you missed.  This website provides excellent topic review for tests and links for in-depth discussion on a large variety of physics themes.

DIRECTIONS, ONCE YOU JUMP TO THIS SITE:

1) CLICK ON THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO WORK WITH
2) ONCE THE TOPIC SITE COMES UP, CLICK ON "PRACTICE QUESTIONS" ON LEFT SIDE OF        THE SCREEN
3) ANSWER THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS BY FILLING IN THE CIRCLES AND USING   
   THE HINT BOXES FOR EACH QUESTION

note: Within a few seconds of submitting your quiz, you will get your grade and helpful discussion on the questions you missed.


THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS:

The broadest, best physics website on the 'net!


EMILIO SEGRE VISUAL ARCHIVES:

Pictures of the worlds greatest scientists.  This site lets you view the photo galleries with thousands of historic pictures for downloading and printing.  This site also provides an address to order copies of the photos suitable for framing and gifts.


U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SITE:

Maintained by the department of the interior, this site has resources regarding physical geography of the Earth.  Current and out-of-print charts are available for nominal fees.


LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY:

Located at 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California;
the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory continues to lead the world in cutting edge research across the scientific disciplines.