Program Directory

 
University Place - Physics on the Edge
University Place
 
 
 
In the first half, Dr. Gordon Gee discusses the role of higher education in society and talks about the challenges in running the nation's largest land-grant university. In the second half, Physics on the Edge introduces the concept of energy by showing that two different types of energy, kinetic and potential, are equivalent in the sense that they can produce the same results. In this case the result is a smashed car, either dropped from a height or run into a wall. Another demonstration takes place at a skateboard park showing that kinetic and potential energy can transform into each other. Physics on the Edge is targeted to middle and high-school-age views and K-12 science teachers.