Physics?? Kung Fu??

This summer, I have been taking Physics 20 online. Although it definitely isn't my strongest of the three sciences we take at school, I do enjoy it for the most part. I'm very thankful that my dad is able and patient enough to help me understand things I struggle with. Right now I'm learning about dynamics and how different forces interact with one another.

Something that I find pretty interesting is that all objects with an acceleration of 0 have an equal Normal Force (Fn) and Gravitational Force (Fg) as long as (Fn) and (Fg) are the only vertical forces. If there is no acceleration or other vertical forces, the force applied by an object to Earth is equal to that Earth applies on the object. For example, as long as my book is not accelerating, the force it applies to the table is equal to the force the table applies to it.

This reminds me of one of the concepts we touched on yesterday in class: Rooting. This is something I know that I need to work on. We need to be grounded and exert a force on Earth so that Earth can apply an equal force on us. If there is another vertical force such as lifting heels, the (Fn) surpasses the (Fg). In this case, Earth is not in our favour and it is not keeping us grounded. We are working harder and exerting (Fn) when really we should be letting (Fg) take care of things instead of us constantly working against it.

Thinking about it this way, I understand the concepts in both physics and my Kung Fu better. My favourite part of science is learning the hows and whys of the world and this is a perfect example of how both my science and kung fu can serve me. Hopefully a better understanding of the concept itself can help me apply it better in both ways. Having knowledge is only half the battle (or less than half, I'd say). Being able to apply knowledge is where the real learning happens. If I practice applying this concept, I will learn it.

Hannah Meier