Week 8

Newton’s Three Laws and me

I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. I kind of think of this as how when something drastic and/or powerful happens in my life, then I change. I change what direction I'm going, and I either speed up or slow down. Like how time seems to stop when a death occurs. Time doesn't really stop (or does it?), but I stop, WE stop. One is living their life in one direction at one speed, and an external force is applied, and they stops.

II. The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and is inversely proportional to its mass. The direction of the acceleration is in the direction of the applied net force. I know this one too well. Like when I am tired and feeling lazy, it takes a lot of effort to get me off my butt. Myself really wants to be on my butt, so the heaviness and resistance is directly proportional to whichever external force is trying to get me up (say, my mind telling me it's laundry day), and inversely proportional to the mass of myself!

III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This reminds me of when I am in an argument with someone (or have witnessed an argument), and someone starts "attacking" the other arguer on a personal level, there is always an equal and opposite re-action, an attack back on the other person.


Our “Energy Efficient” Culture

To be honest, I am still confused about the concept of energy efficiancy. I tend to think in terms of abundance, and feel like it would make more sense to work with the energy needs/wants of the world, instead of turning against them and attempting to "conserve" as much as we can. Working with the energy needs is a more circular idea, and trying to conserve seems so linear. We can try to conserve all we want, but someday will come when there won't be anything left. I've heards there are people working towards the goal of trying to convert water into a perfectly clean fuel source. If energy is neither created nor destroyed, it would only seem logical to put time and effort into ideas that convert energy into a form that humans, animals, and the earth can all value.