Previous posts:
My favorite web applications - Part 1
My favorite web applications - Part 2
My favorite web applications - Part 3
My favorite web applications - Part 4
My favorite web applications - Part 5
My favorite web application - Part 6
My favorite web application - Part 7
This is another one of my favorite web application because it has a ability to assign random values to various parameters in the problem.
This is a simulation of a motional emf in the form of a rail gun. It actually is a straight-forward application of magnetic force acting on a straight current. One may also solve this using Faraday's law, but it is not as straight-forward to solve because the magnetic flux (or rather, the area) does not change uniformly since the rod is accelerating.
What I also like about this simulation is that one can also tie in with what the students learned in Physics 1, i.e. they may verify their answer using kinematics, since we know the rod's mass, and it starts moving from rest. Knowing how far it travels and a good estimate of the time of travel gives us the value of the acceleration, and thus, the force acting on the rod. This should match with the magnetic force.
Zz.
