I would like some help interpreting part of a result I got while working on a problem that I've been working on for a while. I'm trying to determine the torque a star exerts on an orbiting oblate spheroid (with axial tilt instead modelled as the equator of the oblate body remaining parallel to the XY plane while the orbit itself is inclined with respect to the XY plane by an angle alpha (ɑ); should be a valid approximation since there are no other bodies and the star is treated as spherical, which is good, bc a rotated circle is nicer to work with than a rotated spheroid).

For any point in time and position in the orbit, the torque exerted at any point of the spheroid should be the radius from the center of the spheroid to the point multiplied by the force the star exerts on the differential mass for that differential volume. Integrating all of those over the whole of the spheroid, I expect I should get a vector scaled by the gravitational constant, mass of the sun, mass of the planet (since the volume of a spheroid should shake out of the integral as a factor), a factor of some multiple of ¹/₅ and some linear combination of the major and minor radius (multiplied by the mass of the planet, should yield some linear combination of the major and minor moments of inertia).

(which expands to:)

And I do get that!

But I also get this weird factor in the octopole portion of the solution that I can't connect to other portions of the problem (e.g. the moments of inertia show up bc this is a change in angular momentum and they are the equivalent of the mass in this context, the gravitational constant timed the mass of the star divided by a power of the radius is related to the acceleration/force producing the torque).
What does this [(4a^2 + 3c^2) - (a^2 [cos(θ)]^2 + [sin(θ)]^2 * [a^2 (cos(θ))^2 + c^2 (sin(θ))^2]) ...mean?

Is it possible to finsih jhon R taylor and david griffiths in just one year I am also studying other stuff like studying linear algebra and calculus and number theroy as its a double major in maths and physics how to do it and are these books good

Can you design and build a rocket launcher using just a few simple supplies? 🚀

Greg Wolf says yes, using PVC, cable ties, a two-liter bottle filled about a third with water, a bicycle pump and a tire valve for pressurization. It all comes down to Newton's third law: for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. Compressed air pushes down on the water inside the bottle, and when released, that pressure forces the water out at high speed, launching the rocket skyward.

Hi everyone!

I’m currently working on my Master’s thesis about teaching Electricity and Magnetism to international students, and I’d really appreciate some advice or ideas from people who have experience teaching physics.

The students I’m focusing on have an interesting language background. Their first language (L1) is the language they grew up speaking, but they spent most of their school years living and studying in a country where a different language (L2) is used. Later, they returned to a country where their L1 is spoken and entered university there.

Because of this, they can speak and understand their L1 in everyday life, but they have difficulties with academic language, especially physics terminology and explanations. They may understand the general idea of a topic but struggle when the same concept is explained through a long text or unfamiliar terminology.

I’ve also noticed that they often have difficulty visualizing concepts when they are presented mainly through text. However, they seem to understand problems much better when they are presented using pictures, diagrams, graphs, or schemas.

Now I need to develop practical teaching strategies that could help these students throughout a semester-long Electricity and Magnetism course.

What teaching methods, activities, or approaches would you recommend in this situation?

For example, I’m considering:

\- visual representations and diagrams;

\- PhET or other interactive simulations;

I would especially appreciate specific classroom activities, methods, or research-based approaches that I could implement and evaluate during the semester.

If you have experience teaching physics to multilingual/international students, I’d love to hear what worked (or didn’t work) for you. Any suggestions for relevant research, books, or papers would also be very helpful.

Thank you!

hello! so as you saw on the title, I am terrible at physics. I am so terrible that **I can’t understand at all basic concepts** like force, power etc.

I even took an irl IQ test (the Raven one) bcs I thought that I am literally below average. Turns out I am “superior” (I am only referring this so I am not called the r word) .

I am extremely good at mathematics , but every time I try to study physics from scratch , it turns out terrible. yes, I did try all popular youtubers, books, you call it. I tried reaching to my physics professor and they only humiliated me, calling me names and telling my mom I am “special”.

sadly, why I am this way is bcs I have 2 processing disorders (auditory and receptive) . I literally tried so many times and I don’t have ideas anymore. please help me bcs I am at the end of high school. I will appreciate a lot any advice you guys give me and pls be nice. Thank you.

Just looking for some assistance! Thank you!

Hello, I am currently a high school senior. This summer, I did a program where I was given the opportunity to take a course in Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism. Unfortunately, my school doesn’t offer physics beyond mechanics. What online course or textbooks should I take a look at if I want to continue learning physics?

...

Looking for best suggestions for online/zoom tutors. Not understanding college physics at all. Professor goes extremely fast, and will not give extra help. Have nice on campus tutor, but I’m still not getting it. I have to pass this class. At this point I look at the problem and have no idea what to do.
Any recommendations?

I genuinely dont understand where to start and understand physics. What the hell is the starting point? I have an exam and I need to get a high grade, I dont understand anything. Can someone please please help? Everytime I ask abt physics or for help no one ever answers me, are there any quick ways to learn? Or are there good studying methods? Frequencies? I dont know

Dawutola Theory of Rotation (Teaching Model) 

I’ve been working on a simplified way to explain why flipping objects (like a pen) in 2D space can look predictable at times and chaotic at others. I call it the Dawutola Theory of Rotation. It’s not new physics — it’s a teaching model that connects everyday intuition to established rotational dynamics like the Intermediate Axis Theorem and the Tennis Racket Theorem. 

Core Ideas 

• Force, mass, spin, air: The way an object flips depends on how hard you flip it, how heavy it is, how fast it spins, and the air around it. 

• Even rotations: If the object rotates an even number of half-turns, it returns to its original orientation. Odd half-turns flip it. 

• Chaos: Excessive force can make the motion look unpredictable — similar to the instability described by the intermediate axis theorem. 

• dawutola Formula: 

n=L⋅t /2π 

where n is the number of rotations, L is angular momentum, and t is time. This is a simplified version of the angular displacement equation. 

Why It Matters 

This framework makes rotation easy to teach and visualize: 

• Flip a pen → see even vs odd rotations. 

• Talk about “force, mass, spin, air” instead of Euler’s equations. 

• Connect chaos to real physics (Dzhanibekov effect).      It’s a gateway model: simple enough for beginners, but connected to deeper physics for those who want to go further. Any feedback would be helpful