Tom Young: PhysLink.com Expert

   Tom Young
Tom Young
B.S. Music and Education
Physics and Theology Teacher
Tyler, Texas 		Questions answered
to date:
37
Biography Tom Young was born in 1954 in Pennsylvania. He grew up on a small town named Dallas in Pennsylvania. Other than having a lot of brothers and sisters (9 of one and 8 of the other) his childhood was, well, he grew up eventually. He got a BS degree from Auburn Alabama. He had a double major and a double minor: Music and Education. So naturally after graduation he entered the Catholic Seminary. There he remained for three years. As a result he grew up mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He left and married a wonderful angel a year later. This was a woman he never physically dated. Their letters got longer and longer. After 60 pages became the norm they decided that they were fools to remain apart. After 18 wonderful years he still writes her notes.

He taught Theology and Physics (The King and Queen of the Sciences!) for seven years at a Catholic High School in Tyler Texas, 180 miles from Dallas. He is now in his 11th year of teaching Integrated Physics and Chemistry and Physics at a public High School in Whitehouse Texas. They keep hiring him back! Tom says that his biggest fear is that they will find out how much fun he is having teaching and quit paying him; not that he would notice, mind you!

Tom Young loves teaching. He has three hobbies that he spends his free time on: magic, needlepoint and reading. He does magic with his students as a way of teaching science. He does needlepoint to keep his sanity. When you do needlepoint you cannot be thinking of anything else. His favorite books range from S. King, to T. Clancy, to T. Hillerman, He has also been seen with the works of A. Clark, I. Asimov and C.S. Lewis.



Published Answers All answers by Tom Young published at PhysLink.com up to date are listed here:
  1. How they can reach zero gravity in a plane (when astronauts are practicing)?

  2. Can lightening travel through matter (specifically a canvas awning supported by aluminum poles) and strike the children sitting beneath on wooden tables supported by a concrete slab? If so, how do you calculate a safe distance from the lightening that is visible?

  3. What is the difference between fire and electricity? What is the role of electricity in combustion? Why is electricity prone to cause fires?

  4. I was told by my Physics instructor that there is such a thing as negative time. Is that true, or was he just pulling my leg?

  5. Does a car makes more pressure to the floor when it goes faster, or the car could fly if it goes even faster?

  6. I often get confused between the terms centrifugal force and centripetal force could you please enlighten me?

  7. I was working graveyard shift at a convenience store. A gallon jug of water suddenly exploded on a shelf in the office. The temperature was controlled, eight other gallons rested on the same shelf. What happened? Is this evidence of atoms having a finite life?

  8. In rotational motion, when the radius is decreased, does velocity increase or decrease?

  9. What is the density of water?

  10. Does pure water reach its boiling point at a higher or lower temperature than Salted Water? and does the same apply to water saturated with sugar?

  11. How can you measure the mass of the Earth or any other planet?

  12. What is the name for a phenomenon where the presence of the observer changes the nature of the observed?

  13. When the planets in our Solar System are in a line on 5 May 2000, will there be any reason for concern on Earth?

  14. Atmospheric pressure is supposed to be very large. Then why is it that we, along with everything else on the earth, do not get crushed under this tremendous pressure?

  15. I'm an actor playing the role of a balloonist and I want to be able to explain in scientific terms why helium and hydrogen make balloons rise.

  16. Which is heavier, wet or dry sand?

  17. What experiment or phenomena proved that light was bent by gravity?

  18. I am 11 yrs old and soon to be going to Magic Mountain to ride a roller coaster for the first time. My Dad says that I really don't need a safety harness when the roller coaster goes upside-down because centrifugal force will hold me in. Is this true?

  19. If you hover any distance above the earth (in a helicopter, for example) for a day or so, why aren't you and the helicopter occupants on the other side of the world if the Earth is going through its normal revolution?

  20. Assuming the probability of obtaining heads in coin flip is exactly fifty percent, why should a test group of a ten flips produce less accurate results than one of one million flips?

  21. A stationary van is filled with 1 tone of bees sitting down. Is it true that the overall weight of the van is the same if bees are flying instead of sitting?

  22. If I know the diameter of a balloon can I find it's volume?

  23. Can sounds actually break glass? If so, is there a special frequency or decibel level needed?

  24. What is the speed of light in parsecs per year? What is a parsec?

  25. What is the difference between a physical change and a chemical change?

  26. How does a dunking ducky work?

  27. Why do Foghorns always have very low pitches? Do they have high or low amplitude?

  28. What happens when a tablecloth is pulled out from underneath a table setting, and everything on the table stays put?

  29. My student was messing around with the bunsen burner when he noticed the following. He had put a wire gauze on top of the burner before turning the gas on. When he used the lighter on the bottom portion i.e. below the wire gauze, a flame was only visible at that portion but not above the wire gauze. When he used the lighter on the portion above the wire gauze, the flame only appeared on the top portion but not the bottom portion! Why?

  30. What is the nature of the dense fog that forms over the surface of liquid nitrogen?

  31. We are having a party at work, we want to use dry ice as an effect, can we put it into our punch and then drink it? Is it safe?

  32. I noticed that pouring hot coffee into cold cream results in a higher final beverage temperature than pouring the cold cream into the hot coffee. Can you explain the physical principle behind this observation?

  33. What is the volume of Earth?

  34. If a planet was at a distance of 3.6 parsecs, how many light years away is this planet?

  35. If there is no gravity in space, how do astronauts digest their food?

  36. What is a light-year and how long is 1 light-year?

  37. When carpet and a marble floor are at same room temperature, why does carpet feel warmer than a marble floor?