Search Physics:

  

Physics

• About Us
• People
• Research
• Undergraduate
• Graduate Program
• Outreach
• • Physics Force
  • REU Program
  • RET Program
  • QuarkNet
  • PACES
  • PhysTEC
  • Soudan Mine Tour
  • Van Vleck Lectures
• Resources
• Alumni

Home > Outreach > Pforce

Many physics classes feature the classic demonstration, "Monkey and Hunter" whereby an object is dropped from an apparatus at the same moment a "gun" is fired, to show that the path of a projectile is formed by gravity and its given velocity.

Physics Force performs "Monkey and Hunter" with a live "monkey" --a physics teacher who is first suspended from a 20 tower, shot at with a billiard ball fired from a cannon and then dropped to the relative safety of a mat. Hank Ryan, a high school teacher and member of Physics Force, is the "monkey." Ryan must also remember to describe the science he is doing, crack a few jokes, and actually catch the billiard ball on the way down.

Physics Force goes above and beyond (literally) to educate and entertain. It is the interaction between the Force members -- with their blend of slapstick, prop comedy and science. It is the grand scale and visual excitement of a Physics Force show that brings excitement and wonder to the thousands of K-12 students who see this University of Minnesota program every year. It is the reaction of the crowd. It is that moment of tension and excitement before the Monkey drops.

You have to see and hear the Physics Force to believe it!

• Click here to see the Physics Force perform the "Monkey and Hunter" demo live.