Physics + Programming
Simulate projectile motion with air drag in Python
Plot real trajectories with air resistance and compare them with the textbook parabola.
- Intermediate
- 1–2 weeks
- Free
606 projects · 13 streams · every class
Physics projects 35
Physics projects you can measure: motion, light, sound, heat, electricity and magnetism. Each project gives the materials, the steps and the calculation behind the result.
35 Physics projects
Physics · Fluid Mechanics
Build a hydraulic lift with syringes
Connect two syringes of different sizes and show how a small push lifts a large load.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Measure the speed of light with a chocolate bar
Find the wavelength of microwaves from melt spots on chocolate, then calculate the speed of light.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Modern Physics
Measure Planck's constant with LEDs
Find the turn-on voltage of LEDs of different colours and get Planck's constant from the slope.
- Advanced
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
Physics · Mechanics
Calibrate a spring and build a newton meter
Stretch a spring with known weights, plot the graph and turn it into a force meter you can use.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Build a pinhole camera and find its magnification
Make a box camera with no lens and show that image size depends on object and screen distance.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Dynamics
Launch a water rocket and predict its range
Build a bottle rocket and find the water volume and angle that give the longest flight.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
Physics · Optics
Measure the refractive index of water with a laser pointer
Trace a laser beam entering water at several angles and get the refractive index from Snell's law.
- Intermediate
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Waves
Measure the speed of sound with two phones
Use two phones with an acoustic stopwatch app to time a clap over a known distance.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Free
Physics · Current Electricity
Verify Ohm's law and find where it fails
Plot current against voltage for a resistor and a bulb and explain the difference.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Electromagnetism
Electromagnetic braking in a copper pipe
Time a magnet falling through copper, aluminium and plastic pipes and show how eddy currents slow it.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
Physics · Electromagnetism
Build a homopolar motor and measure what changes its speed
Make the simplest electric motor from a cell, a magnet and wire, then test how magnets change its speed.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics + Environmental Science
Build a solar oven and measure its efficiency
Make a box cooker from cardboard and foil and track how hot it gets compared with open air.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Oscillations
Find g with a simple pendulum and a phone
Time pendulums of different lengths and get the acceleration due to gravity from a straight-line graph.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Build a spectroscope from a CD and analyse light sources
Split light with a CD and compare the spectra of the Sun, LEDs, CFLs and flames.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Magnetism
Map the magnetic field of bar magnets with a phone
Use the phone's magnetometer to measure how field strength falls with distance from a magnet.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics + Music, Theatre and Writing
Study the physics of a musical instrument
Measure how the length of a string or the water level in a bottle changes the pitch.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Under 250
Physics · Electromagnetism
Build a simple DC generator and light an LED
Wind a coil, spin magnets inside it and measure the voltage you generate.
- Intermediate
- 2–7 days
- 250–500
Physics · Dynamics
Test which shapes fall slowest: a parachute study
Make parachutes of different sizes and shapes and time their fall with the same load.
- Beginner
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Build a periscope and test the law of reflection
Make a periscope from card and two mirrors and show that both must sit at 45 degrees.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics + Astronomy and Space
Estimate the Sun's power with a can of water
Measure how fast sunlight heats blackened water and estimate the solar constant.
- Intermediate
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Nuclear Physics
Detect cosmic rays with a cloud chamber
Build a diffusion cloud chamber with dry ice and alcohol and count particle tracks.
- Advanced
- 2–7 days
- 500–1,000
Physics + Environmental Science
Model the greenhouse effect in two bottles
Compare how fast air and carbon-dioxide-rich air warm under the same lamp.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Electrostatics
Build an electroscope and test charges
Make a foil-leaf electroscope in a jar and use it to compare charged objects.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
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