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
We couldn't find an exact match. These are the closest 35, found by leaving out the class.
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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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