Prom Night Demystified
The Promenade night is a wondrous occasion for juniors and seniors not just Pisay, but every high school life. Students would were their best clothes and bring out their best features just to impress the guys/gals there. Just as the invitation said, it was like a dream… it passes then it’s gone… it didn’t’t happen at all…
As my other teacher said, “It is not the prom itself that is important; it is the turnover (ceremony) of the 4th year’s responsibilities to 3rd years”, you don’t need a very expensive place to hold the prom, it is actually the turnover ceremony and how you will enjoy the night.
Before I went to the prom, I had an incident in which I had my left ankle sprained. It hurt much but other feelings were overwhelming (i.e. anger >:D). As I was riding in the Pisay bus agonizing about my foot, I become conscious about the traffic ahead of us. The trip from Pisay to Fernwood was about an hour and 15 minutes and the distance from Pisay to Fernwood was about 3 kilometers so the average speed of the bus all throughout the trip was:
(3km * 1000m / 1km)/(75 minutes * 60 seconds / 1 minute) =
0.666… m/s or 0.67m/s
An athlete would be faster than the bus. If that’s the case then it would have been better if we just walked the way there.
Going back to the prom; when we finally came there, my sprain hurt a lot maybe because of the long moment that I didn’t’t walk or even stand. And as I go around the venue looking for my friends, I noticed that the place was fairly small. Anyway, I lined for registration, then to pictures and stuff, and then lastly, more pictures. It was really hard to smile with all that pain stinging in your foot.
Then I went to the Cycad Garden to check my table. And miraculously, I found it. As I was saying, I got bored of waiting for some of my table mates to come so I went back up. Facing to me after some walk was the stairs in which made me suffer in every step. Potential Energies get higher as the altitude gets higher right? Estimating that the stairs was 4 meters, then my potential energy after reaching the top was:
PE = mgh
PE = (72 kg)(9.8 m/s*s)(4 m )
PE = 2.8 x 103 N * m
So my Potential Energy is 2.8 x 103 N * m. Fairly large enough compared to my body size. I think that’s why sprain hurt a lot.
When I was back in the registration area, I sighed. It was a waste of time. So, anyway, I have to get back down on my table for some rest but not before my friend or table mates come so I search for a seat in which I can sit.
It was easy to find a seat though. It was like only 5 seconds before I was resting on that seat. I was trying to massage my foot but I aborted in doing so because at the first touch of my ankle, it hurt. So I got a piece of paper, made a paper boat, and threw that into the river below.
It flew into the air into a half parabolic pattern. Considering the weight of the paper which is about 3g or 0.003kg, it flew far enough. So, calculating the projectile motion of the piece of paper I had with a velocity, let’s say 1 m/s, the distance that it traveled before hitting the water which has almost the same elevation as that of the Cycad Garden is:
4 m = (1/2)(9.8 m/s*s)(t2)
t2 = 4 m/ 4.9m/s*s
t = √0.82
t = 0.80 seconds
∆x = (1 m/s)(0.8 seconds)
∆x = 0.8 m
So, it didn’t’t traveled far enough. As I watch people go by and greet some of my friends I got bored. Yeah, really bored. I was about to leave when I spotted my table mates. I went to them and suggested that we sit already on our tables so we went back to the Cycad Garden.
I sat there again, thinking if I’m gonna ask the girl/s I want to dance with. As I absentmindedly stare at the waterfall, I realize that it was a falling body… hmmm… not bad I thought; putting that waterfall there. But without even a basic fact, I have to give up my presumptions of how fast the water is falling.
Going back to the story (Wow, this actually has a story); we were sitting there, chit-chatting that we must look like some gentlemen of some sort. I agreed at least so no quarrel might start. So there I was stuck with guys that pretended to be some gentlemen.
A waiter came to our table, trying to refill our half-full or half-empty glasses. I occasionally, drink from time to time. Now I thought about torques and axes of rotation. There was a question in the book were these fundamentals were applied to the biceps of an arm.
As I was thinking how I can apply this things to the bonus essay I have to give to Sir Lim, my attention was diverted on another object. It was the glass of water I was drinking. When I settled it in a part of the table, I saw somewhat a magnificent set of colors. No it’s not the spectrum…
When the light coming from a post near us struck the glass, the lights refracted and made and opposite set of lights. Refraction I thought… it’s like a mini glass spectrum…
…and like mood swings, my fascination for the glasses lasted about 10 seconds…
It was really boring I tell you and the cotillion… well, it was fun actually thinking about what to write in the essay and the cotillion part was rich in them. Most if it was centripetal force or rotational motion. I even tried to estimate their torques and their speeds which in no avail, I cannot. But I have some data like Trish Fernandez’s mass is 106 pounds and Patti Cordova is 108 pounds in stuff just to estimate and all.
Anyway, going back to the topic. During eating time and the long wait, I brainstormed into how in the heck I would stalk the girl I like without standing or looking directly at her. I thought for a long time before I finally got a good answer. All I need is my knife…
So I got my knife and cleaned it so I it will reflect more light. Using the reflection on the knife, I stalked the girl I like for about five minutes because I thought to myself… this is stupid, being a shy guy and all. It’s better to confront her though.
Eating is a way of life and time is as precious as gold. The long wait before I eat depleted every energy source I have. So when we were called to get food from the buffet, we cheered…
I ate everything that they could offer… well, I didn’t’t eat bread because, I don’t know. I think that that was not the time to eat bread and stuff.
As we were all stuffed with food, the dancing started. Being shy and all, I just wandered off at first then stayed for a while near the dance floor. All of a sudden, one of my ex-crush went to me and said that if we could have a picture taken together. Well of course, I said yes.
3…
2…
1…
Smile…
Flash!
The flash of the digital camera fascinated me for the speed of light was fast enough to capture me before I winked from the flash of the camera. The distance between us two and the camera was only about a meter… That would be then the time it took for light to hit us was 1s/300,000 m/s which is equal to 3.33 x 10-6 s.
When it was over, I stood there asking for myself if I have the courage to ask my ex-crush to dance. But I asked her best friend instead. Asking her was a little bit of easier that my ex-crush. After asking her she suggested that we would dance together with my ex-crush. I think she knows my agenda at least. So I waited there for the approval. My mind was full of thoughts then, but maybe this was the weirdest I think. That calculating the Earth’s pull on me which is 706 N was nerdy I thought. But I have nothing to think but the days ahead of me. The requirements and stuff.
Song by song I waited, and time by time and reminded her. I checked my watch, its 4 hours before the night ends. And after some long wait, the contestants for Prom King, Queen, whatever was announced. So the music stops and my conviction ended.
I wandered off, and angry at the same time. How in the hell can I dance to her. But that’s not their fault. It was their choice anyway. After some time, the dancing presumed. I was in anxiety. And I was in fumes when I saw that someone were dancing to the girls I was supposed to dance. I have to keep my cool, I said to myself. I have other problems. So on I sat in a corner and was almost ready to cry when I diverted my attention to the music…
Yeah, I can argue that the speed of sound coming from the speakers towards me may take some time but it’s hard to estimate how far the nearest speaker is. None the less, the objects that could reflect and delay the incoming sounds also affected it.
I see in the distance that my ex-crush stopped dancing with some guy, so I ran toward her and ask her if I can dance with her. She said yes at least. So, I dance her all the way with the beat of a song I forgot. Apologizing from my foolishness and mistreatments.
Going back to a nerdy state, I focused my attention to the lights again for I can’t lock my eyes on hers. I actually can’t stare directly to the light but all I could say that it was hitting between two dancers. The light actually diffracted from such a small space between their bodies that beams of it spread out. Ha, why can’t I actually stare back to the one I’m dancing with?
After the song was finished, I was contented. Not. Haha. I have to dance the whole night long right? So, one by one, I danced with someone I know. For some time, I waited for the girl I like to come to me. There she was, dancing someone with a brave soul who asked her. The next guy to me was also standing staring to someone; I ask what time it was even though I have a watch. He said it was already 10:24 p.m. I have more than 2 hours of dancing for that night. How sad. I got bored at staring at her so I thought about the essay again and concerning about rotational motion, an idea sparked to me.
Going back to the guy’s watch, it seemed that it has full of Physics into it and yes I think you’ve got it. The time hands’ velocities:
Second hand:
small omega = theta / time
= 360 degrees / 60 intervals / 1 second
= 6 degrees per second
Minute:
small omega = theta / time
= 360 degrees / 60 intervals / 60 seconds
= 0.1 degrees per second
Hour:
small omega = theta / time
= 360 degrees / 60 intervals / 3600 second
= 0.002 degrees per second
Yeah, that killed time I thought… but it also killed my confidence. What words would likely let her say yes?
And in an instant, no one was dancing with her. So I approached her warily and asked her, “Can I?”, and my perfect dream started for the next few seconds was the best in all of my life. We actually danced and it was fun actually. Haha. Seems that I was jumping to some odd conclusions that drained my confidence but at least I asked right?
Then another full blown announcement came that halted that dream. But at least everything is okay now.
I went back to my seat and did stuff. I was actually brainstorming not just for this physics essay, but also for a comic strip in Pisay Scholar. Anyway, after having a hard time thinking of more fun things to write, I am able to think of some stupid ideas like the net force on me when 3 people bumped on me at the same time when I was in the dance floor or how about the force I need to get up from an inclined plane which was right there in the C.R. I said to myself at last that I have to stop thinking about these and enjoy the night instead. But I can’t help it if I’m bored and all I can do is think what I would write on these essay and on my comic strip.
After the announcements and stuff, I went to the second dance floor to have my picture taken together with my last year’s class as a sort of memories. I really stopped thinking essays after that.
Well, all night long I enjoyed it; I dance more and dance with someone twice. I enjoyed everything and never thought of writing some weird stuff in this essay for I was never bored. Adrenaline was in me.
Well, basically I was wrong for the fact that when prom ended and we have to go, ideas spread to my head again like wild fire when I settled in the Pisay bus again. There were no traffic and the Pisay bus traveled fast that we were in Pisay in just 30 minutes.
My last calculation would be:
(3km * 1000m / 1km)/(30 minutes * 60 seconds / 1 minute) =
16.666… m/s or 16.67 m/s
~At least it was faster XP
Hahaha… haba di ba? XP