Art: Staff and student photography

Photography Staff and student submissions

Australia

Praying Mantis, Queensland

It has five eyes, can span up to six inches long and a head that revolves 180 degrees. Among all these idiosyncrasies, it is the four prominent legs that the Praying Mantis is named after, with the insect you see crouched in the photograph crouching in a prayerlike stance. Generally, you'll find they prefer warmer climates, particularly around tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though the majority are thus found in Asia, others are also dotted around the globe, with 20 species being native to the USA, or a much more substantial estimate of 160 species in Australia, such as this one found in Queensland. Though small, the Mantis is mighty: surviving off a carnivorous diet, you can often find one munching on a variety of insects, such as moths, crickets, flies or... other Praying Mantises? Yes, you read that right: adult females often chomp down on their mate just after—or even during—mating, though explanations as to why are hazy.

Lorikeets, Sydney

Pictured below are Sparkles and Lollipop, two lorikeets in Sydney, Australia (we're not sure which one is which, though). A special thank you to Tony Dear, a friend of Miss Black's who took both photographs!

Miss Black, Drama-PGC | Tony Dear

Why buildings are so straight?

Have you ever wondered why high buildings are either straight or get sharper and sharper towards the top? Gravity plays an essential role in the overall shape of buildings. A building will crash if its centre of mass is not directly over the perimeter of its base. Therefore, it’s better for buildings to have a symmetrical shape with a big base, so gravity will not drag the unsymmetrical part down to the ground. This property makes cylinders, cones and rectangles popular candidates. The sharp top of high buildings lowers their centre of mass in order to increase their stability. However, why are cylindrical and conical shaped buildings less common than rectangular buildings? The answer lies behind the cost, since it’s cheaper to purchase flat glass and rectangular rocks.

Why you are lighter at the top of the London Eye?

If you recall the force you felt in your ‘London Eye’ experience, you may remember that you felt heavier at the bottom but lighter on the top. This is because of the two dominating forces acting on the Eye - centripetal force and gravity. The centripetal force always points towards the centre of the Wheel and gravity always acts downwards. Therefore, the centripetal force you feel at the top, 'C1' , is pointing downwards (negative) and it is positive at the bottom. Since

the centripetal force can be rewritten as mp, with p as the acceleration of the centripetal force. The reaction force, 'N1' , you feel at the top follows the equation:

and the reaction force you feel at the bottom follows:

Put them together, you get:

Therefore, you feel more force at the bottom. More interestingly, the force you experience during the whole cycle can be plotted as a cosine graph and the rate of change of force you feel can be plotted in a negative sine graph. This is how mathematics relates to physics and how physics relates to real life!