A magnetic Newton’s cradle we built and filmed, a TEDx talk
about why gravity is awkward, and the physics, philosophy and AI
papers I read when I should be doing homework.
An experiment
What changes a magnetic Newton’s cradle?
A build photo, or a five-second slow-motion clip with the
tracking stickers visible.
Year 11 · in-school IYPT project
Magnetic Newton’s cradle
What it is
For our school’s IYPT (International Young Physicists’
Tournament) project, three of us investigated what affects how
a magnetic Newton’s cradle behaves. This was the in-school
stage; we didn’t take part in the national competition.
What I did
Magnetic cradles are rare and we couldn’t find one to buy, so we
built our own. We put tracking stickers on the magnets and
filmed runs in slow motion, changing one thing at a time. I did
the motion tracking, turning the footage into data.
What we found
One headline finding in a sentence or two. Release angle and the
number of magnets were tested most, so they can carry the
strongest claim.
What was hard
One honest limitation.
What I took from it
One sentence: the line you would quote in a personal statement.
Team of three; the in-school IYPT round, not the national
competition
What we varied, most-tested first: release angle; number of
magnets (3 or 5); separation at equilibrium; friction
between the wires and the frame; magnet strength; mass of
each magnet
Tracked in Tracker; two runs for each parameter; about 40
hours, 20 in school and 20 at home
Which term
TEDx: the talk and the event
Why our two best theories don’t agree
General Relativity explains very large things and Quantum
Mechanics explains very small things. Both work extremely well,
but they disagree in places where we need both of them.
On 28 February 2026, in Year 11, I gave a TEDx talk at
TEDxDulwich Youth about gravity across the two theories and the
ideas that might bridge them, including String Theory. The talk
now exists as an essay too.
This year I’m one of the student organisers of the 2027 event.
Physics first, then papers, then everything else. Only things I’ve
actually read.
Physics
Stephen HawkingAlmost all of his books.
Your reaction, one to three sentences
Cox and ForshawWhy Does E=mc²?
Your reaction, one to three sentences
Papers
Papers you’ve read, physics first, then philosophy, psychology and
AI: title, authors, a link, and one to three sentences of your own
reaction each (not a summary). Optionally “read at 15”.
Beyond physics
Philipp DettmerImmune
One line on why
Yudkowsky and SoaresIf Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies
One line on why
Jonathan HaidtThe Anxious Generation
One line on why
Andrew DoigThis Mortal Coil
One line on why
Dennis E. TaylorAll of the Bobiverse books, and quite a lot of other science
fiction.
One line on why
Open questions
Questions I’m stuck on
Five open questions, in your own words, one line each. Anything you
keep coming back to in physics, philosophy or AI.
Physics-flavoured code
Simulations I’ve written
Age 14Bouncing Ball Physics Simulation: balls bounce
off one another with gravity and friction. I put my focus on
realistic physics rather than the graphics.On Programming
Age 14Game of Life: Conway’s cellular automaton.
Click or drag to add live cells, then watch which patterns
survive.On Programming
