I was at a talk where a physicist stated that pulling a table cloth out
from beneath a set table was not truly a demonstration of the property of
inertia. What is your sense of this?
Also, he said the demonstration where an aluminum ring is placed on an
iron core stand that is surrounded by a transformer coil does not truly
demonstrate Lenz's Law. What is your sense on this one, too.
Are these demos, like the explanation that a skater melt the ice in
order to skate, part of the folklore o'physics?
If anyone has a great inertia demo they wish to share, I would like to
hear about it. I have one that astounds students. I get flat poker chips,
and stack them in alternating colors (using school colors, of course). With
a steel rule that has a thickness that is less than a chip, I rapidly wave
it back and forth, each time knocking out the bottom chip. It sorts them
and astonishes the students. But, like the tablecloth, is this not really a
demo of the Property of Inertia?
Thanks.
Tom McCarthy
Saint Edward's School
1895 St. Edward's Drive
Vero Beach, FL 32963
561-231-4136
Physics and Astronomy