Friday, January 17, 2014

Ever heard of "Newton's Beads"?


Thanks to a link at Dark Roasted Blend, I came across this fascinating experiment with a bead chain.  The BBC gets together with Steve Mould to discuss the science behind "self siphoning beads", also called "Newton's beads".  The discussion begins at about 1m. 34s. into the video.





I'd never heard of this before.  Fascinating!

Peter

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4 comments:

  1. PhssthpokJanuary 17, 2014 at 3:09 PM

    It would be interesting to see how big of an arch one could achieve from, say...the top of a building.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Old NFOJanuary 17, 2014 at 5:09 PM

    Anchor chain (or ANY chain) will do the same thing... Flexibility is the key also.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JessJanuary 18, 2014 at 3:33 PM

    I've seen that phenomenon while pulling a chain from the back of a pickup. Before I could react, the end whip out and hit me in the leg.

    It hurt, even if it was amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Old SurferJanuary 19, 2014 at 3:59 PM

    Old NFO got it - I've seen this happen with really heavy anchor chain on an old schooner I crewed on. It would beat the hell out of the chute and then be all over the foredeck until you put a stopper on it.

    ReplyDelete

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