Newton's First Law

Inertia of Rest

Concrete block smashed on lecturer's chest with sledge hammer.

What it shows:

The lecturer (or someone else) lies on a bed-of-nails without discomfort, thus demonstrating the concept of pressure, which is the force per unit area. For added drama the person is sandwiched between two beds of nails with the added weight of a cinder block on top. The cinder block can be broken with a sledge hammer.

How it works:

The forces (weight of the body, cinder block, etc.) are distributed over the total area of all the nail...

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Dinner Table

Sliding tablecloth out from under posh dinner setting.

What it shows:

A body will remain at rest unless a force acts upon it. So too will your best china remain in place as the table cloth is whipped from under it providing the friction between the cloth and table setting is low, and the speed of removal high.

...

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Center of Mass

Irregular lamina with marked center-of-mass tossed in air.

What it shows:

The center of gravity fixed in (or outside) the object always orients itself with minimum potential energy on a vertical line below the support point. When an irregular shape is thrown into the air, it is seen to rotate about its marked center of gravity or center of mass (COM).

How it works:

We have several irregular lamina to suspend and/or throw in the air. They are (1) an amoeba shaped piece of masonite pegboard, (2) a cut-out map of the U.S. glued...

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