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Reaction on Conveyor Track

What it shows:

A straightforward demonstration of Newton's 3rd law, that forces are interactions and thus come in pairs.

How it works:

Two people, each sitting (cross-legged) on their own board, position themselves in the center of the track facing each other. Upon pushing against each other with their hands, they glide apart down the length of the track. Repeat this with one person turned around — the other person pushes on his/her back instead of pushing against each other with their hands. The ensuing motion down the track is exactly the same as before.

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Inverted Pascal Experiment

What it shows:

This is a concept question relating to Pascal's cask-bursting experiment. Imagine the experiment inverted—literally! Attach a 20-ft length of tubing to the opening of a can full of water. Turn the can upside down and raise it high. Will the water stay in the can, or will it run out? Will atmospheric pressure hold up the column of water in the tubing? What will happen? Have the class vote.

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Double Refraction

What it shows:

A birefringent substance will split unpolarized light into two polarized rays with different refractive indices and different velocities. A crystal of calcite demonstrates this phenomenon.

Double Refraction...

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α, β, γ Penetration and Shielding

What it Shows

The interactions of the various radiations with matter are unique and determine their penetrability through matter and, consequently, the type and amount of shielding needed for radiation protection. Being electrically neutral, the interaction of gamma rays with matter is a statistical process and depends on the nature of the absorber as well as the energy of the gamma. There is always a finite probability for a gamma to penetrate a given thickness of absorbing material and so, unlike the charged particulate radiations which have a maximum range in the absorber...

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Everyday objects at low temperature

What it shows:

Mechanical properties of some materials change dramatically with temperature. These changes have entertaining effects on everyday objects by taking them from room temperature 300K to the temperature of liquid nitrogen 77K.

How it works:

Place your everyday objects in a dewar of liquid nitrogen for several minutes (at least until the LN2 stops boiling). Some examples to use:

1. Rubber gloves freeze solid and shatter on impact with floor.
2. Use a banana to hammer a nail into wood
3. Frozen...

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Bernoulli's Principle

What it shows

The relative velocities of two sides of a spinning ball to an oncoming wind creates a pressure difference and therefore a net force on the ball perpendicular to the air flow.

figure 1. Direction of motion of ball due to pressure difference

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