Apple electronically released from platform; fall time given by special circuit and digital display.
This is a free-fall-from-rest experiment in which an apple (or any other object of comparable size) is dropped from the lecture hall ceiling...
Orbital motion simulated by ball rolling on wooden potential well.
Motion in a central potential is demonstrated by a ball rolling on a circular 1/r curved surface.
The 1/r potential well simulates the gravitational potential...
Falling in an evacuated tube at the same rate.
In the absence of air resistance all bodies, regardless of size or weight, fall with the same acceleration at the same point above the Earth. Here a feather and a dime (see Comments) fall under...
Sliding tablecloth out from under posh dinner setting.
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...
Ball rolling down tilted trough in oscillatory fashion yields acceleration. Also known as Galileo's Inclined Plane).
An ingenious experiment to measure acceleration due to gravity first performed by Galileo.
The measurement of...
Irregular lamina with marked center-of-mass tossed in air.
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...
A physical pendulum with two adjustable knife edges for an accurate determination of "g".
An important application of the pendulum is the determination of the value of the acceleration due to gravity. By adding a second knife-edge pivot and...
Monkey released from platform is shot by simultaneously fired cannon.
This is a demonstration of the independence of the horizontal and vertical components of velocity of a projectile. Often referred to as "the monkey and hunter," the problem...
Concrete block smashed on lecturer's chest with sledge hammer.
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...
