Leaky Cup Drop

Image #2


QuickTime Movie (6.42 MB)
content.gif (1503 bytes)
 Code Number :   1G20.30  

Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA.

The University of Iowa Disclaimers:  U of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..

Condition :   Good  
Principle :   Gravitational Acceleration  
Area of Study :  Mechanics   
Equipment :   Styrofoam cup with two holes, water, catch basin.

 

Procedure :   Cover the two holes in the cup and fill about 3/4 full with water.  Take your hands off the hole and when desired drop the cup.  When the cup is in freefall no water should come out of the holes.  Warning:  the cup will not survive the fall.

The swimming batons are an easier way to do this demo.  Hold them under water until they are full and then put your fingers over the top two holes.  When you are ready, move your fingers off the top two holes and water will stream out of the bottom two holes until the baton is dropped.  The demo is easily repeated with this apparatus.

conbot.gif (53 bytes)

 

   References

Jeffrey C. LaCombe and Matthew B. Koss, "The Make-It-Yourself Drop-Tower Microgravity Demonstrator", TPT, Vol. 38, # 3, Mar. 2000, p. 143.

John A. McClelland, "Simulating Microgravity", TPT, Vol. 38, # 6, Sept. 2000, p. 328.

Martin Gardner, "Zero Gravity", TPT, Vol. 36, # 3, Mar. 1998, p. 184.

Ernie McFarland,  "Inertial Forces on an Overhead Projector,"  TPT, Vol. 28, # 8, p. 542, (November 1990).

Clyde J. Smith,  "Weightlessness for Large Classes,"  TPT, Vol. 27, # 1, p. 40, (January 1989).

Richard Breslow, "Apparent Weightlessness in Free Fall", TPT, Vol. 12, # 6, Sept. 1974, p. 366.

Haym Kruglak, "Efflux from an Orifice,"  TPT, Vol. 1, # 4, April 1963, reprinted in TPT, Vol. 9, # 9, December 1971.

 

M-188/S-055, "Water/Masses in Styrofoam Cup,"  DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

 

#175, "Weightless," Janice VanCleave's 203 Icy, Freezing, Frosty, Cool, and Wild Experiments.

Robert Ehrlich,  "Weightlessness,"  Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down, p. 183.

"Falling Glass of Water," Physics From the Junk Drawer, 3rd Edition, The Science House, North Carolina State University, p. 18.



Mail Questions and Comments to:  Dale Stille