Physics Demo Number: 190

Approximate

Run Time 5 min

Newton's First Law with a Brass Plug, PVC Tube and Hammer

Demo Description

Accelerate a clear PVC tube downwards around a massive brass cylinder which stays at the same point in the lab frame due to its inertia.

Scientific Principles

• Bodies at rest tend to stay at rest in the absence of new external forces.

Equipment

• One uses a clear PVC tube with an internal brass cylinder secured to the tube's inside wall with O-rings.

• A rubber hammer is used for pounding in the axial direction on the tube end to accelerate the tube along its length.

• One may simply use a 1 kg weight from [G-3-4] in place of the rubber hammer if it is not with the PVC tube.
  

Equipment Location

• Kit 190 on [E-2-4]

Instructions

Hold the tube loosely in one hand , with its axis either horizontal or vertical.

Deliver sharp impulsive blows to one end of the tube with the hammer (along the axial direction).

Observe that the tube translates and leaves the internal brass cylinder behind.

Writeup created by David A. Burba

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