Friday, January 18, 2013
Oh Well...
(4)
Back from the fridge with beer #8 at 1840. Buzzing nicely. Sip. I just observed my little 'drip-drip experiment' in the sink. Beautiful! I love it! In fact, a few weeks ago I actually learned something about physics by watching the experiment. But wait! First I need to describe the experiment:
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In a metal kitchen sink with a high faucet output, smear vegatable oil all over the metal sink. Then, position the faucet such that splash droplets of water below the sink outlet land on most or all of the surface of the sink. Over time, observe what happens to the various blobs of water in the sink as they grow larger and larger. Interesting!
Some weeks ago, as I was preparing the cold water output to do the necessary 'drop, drop, drop' behavior, I noticed that as I slowly decreased cold water flow, the 'solid' water path got skinnier and skinnier, but then 'broke up' into droplets near the bottom. Why? I sensed that I was about to discover an (unknown to me) law of physics. But after observing that 'behavior' for a few days it suddenly dawned on me that falling objects accelerate at the rate of 32 feet per second squared: that the water stream at the bottom had accelerated to the point at which the Force of Acceleration overcame the Force of Surface Tension. It was an 'aha moment,' and I was slightly disappointed that I had not discovered a new law of physics. Sip.
----------
Oh well...
Back from the fridge with beer #8 at 1840. Buzzing nicely. Sip. I just observed my little 'drip-drip experiment' in the sink. Beautiful! I love it! In fact, a few weeks ago I actually learned something about physics by watching the experiment. But wait! First I need to describe the experiment:
----------
In a metal kitchen sink with a high faucet output, smear vegatable oil all over the metal sink. Then, position the faucet such that splash droplets of water below the sink outlet land on most or all of the surface of the sink. Over time, observe what happens to the various blobs of water in the sink as they grow larger and larger. Interesting!
Some weeks ago, as I was preparing the cold water output to do the necessary 'drop, drop, drop' behavior, I noticed that as I slowly decreased cold water flow, the 'solid' water path got skinnier and skinnier, but then 'broke up' into droplets near the bottom. Why? I sensed that I was about to discover an (unknown to me) law of physics. But after observing that 'behavior' for a few days it suddenly dawned on me that falling objects accelerate at the rate of 32 feet per second squared: that the water stream at the bottom had accelerated to the point at which the Force of Acceleration overcame the Force of Surface Tension. It was an 'aha moment,' and I was slightly disappointed that I had not discovered a new law of physics. Sip.
----------
Oh well...
