Mechanics

There are:

• 156 mechanics demonstrations
• 128 of which have brief descriptions and diagrams
• 10 more have pictures and complete descriptions

Last update : 16 June 1998

Main topics:

• Measurement
• Motion in one dimension
• Motion in two dimensions
• Relative motion
• Newton's first law
• Newton's second law
• Newton's third law
• Statics of rigid bodies
• Applications of Newton's laws
• Gravity
• Work and energy
• Linear momentum and collisions
• Rotational dynamics
• Properties of matter

• Measurement 1A
• Basic units 1A10
• Basic unit set 1A10.10
• Errors and accuracy 1A20
• Reaction time 1A20.60
• Vectors 1A40
• Tinker toys 1A40.25
• Magnetic vector addition 1A40.30
• Scaling 1A60
• Powers of 10 video 1A60.10
• Motion in one dimension 1C
• Velocity 1C10
• Bulldozer on moving sheet 1C10.10
• PASCO dynamics carts 1C10.20
• Glider on an air track 1C10.25
• Velocity - air track and glider 1C10.27
• Uniform acceleration 1C20
• Penny and feather 1C20.10
• Drop ball and paper 1C20.16
• Equal time equal distance drop 1C20.20
• Inclined air track/PASCO carts 1C20.30
• Measuring g 1C30
• Free-fall timer 1C30.10
• Catch a meter stick 1C30.55
• Motion in two dimensions 1D
• Displacement in two dimensions 1D10
• Mounted wheel 1D10.40
• Velocity, position, and acceleration 1D15
• Brachistochrone 1D15.50
• Motion of the center of mass 1D40
• Meter stick with 3 lights 1D40.10
• Air track pendulum glider 1D40.50
• Central forces 1D50
• Ball on a string 1D50.10
• Whirligig conical pendulum 1D50.20
• Carnival ride model 1D50.30
• Pail of water 1D50.40
• Penny on a coathanger 1D50.45
• Rolling chain 1D50.70
• Deformation by central forces 1D52
• Flattening earth 1D52.10
• Water parabola 1D52.20
• Balls in water centrifuge 1D52.30
• Paper saw 1D52.50
• Centrifugal escape 1D55
• Release ball on a string 1D55.15
• Falling off the merry-go-round 1D55.30
• Projectile motion 1D60
• Ball to throw 1D60.05
• Howitzer and tunnel 1D60.10
• Howitzer and tunnel on incline 1D60.15
• Simultaneous fall (independence of x and y) 1D60.20
• Monkey and hunter 1D60.30
• Water trough trajectory 1D60.65
• Relative motion 1E
• Moving reference frames 1E10
• Crossing the river 1E10.10
• Coriolis effect 1E30
• Coriolis ball on turntable 1E30.28
• Newton's first law 1F
• Inertia of rest 1F20
• Inertia ball 1F20.10
• Inertia cylinder 1F20.33
• Coin/card snap 1F20.34
• Shifted air track inertia 1F20.50
• Inertia of motion 1F30
• Persistence of motion (air track) 1F30.10
• Newton's second law 1G
• Force, mass, and acceleration 1G10
• Glider, mass, and pulley on air track 1G10.10
• Constant mass acceleration system 1G10.11
• Acceleration block 1G10.25
• Atwood's machine 1G10.40
• Accelerated reference frame 1G20
• Candle in a bottle 1G20.10
• Leaky pail drop 1G20.30
• Dropped slinky 1G20.45
• Suspended ball accelerometer 1G20.76
• Acceleration pendulum cart 1G20.85
• Newton's third law 1H
• Action and reaction 1H10
• PASCO carts 1H10.17
• Newton's sailboat 1H10.20
• Recoil 1H11
• Skateboard and medicine ball 1H11.10
• Statics of rigid bodies 1J
• Finding center of gravity 1J10
• Plumb bob method (big pig, etc.) 1J10.10
• Center of gravity of a broom 1J10.25
• Meter stick on fingers 1J10.30
• Exceeding center of gravity 1J11
• Leaning tower of Pisa 1J11.10
• Tipping block on incline 1J11.15
• Leaning tower of Lyre 1J11.20
• Double cone 1J11.50
• Stable, Unstable, and neutral equilibrium 1J20
• Bowling ball stability 1J20.10
• Balance the cone 1J20.11
• 9 nails on 1 1J20.25
• Floating hammer 1J20.30
• Spoon on nose 1J20.32
• Balancing bird (tightrope walking model) 1J20.46
• Resolution of forces 1J30
• Suspended block 1J30.10
• Tension in a string 1J30.20
• Rope and three students 1J30.25
• Blackboard force table 1J30.50
• Tug of peace 1J30.57
• Static torque 1J40
• Torque wrench 1J40.15
• Meter-stick balance 1J40.20
• Torque rod 1J40.21
• Loaded beam 1J40.40
• Applications of Newton's laws 1K
• Dynamic torque 1K10
• Tipping block 1K10.10
• Large yo-yo (walking the spool) 1K10.30
• Rolling uphill 1K10.50
• Friction 1K20
• Friction blocks on incline 1K20.10
• Weight dependence of friction 1K20.15
• Area dependence of friction 1K20.20
• Static vs. sliding friction 1K20.30
• Angle of repose 1K20.35
• Pressure 1K30
• Bed of nails 1K30.10
• Gravity 1L
• Universal gravitational constant 1L10
• Cavendish balance film 1L10.10
• Orbits 1L20
• elliptical motion of a ball in a funnel 1L20.14
• show orbits with Gravitation software 1L20.37
• "Gravity" with magnetic field - drop steel balls near magnet 1L20.66
• Work and energy 1M
• Work 1M10
• Shelf and block 1M10.10
• Pile driver 1M10.20
• Pile driver with pop cans 1M10.25
• Simple machines 1M20
• Pulleys 1M20.10
• Pulley advantage 1M20.11
• Inclined plane 1M20.30
• Levers 1M20.40
• Non-conservative forces 1M30
• Air track collision/sliding mass 1M30.10
• Conservation of energy 1M40
• Simple pendulum 1M40.02
• Spring and mass 1M40.03
• Bouncing ball 1M40.04
• Stopped pendulum 1M40.15
• loop-the-loop 1M40.20
• Potential well 1M40.25
• Ballistic pendulum 1M40.40
• Yo-yo 1M40.50
• Rattleback 1M40.90
• Linear momentum and collisions 1N
• Impulse and thrust 1N10
• Drop egg in water 1N10.25
• Pile driver with foam rubber 1N10.30
• Car crashes 1N10.35
• Conservation of linear momentum 1N20
• Car on a rolling board 1N20.15
• Spring apart air track gliders 1N20.20
• Spring apart PASCO carts 1N20.22
• Mass and momentum transfer 1N21
• Ballistic air glider 1N21.30
• Rockets 1N22
• Water rocket, water glider 1N22.20
• Balloon 1N22.25
• CO2 cartridge rocket 1N22.33
• Collisions in one dimension 1N30
• Newton's cradle (collision balls) 1N30.10
• Air track collision gliders 1N30.30
• PASCO carts, equal and unequal mass 1N30.32
• Double ball drop 1N30.60
• Astroblaster (quadruple ball drop) 1N30.61
• Double air glider bounce 1N30.65
• Collisions in two dimensions 1N40
• Air table collisions 1N40.20
• Rotational dynamics 1Q
• Moment of inertia 1Q10
• Moment of inertia demo 1Q10.10
• Racing rings, disks, and spheres 1Q10.30
• All disks roll the same 1Q10.35
• Weary roller (weighted disk) 1Q10.55
• Rotational energy 1Q20
• Adjustable angular momentum 1Q20.10
• Inertia wheel 1Q20.15
• Angular acceleration wheel 1Q20.20
• Acceleration faster than g 1Q20.50
• Transfer of angular momentum 1Q30
• Passing the wheel 1Q30.10
• Catch the ball on the stool 1Q30.30
• Conservation of angular momentum 1Q40
• Rotating stool with weights 1Q40.10
• Pulling on a whirligig 1Q40.25
• Rotating platform with bicycle wheel 1Q40.30
• Train on circular track on rotating platform 1Q40.40
• Balls in a funnel 1Q40.70
• Hero's engine 1Q40.80
• Gyros 1Q50
• Bicycle wheel gyro 1Q50.24
• MITAC gyroscope 1Q50.30
• toy gyroscope 1Q50.77
• Dynamic stability 1Q60
• tippy top 1Q60.30
• Spinning football 1Q60.35
• Tossing the book 1Q60.40
• Spinning lariat, hoop, and disk 1Q60.50
• Properties of matter 1R
• Hooke's law 1R10
• Stretching a spring 1R10.10
• Tensile and compressive stress 1R20
• Breaking wire 1R20.10
• Bending beam 1R20.20
• Shear stress 1R30
• Shear book 1R30.10
• Torsion rod 1R30.40
• Coefficient of restitution 1R40
• Bouncing balls 1R40.10
• Dead and live balls (Happy and sad balls) 1R40.30
• Crystal structure 1R50
• Crystal fault model 1R50.40