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Become a Master of Inertia!
Have you ever seen a magician whip a tablecloth out from under a full setting
of dishes without even rattling a glass? There's no magic involved-only the
clever use of science.
We don't recommend that you use dinner dishes for this. Instead, here's a safer-and
cheaper-version of the tablecloth trick that will astound your family.
You'll need:
- a heavy water glass
- a strip of newspaper long enough to reach over the rim of the glass
and hang over the edges.
- 2 pennies
- a ruler
- Put one end of the strip of paper over the rim of the glass, as pictured.
- Balance the two pennies on top of the paper, on the rim of the glass.
Make sure the pennies are balanced on the rim and are not supported
by the paper.
- Lift the free end of the paper so that it is horizontal. Be careful
not to move the coins.
- Strike the paper with a ruler about 4 cm (1.5 in) from the edge of
the glass. Speed is important. It might take a few tries before you
get the hang of it, but before long, you should be able to whip the
paper out from under the coins, leaving them balanced on the edge of
the glass.
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Excerpt from The Jumbo Book of Science
by the Ontario Science Centre, used by permission of Kids
Can Press Ltd., Toronto.
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