Physics on the Dining Table——Spinning Raw Egg
Fun Physics in Spinning Eggs
What?
Spin an unshelled raw egg. Give it a quick touch to bring it to a rest and then let it go. What makes it begin spinning again?
How?
Materials:
- Raw eggs
Experiment:
- Spin an unshelled raw egg on a flat table. Touch it quickly with a finger to stop its rotation and then quickly release it. Observe its following motion.
- Conduct the experiment with another set of materials: a table tennis, a beaker, a cake spinner and some water. Fill the beaker with the table tennis and some water, representing the yolk and egg white respectively. Place the beaker on the cake spinner. Spin and stop the spinner. Observe the motion of water and table tennis.
×Experiments demonstration
×Experiments demonstration
Why?
Why does the egg continue spinning when it is released?
×Think...
- Inside the eggshell are the liquid yolk and egg white. Though the spinning egg is pressed and stopped on its shell, the liquid inside remains in motion. Therefore, when the egg is released, the flowing liquid drags its shell to spin again.
Reference
- Benson, H. (1995).Chapter 11 Rotation of Rigid Body about a Fixed Axis. University Physics. John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- Knight, R. D. (2003). Physics for Scientists and engineers with Modern Physics. (International ed., pp.462-465). Boston, MA: Addison Wesley.
Producer
Ching-Chi Chu （朱慶琪）
Advisor
Ching-Chi Chu （朱慶琪）
Written by
Ching-Chi Chu （朱慶琪）, Chang-Han Tsai （蔡昌翰）, Shi-Lin Huang （黃時霖）
Translator
Hsiao-Ching Su （蘇筱晴）
