What you need:
An egg
A toilet paper cardboard tube (the one around which the paper is wrapped)
Water
A small plastic plate with a raised edge or a shallow pie pan
A glass
What to do:
1. Place the glass on a table or on the floor. Fill it three-quarters of the way with water.
2. Place the plate on top of the glass and centre it.
3. Place the cardboard tube on the plate in such a way that it is directly above the water.
4. Place the egg on top of the tube; lay it on its side. If you’re afraid of a mess, you can substitute the egg with a plastic one or with a small ball.
5. Now, stand behind this set-up (don’t shake it). Hold your hand a few inches away from the plate, making sure to keep it level with the plate.
6. Swipe quickly in a straight horizontal line and hit the plate.
What happens:
If all goes well, the plate goes flying off the cardboard tube is knocked out of the way and the egg drops vertically down, right into the water!
Why?
The famous scientist, Sir Isaac Newton has put down a law that says ‘an object at rest stays at rest, or if it is in motion it will continue to move until it is acted on by an external force. This tendency of the object to maintain its state of rest or motion is called ‘inertia.
In our case, we pushed the plate meaning we applied force on the plate. It was knocked off the edge of the plate was raised, so it pulled the cardboard tube with it too. But the egg was undisturbed by our force. Thus, it stayed where it was, at rest. Until gravity acted on it and it dove right into the water.
Picture Credit : Google
