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Take the Olympic Challenge – Swing Water Over Your Head Without Spilling It

The Olympics are winding down and you all must be tired of sitting on your couch day after day watching athletes do the impossible. Now, it’s your turn to get up and start swinging.

This demonstration will require some thin rope or strong string, water and plastic food storage containers.

Drill holes in the four corners of the container and tie the string in each hole. Tie all four strings together at the top to make a water swing. Then fill the container with water.

Make sure you are outside or in an open space and away from brothers, sisters and the dog when you start swinging. Don’t do it around the family China either or over the brand new carpet.

Swing the water container around in a circle and over your head. Just don’t stop!

The water will stay inside the container and not spill out everywhere as long as you keep it moving in one direction. Stopping too fast or changing directions suddenly may cause the water to spill out everywhere.

If you are up for a challenge, try a water swing in each hand.

Why doesn’t the water spill out when the container is upside down? Centripetal force meaning “center seeking” keeps the water from going everywhere.

Centripetal force is a force that is always directed toward the center of the circle. According to Newton’s First Law of Motion, objects in motion tend to remain in motion unless acted upon by an external force. The water continues to move along a tangent to the circle and does not fall out of the container.

 

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