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Simple experiments that you can do with your sink and a few basic kitchen items
Simple experiments that you can do with your sink and a few basic kitchen items
The bowl of a spoon is drawn into a stream of water
The bowl of a spoon is drawn into a stream of water
A spoon handle is suspended freely from above while the bottom of the bowl is placed into a stream of water. The bowl gets "stuck" in the water, as if the spoon was a magnet and the stream was an iron bar.
To do and to notice
To do and to notice
No need to create a spoon contraption like in the video above. Simply hold a spoon from the very end of its handle and place it in a stream of water. You should be able to feel the spoon get pulled into the stream of water.
What happens when you increase the flow of water? Decrease?
What happens when you turn the spoon around so the inside of the bowl is facing the stream of water? Do you get the same result?
Does this experiment work with large spoons? Small spoons? Wooden spoons? Metal spoons?
There's a lot of science happening in this simple demonstration.
There's a lot of science happening in this simple demonstration.
First, you'll notice the stream of water flows over the surface of the curved bowl. This is the Coanda effect, which describes a fluid's tendency to follow a convex surface.
But why does the spoon get stuck in the stream?
Notice the direction the water flows when it leaves the tip of the spoon. From our perspective, the water is directed to the left. Newton's Third Law, for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction, says that as the water flows off the spoon and to the left, the spoon is pushed to the right. Because the water flow is constant, the spoon gets "stuck" in the stream.
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