Sunday, October 14, 2012

Think Like a Physicist 4

Explain why the Coke Zero can balance as shown in the figure.

45 comments:

  1. because the center of gravity is at the edge of the bottom of the coke bottle when in that position

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    1. How is that possible? Isn't the center of gravity right at the geometric center?

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    2. because the can is tilted, so the contents shift to the side; therefore causing the center of gravity to change its location also?

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    3. and the soda can is not full anymore, so there's just the enough amount of liquid inside having the enough weight allowing it to rest on its equilibrium point? :D

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  2. The gravity was located at the edge of the bottom of the can.

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  3. The soda can's center of gravity is above the base of support,so the upward support force from the base is aligned with the downward force of gravity, thus helping it maintain its balanced state.

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  4. that's impossible unless there is a greater force acting on the bottom edge of the can which means that there is water inside tha can but not so many. +10?

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  5. All you need is a small amount of water to have a stronger force acting on the bottom edge of the coke. =D

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    1. Please clarify the phrase "stronger acting force."

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    2. Just a samll amount of water para bumigat yung can, hence it will have a stronger acting force. :D

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  6. This trick works because the weight of the pop inside the can allows the can's center of gravity to become low enough to balance while slanted.

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    1. You got the answer correctly but I am waiting for the words/phrases I have in mind to come out.

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  7. This was possible because the person who set it in that position left a small amount of soda inside the can. By doing that, the soda inside would then automatically be balanced, also helping the can stay balanced in a slanted position due to the stable state of the center of gravity. The can must also have that particular edge found in the can of coke. If the can you will use doesn't have that edge, then the can would not be able to balance properly.

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  8. Replies
    1. You gave an incomplete reason.. :D

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. sir, the water inside lowers the center of gravity which will make it be more steady.

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    4. most of the weight of the water will be acting on the edge of the can that will make it balanced

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. Hypothesis 1
    -You placed an adhesive below the Coke Zero.
    Hypothesis 2
    -Photoshop'ed
    Hypothesis 3
    -This is only an illusion.
    Hypothesis 4
    -There is a small crack on the tile below the Coke.
    Hypothesis 5
    -The Coke was half full. Tilting the coke bottle "shifts" the center of gravity of the Coke can to the edge. Making it able to balance.
    Hypothesis 6
    -The Coke was empty. You placed a small magnet inside the Coke and tilted it. The tile must be made of metal that is why the Coke can balanced.

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    1. Hypothesis 7
      -Everything is slanted except the Coke.
      Hypothesis 8
      -You took the picture while the coke was about to fall.

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  11. The can is in balance because its center of gravity is above its
    base of support.

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  12. the can of coke is half full, so when you tilt the can the liquid inside moves to the edge of the can. the center of gravity is then moved to the edge of the can, making it "stand" on its edge.

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  13. If the can were hollow, the top and bottom parts of the can will have equal mass. The can would then be acting like a uniform rod, with its center of gravity at its geometric center. However, if a person were to put water inside the can, the bottom part would contain more mass than the top part. The can would then be acting like a non-uniform rod, with its center of gravity directed towards the bottom. The soda can balance as shown above because there is liquid in the bottom half that contains more mass than the upper half of the bottle.

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  14. Coke Zero's height(amount of liquid inside of it) is greater than its length;therefore, if one tilts the can, it will fall because there is more mass concentrated away from the base of the can. By reducing the height of the liquid inside the can to an amount less than its length, if one tilts it, it will be in equilibrium because the greatest mass will be concentrated at the middle of the tilted can and due to Coke's can design which is not a perfect cylinder(with its bottom part bulging out of the cylinder shape).

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    1. Moreover, the lower the center of gravity, the more stable an object is.

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  15. The center of mass of the soda can is in its geometric center. but when it's not full anymore, the can wouldn't have an equal weight distribution, therefore changing the center of mass. So when you tilt the soda can and the liquid moves to the edge of the can, the center of mass would shift lower(enough to balance even a slanted object) and the can would then be in equilibrium since its center of mass is above the base and the gravitational pull of the earth would be enough to fight the force making the tilted can to fall and to make it stay balanced on the ground.

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  16. It depends on the amount of water or liquid you put inside. the right amount of measurement matters for this trick to work. the amount of water inside t
    he soda can allows the can's center of gravity to become low enough e for it to stay in a slanted position.

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  17. The can has little water inside, just enough to make it have more mass. If one were to slowly slant the can until the water settles, the center of gravity will shift to where there is more mass, in this case, the bottom of the can, thus making it tilt.

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  18. According to Newton's Third Law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. Ergo, it is possible as long as a force(which is the liquid within the can) equal to the can's weight is placed in the opposite direction as the can falling and taking in adherence to gravity.

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  19. This was possible because the center of gravity is not located above the base of support(the base of the can), so the upward support force and the downward force of gravity cannot align. Instead,the two forces create a torque that rotates the object, tipping it over. :) -Elaine Danielle Sadang

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  20. Gravity is the force that pulls objects toward the center of the Earth. An object’s center of gravity is the average location of the weight of the object. This means that there is a something inside the can that causes gravity. This balanced the can making it's center of gravity low enough for it to be tilted.

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  21. The center of mass is lowest when it is at the same height as the surface of the liquid. Having said that, I assume that the can of Coke Zero is half full making it balanced in a slanting position or in a 45 degree angle. In this case, the soda's center of mass seems to defy gravity.

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  22. There is water inside the can, giving it a little more mass. When tilted, the c.g. is now above the base of the support so the upward support force from the base is aligned with the downward force of gravity, thus, giving the can more stability.

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  23. Water inside the Coke Zero shifts the center of gravity of the can lower, allowing the Coke Zero to balance without any external force applied. :D

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  24. When the can is full, the center of gravity is at the center of the can.When it's one half full, then the c.g. is below the center of the can.When it's empty, the c.g. is at the center of the can. In this case, the c.g. is located above the base of support.

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  25. The center of gravity of the can shifts because of change in volume of the Coke, Fw=mg; therefore, central force is affected by either mass or gravity, in this case, mass.

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  26. There is water inside the can, giving it a little more mass. When tilted, the c.g. is now above the base of the support and the can becomes stable since its c.g. is nearer the base.

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  27. When the can is full, its central gravity is at its base. In this scenario, the water inside the can shifts the can's central gravity lower and allows it to balance.

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  28. There is sill some Coke or some other liquid inside that shifts the can's center of gravity lower. Because of this, the can is able to balance on its edges.

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  29. There is H2O inside the can of coke zero which shifts the center of gravity to a lower level that would let the coke obtain its balance without any external force on it -FRANCINE WONG

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