A drop jumps to weightlessness: a lecture demo

V.V. Mayer, E.I. Varaksina, V.A. Saranin
Department of Physics, Korolenko Glazov State Pedagogical Institute, ul. Pervomaiskaya 25, Glazov, 427600, Russian Federation

The paper discusses the lecture demonstration of the phenomenon in which a drop lying on a solid unwettable substrate performs a jump when making the transition to weightlessness. An elementary theory of the phenomenon is given. A jump speed estimate is obtained for small and large drops. The natural vibrational frequency of a flying drop is determined. A full-scale model of Einstein's lift is described. Experimental and theoretical results are found to agree satisfactorily.

Text can be downloaded in Russian. English translation is available here.

Keywords: lecture demonstrations, liquid drop, transition to weightlessness, natural oscillations, Einstein's lift
PACS: 01.50.My, 47.55.D− (all)
DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2016.04.037815
URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2017/1/f/
Citation: Mayer V V, Varaksina E I, Saranin V A "A drop jumps to weightlessness: a lecture demo" Phys. Usp. 60 108–113 (2017)

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Received: 23rd, April 2016, accepted: 26th, April 2016

Оригинал: Майер В В, Вараксина Е И, Саранин В А «Лекционные демонстрации прыжка капли в невесомость» УФН 187 119–124 (2017); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2016.04.037815