Will the plane take off

I actually watched it on U tube with the steel being lowered quickly into the water thus exerting a downward force.

If the experiment was carried out with the balls in place before the water is poured then I think it will remain balanced.
 
Sponsored Links
Air has some weight so in theory it should tip to the left.
Plus the weight of ping pong ball and string.

If the balancing is equal before water is added then it stays equal.
 
As long as the diameter of the ping pong ball and the steel ball are the same, then the scales will remain in balance.
 
Sponsored Links
My right ball hangs a little lower than my left ball.

Don't worry Joe. That is quite normal.

The right kidney is normally slightly lower than the left because of the presence of the liver. The testes are part of the same system (genito-urinary) and the right one is also slightly lower too. I believe it's a developmental thing.

I still think the beam would still remain in balance, though, or possibly tip very slightly to the left - with or without the presence of your balls.
 
The weight of the ball will be transfered to the water/glass, unless you go down far enough to achieve weightlessness
 
One knacker hangs lower than the other, so that they don't bang off each other while you are walking. :eek:
 
Both balls add equal buoyant force to the beakers. So the sum of the forces is zero. But the scale would tip slightly down to the left by the weight of the ping pong ball and string. If the scale was sensitive enough.
 
I actually watched it on U tube with the steel being lowered quickly into the water thus exerting a downward force.

If the experiment was carried out with the balls in place before the water is poured then I think it will remain balanced.


I think Norcs is close to the money there.

In the video, the guy "lowers" (drops, more like) the steel ball into the beaker, causing the balance to tip quickly down on the RHS.

My guess - if the ping pong and steel balls are both in place before the water is added, the balance will obviously tip to the LHS (weight of ping pong ball + string > weight of steel ball hanging into the beaker, which is zero).
Add equal weight of water to both beakers, LHS is still heavier.

Lowering the steel ball in will exert a downward force on the RHS beaker, until it stops (by the string fully-supporting its weight, and not by coming to rest on the bottom of the beaker); the balance will then tip back to the LHS.
 
There's a much easier way to visualise it by subtracting all equal factors. The beakers are identical so take them away. The water - and the amount of displacement - is identical so take the water away. What's left is a suspended ball - which adds zero downward force to the right. And a ping pong ball and string - which adds a small downward force to the left. So the scale tips to the left.
 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top