Newton's egg
Newtons egg is a fun science experiment. Discover the intriguing world of Newton’s fist law of motion. Dive into the realm of physics and gravity with this hands-on activity. Explore how Sir Isaac Newton’s laws come to life through the simple yet enlightening experience of the Newton’s Egg experiment.
What you need:
- A bowl of water
- A toilet paper roll
- A big egg
- A book
What to do?
Fill the bowl with water (to prevent the egg from breaking when it falls)
Place a book over the bowl.
Put a roll of paper over the book (make sure the roll is right above the bowl)
Now, place an egg on top of the roll (you can paint a face on it).
Give the book a strong push that would quickly knock it out of place
The book will fly, and the egg will fall directly into the bowl.
What is happening?
Have you ever been sitting in a car and during a sharp turn you felt yourself being crushed against the door? Have you thought why this is happening? The reason is the law of inertia. The law of inertia is the first of the basic laws of motion formulated by the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton.
According to Newton’s law of inertia, a body will always strive to continue its motion (or stay in its place) as long as there is no other force interfering with it. The direction and speed of its movement will only change if it is disturbed. Therefore, when we are driving a car and suddenly the car turns, according to the law of inertia our body strives to continue moving forward while the car changes its direction, therefore we feel that our body is crushed against the door.
In our case the egg strives to stay in place. We created a structure in which a heavy book is placed, on top of it is a light roll of paper and on top of it is an egg that is also heavy. When we pushed the book, we made it to fly sideways, and with it the light roll of paper. The egg on the other hand strives to stay in place according to Newton’s law, the weight of the egg means that a stronger force is required than the roll of paper can exert to make it move sideways. Once the roll holding it in place disappears, gravity causes the egg to fall straight down and into the water.
Check out my post: Easter Egg Science: The best Egg-periments for Easter for more egg experiments
