A Simple Funny Physics Experiment
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A Simple Funny Physics Experiment
How to get some liquid out of a bottomless bottle without turning it?
A simple do-this-at-home experiment
This Instructable is based on an accidental observation.
It might take a scientist to find things like this funny, but maybe you do as well.
And given, you are working in theoretical or experimental physics: can you give a sound explanation of this phenomenon?
When I was playing mindless with a nearly empty, reclosed PET (!) orange juice bottle, it fell screw cap-down on the table. I then saw the residual liquid in the cap jumping up when the cap of the bottle hit the table.
Not really surprising as such, but it does in a single, narrow, staight column, reproducibly. I have been using my mobile to document the process (see images).
As an experiment with a Pepsi bottle showed, it is working even better if a bottle with a smaller screw cap is used. Here the liquid column can hit the top (former bottom) of a larger bottle. Or, if you remove the bottom of the bottle,it will spash upwards, reaching estonishing heights.
What could you do with it:
You may use this phenomenon to trick somebody (preferentally parents or teachers) or you may place a bet that you can remove/get some of the liquid from the bottle without turning it or touching the liquid.
Some may make a drinking game out of it.
- Take a empty PET bottle. Remove the bottom with a knife or a pair of scissors.
- Fill a few milliliters of some (colored) liquid into it (amount to be optimized for the individual bottle).
- Hold the bottle at least 1 meter above a hard ground. Carpet floor will not work.
- Release bottle.
Depending on the liquid, you may either try to fetch it, or you better remove your head.
Have fun playing.
Downloads
Open Bottles: Example 1
Trying to be able to see what is happening in the cap of the bottle and how high the liquid can splash, I removed the bottom of the bottles. Interestingly, using a 1.5 ltr Pepsi bottle, parts of the liquid were splashing higher then the starting height of the fall. You can have a look on the realtime movie, but you will see more details on the individual images.
Downloads
Open Bottle: Example 2
Here I used an orange juice bottle with the bottom removed. Please have a look on stills and movie.
Downloads
Reproducibility: the Same As Before
Just to show that the phemomenon is quite reproducible:
compare these with the images on the first step.
This just has been another try.