Re: Inverting Tops -- How do they work?

Article View: bit.listserv.physhare

Article #394

Back to bit.listserv.physhare Previous Next

#394

From: Barry S. Riehle
Date: Sat, 22 Apr 1995 00:00

13 lines
1104 bytes

Jim Stagliano mentioned that the reason for the inverting of the tippy top is
that the cg of the tippy top is nearer the stem "so when the top rests on the
spherical surface, it has more potential energy than when it is sitting on the
stem."

If that is an accurate explanation then the football whose cg is in the middle
would not rise for the same reason nor would the class ring whose cg is most
certainly nearer the stone end that rises to the top.

Donald E. Simanek suggests the opposite occurs: the cg rises.  The cause is
friction but why would it do this?  I am still puzzled by this.

Barry S. Riehle

Technical Details

Message-ID: <199504230238.WAA13644@hTSO01.Cin.IX.net>

Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!unknown!not-for-mail

Show Full Headers

Complete Article Headers

X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit
X-Google-Thread: 16cfd8,57ce871ccd030d2,start
X-Google-Attributes: gid16cfd8,public
From: "Barry S. Riehle" <briehle@TSO.CIN.IX.NET>
Subject: Re: Inverting Tops -- How do they work?
Date: 1995/04/22
Message-ID: <199504230238.WAA13644@hTSO01.Cin.IX.net>
X-Deja-AN: 101397133
sender: Sharing resources for high school physics <PHYSHARE@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
newsgroups: bit.listserv.physhare