Robert Gonzalez at io9 explains: "If you place 32 metronomes on a static object and set them rocking out of phase with one another, they will remain that way indefinitely. Place them on a moveable surface, however, and something very interesting (and very mesmerizing) happens.
The metronomes in this video fall into the latter camp. Energy from the motion of one ticking metronome can affect the motion of every metronome around it, while the motion of every other metronome affects the motion of our original metronome right back."
In the comments for the metronome video, someone mentioned being reminded of the way people walked on the Millennium Bridge:
Physics!
We are doing a monthly enrichment day with our 6th grade gifted students and this year selected bridges as the theme. I will post this bridge video for my colleagues to show their students. Interesting. And it shows how we are always learning about science.
ReplyDeleteSo cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is the coolest thing EVER, Tabatha!
ReplyDeleteThe metronome experiment was fascinating (and mesmerizing, as you mentioned). Imagine the physics equation written to explain this!
ReplyDeleteThe bridge "synchronization" was actually something I could just about grasp once they explained it. ;-)