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Tip Toe Balance
This week's experiment is an old one, but
a fun one. It is one of those challenge experiments that seem simple,
but wind up being very difficult to accomplish.
To try it, you
will need:
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Open the door half way.
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Stand facing the edge with one foot on
each side of the door and your nose against the edge.
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Put your hands behind your back.
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Now all you have to do to complete the
challenge is stand on your tip toes, without moving your feet or taking
your nose away from the door.
It sounds easy until you try it.
Why is this so hard? If you take a
step away from the door, it is very easy to stand on tip toe. Why would the
door keep you from doing it? Think about what the door would keep you
from doing? Leaning forward! When you stand on your tip toes, you lean
forward to keep your balance. With the door in the way, you can't lean
forward and so you can't keep your balance while standing tip toe.
But why do you need to lean forward in
order to keep your balance? That is a very important question. It has
to do with your center of gravity. What is that? A physics book will
tell you that the center of gravity is the average location of the weight
of an object. Great! Now what does that mean?
Think of the center of gravity as sort of
a balancing point. If you could attach a string to the center of
gravity, the object would balance, no matter which way it was facing.
Center of Gravity is very important for
balancing things. As long as the center of gravity of an object is
directly over its base, it will not fall over. Stand with your feet
together. If you drew a line straight down from your center of gravity,
it would hit the floor under your feet. If you lean far enough to the
side so that your center of gravity moves past your feet, then you lose
your balance and fall over.
When you stand on tip toe, you change
your base. Instead of your entire foot forming the base, now only your
toes are supporting you. Suddenly, your center of balance is not
directly over your base (tip toes). You either have to lean forward to
move your center of gravity back over your base, or you will fall
backwards.
The same is true for buildings, stacks of
books, bowling pins, etc. As long as the object's center of gravity is
directly above its base, it will stand up. If its center of gravity
moves so that it is not over the base, then it will fall over.
Where is your center of gravity? That
varies from person to person, depending on the shape and weight of your
body. As I get older, my love of ice cream is making my center of
gravity shift towards my belly, although my Dad would say that the rocks
in my head balance it out.
Have a
wonder filled week.
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