Let's try to make a lemonade-straw go through a potato!
Materials:
A potato (Not boiled)
A lemonade-straw
Materials:
A potato (Not boiled)
A lemonade-straw
Instructions
Just try to insert the straw through the potato. Does the straw goes through?? No it does not.
Now cover the top opening of the straw with your finger (as shown in the figure below) and strike the potato quickly with the straw and apply the maximum amount of force you can, but be sure the straw is perpendicular to the potato. Does the straw go through??? Yes it does!!
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| The straw goes through!! |
What happens???
You are holding the potato in your hand; so it is at rest. It is inert. The straw which strikes the potato has a great impulse of force. The pressure of the compressed air inside the straw (which occurs when your finger is covering the top opening of the straw) will keep it hard. That is why the straw goes through!
